Taylor Sheridan has built a sprawling television empire over the last several years, beginning with the 2018 neo-Western series

Yellowstone. The fan-favorite series explored the depths of one family’s devotion to their ancestral land as enemies emerge on all sides.

Even after Yellowstone’s series finale after five seasons, the franchise remains one of the most popular in television history, with numerous spinoffs on the way, including Y: Marshals, Dutton Ranch, and The Madison.

 

 

Although Yellowstone focuses primarily on Kevin Costner’s John Dutton and his children, the series crafted several fan-favorite characters from outside of the main Dutton family. Each of Yellowstone’s iconic supporting characters thrives in large part thanks to the dynamic performances that bring them to life. Counted among this group is one fan-favorite character whom Taylor Sheridan created with a very specific actor in mind from the beginning. Not only did Sheridan snag the actor he envisioned in the role, but five seasons of television ended up proving him right.

 

 

In a more recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter (via MovieWeb), Hauser expanded on the story, revealing that he later shared a phone call with Taylor Sheridan, who listened to his ideas about Rip Wheeler’s character. As the writing process for Yellowstone continued, Sheridan continued his talks with Hauser, slowly building the character of Rip around his personality and ideas. Parts of the character morphed and became clearer thanks to his input, resulting in the fan-favorite character that the world knows and loves today. By the time Sheridan was finished, there was really only one actor who could ever bring the character of Rip Wheeler to life.

Cole Hauser was instrumental in the construction of Rip Wheeler as a character, making him the only person Taylor Sheridan could ever cast in the role. This is a distinct honor for the actor that is exceedingly rare in Hollywood. Even Kevin Costner wasn’t the only actor in mind for John Dutton, with other leading men like Robert Redford and Josh Brolin considered for the role. But because of his strong opinions about the character and his immediate connection with Taylor Sheridan, Cole Hauser set himself up as the only person who could properly portray Rip Wheeler for five seasons of television. While the initial character from the pilot may not have been written for Hauser, the final version that appears in the series is all for him.