Rip Wheeler is one of the most important characters in “Yellowstone.” The ranch foreman, played by Cole Hauser, became part of the Dutton family after Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III adopted him. Over time, Rip became an integral part of the Dutton ranch operation, overseeing other ranch hands, carrying out illicit activities for John, and marrying the Dutton patriarch’s daughter, Beth (Kelly Reilly).
Behind the scenes, Hauser’s “Yellowstone” tenure has been almost as dramatic as Rip’s on-screen story. The actor once got into a physical fight with series creator Taylor Sheridan, who in 2023 also sued Hauser over his coffee company, Free Rein, because the logo looked too much like Sheridan’s own company logo (it really did look similar). The suit was ultimately dropped, but it’s clear that Hauser and Sheridan’s relationship has been testy at best.
Still, Rip Wheeler has been a series mainstay since the very beginning, suggesting Sheridan has always maintained a soft spot for Hauser when, considering the all-encompassing power the series creator has over the “Yellowstone” empire, he could have easily written him out of the show. “Yellowstone” is filmed on a ranch owned by Sheridan, who also cast himself as horse trainer Travis Wheatley after Paramount agreed to use the creator’s own horses for the series. What’s more, Sheridan writes all the spin-off shows alongside the mothership series, and has spoken multiple times about how he had a five-season plan for the show before the pilot was even shot. All of which is to say that the Texas native is very much pulling the strings behind the scenes.
So, when it comes to the “Yellowstone” cast, the creator is surely able to make changes as and when he pleases. As of now, however, not only is Hauser still a main character on the show, he and Beth Dutton actress Kelly Reilly are in talks to front a potential sixth season of “Yellowstone.” This would essentially make Hauser the star of the series moving forward. With that in mind, it’s a good thing that the actor pushed to play Rip Wheeler when he was being encouraged to audition for other roles in “Yellowstone.”
Cole Hauser could have played one of John Dutton’s sons
In the show, Rip becomes an adopted son to John Dutton, but he is, of course, not a blood member of the Dutton family. So when the pilot script for “Yellowstone” started making the rounds, Cole Hauser’s agents naturally wanted their client to audition for one of the Dutton brother roles, thinking he would be in with a better chance of sticking around should the show take off. As Hauser revealed on the Ryen Russillo Podcast (via CinemaBlend), “Yellowstone” co-creator John Linson is a friend of his, so when Linson came to him and suggested he take a look at the pilot script, Hauser obliged. “He didn’t say any role or anything,” said Hauser, “So I looked at the script, and I think initially my team wanted me to position myself to play one of the sons, and I just didn’t see it.”
On the show, John Dutton has two biological sons, Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Lee Dutton (Dave Annable), who was killed off at the end of the pilot episode. John also adopted a third son, Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley). These were the characters Hauser’s agents were keen for their client to pursue. But the actor had different plans. He continued:
“I didn’t think that there was a role that was right for me when it came to Jamie or Lee or Kayce. The one that jumped off the page was Rip, and they were like, ‘What are you doing? It’s two scenes in a pilot.’ I said, ‘Nah, this character is going to have something really good, I can just feel it.'”
Why did Cole Hauser decide to audition for Rip Wheeler?
In hindsight, Hauser’s decision to audition for Rip Wheeler was an inspired choice. It seems he saw something in Taylor Sheridan’s script that imbued him with a remarkable prescience. The actor explained to Ryen Russillo how he was encouraged by the fact that Sheridan “loves the real cowboy way,” adding, “I know that he believes that those kinda guys should be talked about.” What’s more, Hauser could see the chemistry between Rip and Beth in the script, telling Russillo that Sheridan, too, “saw that, so that’s kind of where it blossomed.”
Beyond the chemistry between Beth and Rip, Hauser saw something more in the figure of the ranch foreman. The actor went on to talk about how he “never play[s] anybody one note,” adding:
“I think some people would look at Rip and go, ‘He’s a one trick pony.’ You know what I mean? That’s who he is. He’s the heavy, he’s the tough guy. There’s a problem, John calls on him. But Taylor did this wonderful thing, which I saw very early on, in that he created a relationship with Beth, which helps open his soul up and his heart, and who he is as a person. Then he did wonderful things with the backstory and allowed the audience to understand the hardship this kid came from.”
The actor also highlighted how it was “the uneducatedness that [Rip] has, but also the life smarts that he has” which appealed to him. All of which sounds great, but maybe there’s another explanation for Hauser going after the Rip Wheeler role.
The actor has spoken about his penchant for fist fights, telling Men’s Journal, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with fighting. Sometimes I’m just tired of words, so let’s beat the s*** out of each other.” So, while the whole multi-faceted character thing sounds good, perhaps he just really liked the idea of playing the Yellowstone ranch’s bruiser. With Hauser claiming he has only one condition to return to “Yellowstone,” we might well be seeing a lot more of Wheeler, fist fights and all, in the near future.