Riley Green is heading from country music to prime-time television. The singer will make his acting debut on Sunday, April 19, when he appears in CBS’s Marshals as Garrett, a former Navy SEAL who shows up unexpectedly at Kayce’s ranch.
The role puts Green inside the first Yellowstone spinoff to air on CBS, and it comes with a direct recommendation from Luke Grimes. Grimes, who stars as Kayce Dutton, said he suggested Green after the two were doing a write together and talking about Green wanting to act. He said he thought Green could fit the part of “an old team buddy or something” in the Navy SEAL storyline, adding that Green had “that look to him like he could be a team guy.”
Green said the move into acting is new territory. “This is my first go around in the acting space, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to this world,” he said, adding that he was excited to join the cast of Marshals and that being on set with Grimes made the experience even more memorable.
Marshals centers on Kayce Dutton as he seeks a new start with the U.S. Marshals after the death of his wife, Monica, and Garrett’s arrival pushes that story into rougher ground. The character is not just a guest star dropped into the action; he comes hoping to lean on Kayce and Cal to help put the demons of his past to rest. That gives the show a second veteran with unfinished business, and it deepens the military thread inside the series just as it begins its run on broadcast television.
Grimes did not hide the practical side of the casting idea. He joked that Green is “6’4″ and pretty darn handsome,” then said, “You know what, man? I think he’d actually be really good at it, and I think this would be a great way in for him.” Green was announced for the role on February 19, and Grimes discussed how the idea came together on April 3 during an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Highway.
For Green, the cameo marks a new lane at a moment when he already has momentum in music. He broke through with his self-titled debut EP in 2018, won the Academy of Country Music’s New Male Artist of the Year in 2020, and released his third studio album, Don’t Mind If I Do, in October 2024, with a deluxe edition due in August 2025. The acting turn does not replace that career. It adds another one, and it starts with a role built around a friend who thought he belonged on screen.
