Cole Hauser’s “Yellowstone” character Rip Wheeler is a man whose preferred tools for resolving conflicts tend to be a branding iron and a Winchester rifle. So it is no small relief to learn that the man behind the character is someone far less likely to break your teeth because you looked at Beth Dutton funny. For one thing, Hauser has openly talked about the unexpected challenge he faced with his weight on “Dutton Ranch” so we know he doesn’t exactly carry Rip’s brooding bravado in real life. And for another, his castmates can’t seem to stop describing him as one of the warmest and most endearing people on set.
Kelly Reilly, who has played Hauser’s better half since 2017, told Looper in December 2021 that her on-screen soulmate is “my buddy” and one of her closest friends. “We really feel blessed,” she added, talking about the opportunity of portraying this duo. “We don’t take it for granted. And we support each other and have fun.”
But being supportive is the least of Hauser’s good qualities, it turns out. Finn Little, who portrays the couple’s adoptive son, recently told Country Living that Reilly and Hauser don’t dictate how he should play a scene, and being around them, “I think you just pick up things after a while.” Then there’s Marc Menchaca, the “Dutton Ranch” newcomer, who recalls a relaxed, joke-filled atmosphere that had none of the pressure he expected. “There was a lot of laughter behind the scenes,” he said of his dynamic with Hauser.
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Hauser thought Rip would be impossible to root for, but everyone loves him on and off-screen
Cole Hauser posing and smiling at the “Yellowstone” season 5, part 2 premiere in New York. – Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Due to Rip’s dark past and gruesome actions, Cole Hauser and creator Taylor Sheridan originally thought audiences would despise the “Yellowstone” enforcer. Lo and behold, Rip soon turned into one of television’s most adored heartthrobs. “At first, to see women coming up and saying, ‘Oh my God, I love your character.’ I was thinking, ‘What’s wrong with you?'” Hauser joked in a chat with People, but admitted that was before he understood the charm himself. Some see the brute, most others see the heart inside.
Ask the people who shared the bunkhouse and they too describe someone who’s impossible not to like, even if he can be a touch intimidating at first. Jefferson White, known to “Yellowstone” fans as Jimmy, once joked to US Weekly that Hauser is “probably the scariest guy on set” before turning it into outright admiration. “Rip is such a leader, but Cole is also such a leader. He’s always making sure we have what we need to do our job. I really look up to him in that way.”
You can see traces of that in what Cole Hauser thinks about his role on “Yellowstone” and how he approaches Rip — even in the way he talks about his co-stars. “In between takes, her and I are like brother and sister,” he told Drew Barrymore about his off-screen relationship with Reilly. Off camera, it turns out Rip is really just everyone’s big brother.
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