Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan has said he values his creative freedom more than money or fame.

The prolific television writer and producer, 56, is behind a string of hit shows including Landman and Lioness.

Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Sheridan was asked whether he feels “successful” and responded: “The first question has got to be what’s your definition of success. If your definition of success is money and fame and awards, then I was painfully aware of getting it, because the award circuit is its own scam.”

He continued: “Fame I would give back tomorrow, and unless you’re trying to buy a sports team, or a ranch the size of the one I’ve got, there’s really only so much you can do with… you can only have so many toys and so much stuff, right?”

After describing excessive wealth as “at some point, just a measuring stick,” the filmmaker offered his own definition of success: “To me, success is autonomy to create what you want, and the ability to execute it. People can dislike the way I story tell, that’s fine. But you can’t question how effectively we execute what we do. I have the best crew that there is.”

Prior to his work as a writer-producer, Sheridan worked as an actor, taking on roles in Veronica Mars and Sons of Anarchy.

Being a full-time actor proved to be a struggle for Sheridan, who has admitted that when work dried up, he lived in his car for six months.

“I was homeless twice,” Sheridan, who also played Travis Wheatley in Yellowstone, told Town & Country. “I lived in my car. Sometimes I’d go to Ojai [in California], just somewhere where I could safely sleep. I did that for six months.

“I could have decided at any point, ‘I’m going to go get a full-time job and I’m going to give up this dream,’” he said. “And I chose to sleep in my car over that.”

He ultimately pivoted towards screenwriting, selling a screenplay for the 2016 western drama Hell or High Water and using the proceeds to buy a house in Wyoming. The film, which stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster as Texas brothers who rob a series of banks to save their family ranch, received four Oscar nominations.

Sheridan is now one of the largest landowners in Texas, having bought Bosque Ranch – where he lives and works – as well as the famous Four Sixes Ranch. The historic backdrop made an appearance in Yellowstone’s later seasons, with Paramount announcing in 2021 that a spin-off about the ranch, titled 6666, was in development.

However, Sheridan clarified earlier this year that the project had been scrapped, saying that there was “never going to be” a spin-off about the Four Sixes.