OKLAHOMA CITY – In the mid-1960s, Lawton native Rudy Ramos, then in his late teens, took a road trip from Burkburnett, Texas, all the way up to western Canada. The route took him through the wide-open spaces of the American West.
Arriving in western Montana, Ramos recalls getting out and taking in Big Sky Country, saying to himself, “This really is God’s country.”
Little did Ramos, 71, know at the time that some five decades later he would be a working actor, appearing on the popular Paramount Network Western “Yellowstone,” filmed and set in Montana.
According to Ramos, life is like that. Things come full circle. After all, it was not long after that trip through Montana that Ramos was back in college in Oklahoma taking an economics exam, in the middle of which, he decided college was not for him. He recalls his instructor being very supportive about his decision and wishing him well.
“He said ‘You’re going to be all right’,” Ramos said. His instructor was right. Ramos went on to do well on both the small and big screen.
Ramos recently spent some time on the phone with Southwest Ledger from his home in Southern California. He said he pretty much fell into acting after his move to the Los Angeles area in the late 1960s. Ramos grew up in Lawton in a “Kiowa and Comanche neighborhood at 1st and B.” While he said he has happy memories of that time in his life in southwest Oklahoma, he was itching to move on.
His move to California opened the door to a chance meeting with a Hollywood-type at a shoe store he was working in. That run-in lead to Ramos landing a role as a “half-breed” American Indian character named “Wind” on the 1967-71 Western TV series “The High Chaparral.”
“Acting came to me accidentally,” he said, adding that he was glad to be out of Oklahoma and getting to see more of the world. Hollywood director Sherman Marks, who directed many TV shows in the 1960s, proved to be an important and special connection in the industry.
When Ramos moved to Pasadena, California, with his brother, Jeci Ramos Jr, the burgeoning actor realized he had to get a Screen Actors Guild card, now that he was on the path to becoming an acting professional. But he was short on cash and had to ask Jeci to borrow the $200 to pay for the card.
Recalling that, Ramos laughed and said he had recently spoken to his brother who now lives in Springfield, Missouri. He and his brother joked, with Jeci telling Rudy that he is still waiting for him to pay him back for lending him the money for the SAG card.
Ramos remembers his early days on “The High Chaparral” fondly.
“They were really patient with me,” he said.
That would lead to other roles that reflected his ethnicity — Native American and Hispanic roles, primarily — from small roles in TV programs like “Hawaii Five-O” and “MacGyver,” to a run of 1980s films including “Quicksilver,” “Beverly Hills Cop II” and “Colors,” and later, as he aged, roles like that of “Yellowstone’s” wise Native grandfather Felix Long came his way.
Felix Long was a role Ramos seemed destined to play. Living on the Broken Rock Reservation, adjacent to the Yellowstone Ranch, run by cattle baron John Dutton (Kevin Costner). Felix’s granddaughter, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), has married one of Dutton’s sons — Kayce (Luke Grimes).
Felix is portrayed as a patient man who works to find a balance between his life as a Native in the modern West and the wealthy and influential world Monica has married into. There is tension, but Felix proves to be sturdy as a rock and willing to help his family in any way he can as the storyline heats up on the popular series. “Yellowstone” pulled in a record 14 million viewers in November, when season 4 premiered.
“It’s a modern-day Western,” Ramos said. “A lot of people who own ranches can relate to (the show).”
That, and it features Kevin Costner, a legendary actor who brings along a built-in audience. Show runner and creator Taylor Sheridan’s commitment to authenticity and portraying the West in a natural and cinematic way works well on television. Those ingredients, Ramos said, made it blow up.
“I heard someone say (Yellowstone) is a Western Sopranos,” Ramos said, referring to the Mafia-themed HBO drama that had its fair share of violence while highlighting the importance of family.
Ramos recalled his first encounter with actor/writer Kevin Costner on the set. It was for a scene filmed in a meadow and as the crew got the scene ready, Costner and Ramos talked for an hour or so, just as if they were old friends.
Ramos’ life has taken many turns over the more than 50 years of his acting career. While he does not get back to his native Oklahoma very often, he has fond memories of his years in the Sooner State. For four years, Ramos toured the country — wherever he was invited — with a one-man show titled “Geronimo: Life on the Reservation,” which he performed twice in Lawton. This captivating performance can be viewed on the video streaming website Vimeo.
Ramos said he had a natural interest in the life of Geronimo when he was young. He was drawn to the Apache warrior who died at Fort Sill, near Ramos’ own hometown.
“He was fighting for his people,” Ramos said of Geronimo.
Ramos now plays a man advocating for his Native people on the fictional Broken Rock Reservation.
On the set
“Being in ‘Yellowstone’ is an actor’s dream,” said Ramos. “It’s great and it’s a great job. And working for (Taylor Sheridan and Kevin Costner) doesn’t get any better.”
Ramos said he loves the mood and environment on the set of “Yellowstone,” which is filmed in Utah and Montana.
His day-to-day life is one of an artist. He has his own horses as well. Horses were something both Ramos and Kevin Costner talked about when they first met.
“He’s a good storyteller,” Ramos said of Costner, who he described as “easy to talk to.”
Ramos said most everyone on the “Yellowstone” set works toward the goal of creating the best show they can. That effort comes through in each episode.
“We all just get along really well,” Ramos said. Noting that Season 4 of “Yellowstone” was filmed in October 2020, a year “is a long time you don’t see people” you work with on the popular series.
“Probably the best film role I’ve ever had,” Ramos said of “Yellowstone.” “(Taylor Sheridan) gives me a lot of freedom. I’ve never seen material written that well for Natives. It’s not stereotypical.”
Recalling his audition for the role, it was only later that Ramos learned that Taylor Sheridan was watching via Skype from Park City, Utah, and after he read his lines, Ramos said he heard a voice simply say, “Yep.” He would learn that that “yep” was Sheridan’s nod that Ramos had landed the part of Felix Long.
“I thought (Native actors) Graham Greene or Wes Studi would get the part,” he said, noting Greene’s prior work with Sheridan on the film “Wind River.”
Working with Costner
Long connected to Westerns with works like the award-winning 1990 film “Dances With Wolves,” Ramos said he was glad he was getting to work with the Hollywood legend.
“Kevin is really easy to work with,” Ramos said. His first scene with Costner in “Yellowstone” was in the middle of a field, where Costner was dropped off by helicopter.
“Kevin and I just talked, and it was like we had known each other all of our lives,” said Ramos, who first appears in the first episode of the first season of “Yellowstone” — the pilot episode “Daybreak.” So far, Ramos has appeared in nine episodes of “Yellowstone.”
“I just enjoy what I’m doing,” Ramos said.
Costner’s star power came into play in a scene where his granddaughter Monica is in a coma. In the hospital room scene, even though Costner’s John Dutton character and Ramos’s Felix Long character were standing side-by-side, the actor playing the doctor kept only addressing Costner’s character. The scene was shot again, and Sheridan made sure it was done right, Ramos said.
Some entertainment writers have suggested part of “Yellowstone’s” popularity is due to its gritty authenticity and a story involving people taking care of their own problems and doling out “cowboy justice” in a manner that is largely unheard of in the litigious 21st century. “Yellowstone’s” production values are high, putting outstanding cinematography and believable writing on full display.
New episodes of Yellowstone appear each Sunday on Paramount networks