‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Premiere: That’s Forrie J. Smith’s Son, Forrest, as a Young Lloyd Pierce

That wasn’t CGI, it was DNA. The Yellowstone Season 5 premiere just featured the return of Forrest Smith as Young Lloyd, and it is wild how much he looks like his father, Forrie J. Smith.

Yellowstone made cowboys out of quite a few actors. Luke Grimes, Wes Bentley, an Jefferson White, specifically, had a lot to learn. But when it comes to the Smith family, filming Yellowstone is a walk in the park.

Forrie J. Smith, the actor and stuntman behind Lloyd, has been rodeoing and ranching since he could walk. Literally. Born to a generational Montana ranching family, Forrie would transition into Hollywood stunt work as a master horseman in the 1980s. In short, there’s no better fit on Yellowstone. Unless you count the casting of his son as the young version of Lloyd, that is.

Forrie’s son, Forrest Smith, has appeared in Yellowstone as the younger version of Lloyd before. But it’s his appearance in the Season 5 premiere that has fans in an absolute uproar. Forrest Smith has grown into a near-clone of his father. Add a matching hairstyle and Lloyd’s signature handlebar moustache and you’ve got a resemblance that is downright spooky:

To see Forrest as Lloyd, the Yellowstone Season 5 premiere takes us back twenty years to see Beth and Rip as young adults (Kylie Rogers & Kyle Red Silverstein). It’s a time when Beth is about to leave the ranch for college, and Rip is still lowman of the bunch.

But we know these two are destined for each other. But even as a young man, Lloyd knows Beth is nothing but trouble.

‘Yellowstone’ 5 Premiere Sees Return of Forrest Smith as Young Lloyd

In the Bunkhouse during this same time period, young Lloyd (Forrest Smith) deals poker for his fellow Yellowstone ranch hands. Rip tries his damndest to clean his work hat for his date, but no dice. He gives it a go anyway.

“Not one good thing happens in town, Rip. Not one good thing,” Lloyd tells him. It’s here that we get a look from Forrest Smith that is absolutely uncanny. So much, so, in fact, that most of my Outsider colleagues thought they were seeing a CGI de-aged Forrie J. Smith. But nope, that’s all DNA, folks.

Lloyd is truly a generational role for the Smiths now, and their legacy has impacted the show, and vice-versa. Much of the bunkhouse was modeled after the Smiths’ own rodeo legacy, with photos and trophies from Forrie’s decades of wins appearing on the show as part of the set.

There’s a whole lot more to it, so be sure to see our Everything to Know About ‘Lloyd’ Actor Forrie J. Smith next.

The Smiths will return as Lloyd in Yellowstone Season 5’s Episode 3 next Sunday, November 20. Catch the episode at 8 PM ET, only on Paramount Network. For now, be sure to see our full recap of the premiere’s Episode 2, which also featured both Smiths as Lloyd.