Cole Hauser Reveals The “Yellowstone” Role He Almost Had Before Becoming Rip Wheeler
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Cole Hauser’s involvement in the Yellowstone universe almost looked very different.
It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Rip Wheeler. Viewers have watched Cole Hauser bring the character to life since 2018, when Yellowstone first premiered.
Now, he’s even starring in his own spinoff series, Dutton Ranch, which has become an absolute hit.
It may come as a surprise to a lot of people that Hauser wasn’t originally considered for the role of Rip. He revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that when he was first approached by the show’s producer, John Linson, he was given a script to play one of John Dutton’s children.
“[Linson] came to me initially [with ‘Yellowstone’] and said, ‘Take a look at these different roles and tell me what you think.’ In the beginning it was to play one of the children of John Dutton. I read the pilot and I thought, well this guy [Rip] only has a couple of scenes, but I love the character. I got on the phone with Taylor. We spoke for two hours, and that was kind of it.”
For anyone who watched Yellowstone, it’s probably safe to say we’re all glad he made the move to play Rip.
If he had been cast as Lee Dutton, his time on the show would have been short-lived, since the character was killed off in the very first episode.
And while Kayce Dutton went on to have a major role and is now part of another Yellowstone spinoff, Marshals, most fans would probably agree that Luke Grimes has that role perfectly covered.
What We Know About Dutton Ranch Season 2 So Far
Season 1 of Dutton Ranch wrapped up at the end of this summer, airing its season finale on July 3.
Right now, not much has been revealed about what’s to come after the show left fans with a major cliffhanger.
An official release date for Season 2 hasn’t been announced yet, but filming is expected to begin in early 2027.
Dutton Ranch will have a new showrunner, Benjamin Cavell. Hauser has already spoken highly of Cavell, calling him “wonderful” and saying he’s excited to have him as part of the series.
There’s speculations that Ed Harris, who plays Everett McKinney, will have a bigger role in the show this time around as well.
