Why Dwight White From Dutton Ranch Looks So Familiar
The actor behind Dwight White has had a lengthy career in both movies and TV before his role on "Dutton Ranch" Season 1. In the "Yellowstone" spinoff's first season, Ray McKinnon plays Dwight, a local rancher killed by Sheriff Wade (Josh Stewart) during a raid in "Dutton Ranch" Episode 5.
McKinnon's Hollywood tenure began in 1989 with a small role in "Driving Miss Daisy," after which he featured in various lesser-known films. The actor got his first taste of blockbusters when he played a Flight Dynamics Officer in 1995's "Apollo 13." Five years later, McKinnon portrayed combative campaign manager Vernon T. Waldrip in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Other highlights from McKinnon's movie resume include playing Coach Cotton in the famous football film "The Blind Side" and a role as engineer Phil Remington in "Ford v Ferrari."
Before joining "Dutton Ranch," McKinnon also showed up on several popular TV shows. He notably played Assistant U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter in "Sons of Anarchy" Season 4 — which aired in 2011. McKinnon reprised the character in the sequel series "Mayans M.C." from 2018 to 2023. Fans of "The Walking Dead" franchise will likely remember McKinnon as the villainous motorcycle gang leader Proctor John on the spinoff "Fear the Walking Dead" for two episodes in Season 3.
Ray McKinnon was on one of the most famous Western TV shows
Considered among the best Western TV shows of all time, "Deadwood" featured McKinnon in its first season. In 2004, he took on the part of Reverend Henry Weston Smith — a real-life preacher who lived in the South Dakota town. Dealing with the effects of a brain tumor as he tries to help his fellow residents, the Reverend deteriorates over the course of "Deadwood" Season 1 before his mercy killing at the hands of Al Swearengen (Ian McShane).
According to McKinnon, Reverend Smith was originally planned to die just three episodes into "Deadwood," but creator David Milch — with whom McKinnon briefly worked on "NYPD Blue" — decided to give him a more detailed arc. "I watched [Milch] continue to evolve Reverend Smith and he was a lovely character," McKinnon told the A.V. Club. "It was hard for me to totally embody him because he was such a good person. I had to dig deep every time I'd play him. It took a couple of takes before I finally found him and would go on the journey with him."