- Gil Birmingham has been part of the cast of Yellowstone since its premiere in 2018
- Before that, the Thomas Rainwater actor appeared in a huge teen franchise
- READ MORE: Yellowstone actress who foul-mouthed Teeter is a nepo baby
If you thought Yellowstone star Gil Birmingham looked familiar, that’s probably because he appeared in the wildly popular teen film franchise The Twilight Saga.
The actor, 71, currently stars as Thomas Rainwater in Taylor Sheridan’s critically acclaimed TV series.
But before taking on the role of leader of the Broken Rock Reservation, Gil played Jacob Black’s father Billy in the franchise – and he appeared in all five films.
The Twilight Saga film series, starring Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, was based on the books by Stephenie Meyer.
The shape-shifting werewolf Jacob was played by heartthrob Taylor Lautner.
The first film, Twilight, was released in 2008, followed by New Moon in 2009 and Eclipse in 2010.
The fourth film, Breaking Dawn – Part 1, was released in 2011, and the final chapter, Breaking Dawn – Part 2, hit theaters a year later.
In the films, Billy is in a wheelchair due to complications from diabetes.
Yellowstone star Gil Birmingham played an iconic character in the hit teen film franchise
He was Jacob Black’s father Billy in The Twilight Saga film series. Jacob (pictured with Gil in Twilight) was played by Taylor Lautner
His son Jacob is a werewolf from the Quileute tribe who first turns into a wolf at the age of 16.
Although Jacob can turn into a wolf, Billy was never able to do so because there were no vampires around when he was young.
Speaking about his role in the franchise in 2021, Gil said: “It was mainly focused on the vampires, and I think the [Native American] The representation was a little less than I had hoped, and the books contained even more.
“But I’m still happy to be a part of it.”
In 2022, Gil was shocked to discover his son Taylor, 32, was getting married on-screen.
‘He is? And he didn’t tell me?’ the actor told E! News.
He jokingly added to the publication that he would “roll straight to that wedding in my wheelchair.”
Taylor married model Taylor Dome in November 2022 at Epoch Estate Wines in California.
Gil appeared in all five films (pictured with Lautner in 2008)
The Twilight Saga is a series of romantic fantasy films based on the Twilight book series by Stephenie Meyer
Gil has been playing Thomas Rainwater in Yellowstone since its 2018 premiere
Gil has starred in the Western drama Yellowstone since its 2018 premiere.
The show is currently airing the second half of season five, which follows the aftermath of Kevin Costner’s departure as John Dutton.
Last month, Gil said he was proud that the indigenous characters in the series were equal to all the other leads.
Speaking to Decider, he said: ‘I’m proud that the show has taken the opportunity to present contemporary Indigenous characters as people with agency, intelligence and ingenuity.’
It’s not just Gil from the cast of Yellowstone who has a surprising history.
Jennifer Landon, who plays the foul-mouthed, pink-haired Teeter on the smash hit series, is far from a West Texas wildcat in real life.
The 41-year-old actress is actually from Malibu and is the daughter of Little House on The Prairie star Michael Landon, who was also on the series Bonanza.