Why Garrett From The Yellowstone Spin-Off Marshals Looks So Familiar

Contains spoilers for "Marshals" Season 1, Episode 8 — "Blowback"

It's not even 10 episodes old yet and there's already a new kid on the "Marshals" block. In the "Yellowstone" spin-off's 8th episode, "Blowback," Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Cal's (Logan Marshall-Green) old SEAL friend, Garrett, comes to town. The character is played by country singer Riley Green, who makes his acting debut with the role. His premiere gig is slated to last for three more episodes.

Garrett is destitute — he only brings a guitar and a single bag with him to Montana when he heads to Kayce's property. Kayce puts him up and quickly learns that the former Navy man is suffering from some severe PTSD. Audiences watch as he deals with night terrors stemming from the death of his friend in the field. He and Cal also have some bad blood between them, which comes from his last tour of duty.

Cal strongly hints to Kayce that he ought to be wary of Garrett because of his behavior during that last overseas sojourn, though he's not specific about why he no longer trusts his former charge. By the episode's end, Garrett and Kayce have joined together to mourn the death of Kayce's long-gone wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and the door is left wide open for Garrett's return, since he's barely begun to come to grips with his trauma or to make amends with Cal.

Riley Green admitted that he'd been interested in joining the acting game, but didn't know his wish to become a thespian would be granted so quickly after he casually mentioned the idea to "Marshals" and "Yellowstone" star Luke Grimes. "(Grimes) certainly threw me a bone getting me on this show," he told USA Today. 

While some newbies might consider having to grapple with Garrett's extremely difficult emotional state a burden, Green took to it like a fish to water. He admitted he didn't have time to be anxious about acting out Garrett's PTSD before he performed the character's nightmare scene. "I wanted this to be a real acting gig, and I was lucky. This character has a lot of range and there's a lot of emotion. He's a really kind of damaged guy."

The "Worst Way" singer admitted that there was one difficult thing about taking on the part: keeping his mustache intact throughout the multi-episode shoot. Green said that he tends to shave off his soup strainer whenever it gets too hot. But was all of that aggravation worth returning to the part, and will Green be back for more acting after his initial stint is up? "Somebody called me from the SAG office trying to give me a check for some show that I was on one time, and they wanted my Social Security number. I wouldn't give it to them over the phone. They said, 'We need to validate it's you.' I said, 'Hell, you called me.' " That sounds like a yes to us.