Taylor Sheridan is currently one of the hottest creators in Hollywood, thanks to the success of Yellowstone. But before he wrote and directed the most-watched drama on television — and started expanding his TV universe — Sheridan worked as a struggling actor for two decades. Here’s the story of what prompted Sheridan to make the life-changing decision to move behind the camera.

Taylor Sheridan abruptly left ‘Sons of Anarchy’ in season 3

Sheridan’s acting career began in the early 1990s with a number of auditions that rarely resulted in him being cast. One of his earliest was for the role of Wooderson in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused — a character that launched Matthew McConaughey’s career. It was also a film that starred Yellowstone stalwart Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler).

From 1995 to 2005, Sheridan occasionally landed small one-off roles on TV shows like Walker, Texas Ranger, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Party of Five, NYPD Blue, and CSI. In 2005, he was cast in his first recurring role — Danny Boyd on Veronica Mars. Then, in 2008 he landed his biggest part to date — Deputy David Hale on Sons of Anarchy.

But after appearing in 21 episodes over the first three seasons, Sheridan abruptly left the series and his character was killed off.

“I’ve always said Hollywood will tell you what you’re supposed to be doing, if you will listen,” Sheridan told Deadline

The suits behind ‘Sons of Anarchy’ insulted him so much that he quit the show

The Texas native explained that Hollywood was telling him that a career in front of the camera wasn’t going to happen. He says the Sons of Anarchy execs were offering him what he thought was “a very unfair wage.”