Kevin Costner’s appearance in the final Yellowstone episodes remains undecided. One of the prime attractions of the series was certainly the cowboy John Dutton, played by Costner, who apparently had a lot of female fans. But surprisingly, he was not the only cowboy who stole the hearts of women viewers. Cole Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler, shared that he couldn’t believe the amount of love he got from the female fans of the Paramount series.
Hauser’s character is John Dutton’s ranchhand and falls for his daughter Beth, played by Kelly Reilly. Besides being the ladies’ men, Hauser and Costner both had another thing in common on the sets of Yellowstone – a feud with creator Taylor Sheridan.
Forget Kevin Costner, Female Fans Of Yellowstone Loved This Character For One Reason
During an interview with WFAA, Kevin Costner‘s Yellowstone co-star Cole Hauser was asked one question that fans always had in mind. The WFAA host asked whether he was surprised at the positive reception for his character, despite the character being a crazy guy and doing questionable deeds. Hauser explained why Rip Wheeler resonated with the viewers, especially the female ones.
Hauser shared that he always believed the character would appeal only to men because he was crazy and cool. The character says and does whatever he wants, which is something expected of a cool cowboy on a Montana ranch. However, Hauser shared that the women fans surprised him at first, but he understood the reason behind the love later.
Hauser shared that the character also carried the lovable qualities of a heart of gold, extreme loyalty, and honesty. The Rogue actor believed that Taylor Sheridan wrote the character with a lot of colors that made him likable among all demographics of viewers. Hauser shared with WFAA:
“The women aspect of it was a bit surprising, I won’t lie. I’ve always appealed to men. They’re like, ‘That guy’s crazy. He’s cool. He says what he wants, he does what he wants.’ But the aspect of women falling in love with him – I guess I understand it, but at first it was a surprise, but now I get it. He has a heart of gold. He is loyal as loyal gets. He’s honest. He’s not full of sh*t, which most people are. So I think, again, there’s a lot of colors to him that appeal to not only the female audience but also the male audience as well.”
The Dazed & Confused actor entirely credits the success of the character to the way in which it was written. Hauser was a fan of Sheridan, especially his writing, in films like Sicario and Wind River. When he received the script for Sheridan’s show, he was immediately drawn to Rip Wheeler.
Hauser also added that the different levels of the characters made the role challenging yet interesting for him. He also shared that he loved the intense relationship between Rip and Beth (Kelly Reilly), which was an afterthought of Sheridan after seeing their intimate scene in one of the first episodes of the show.
Taylor Sheridan Sued Cole Hauser For Trademark Infringement
While Taylor Sheridan’s feud with Kevin Costner is ruining the show, he had one other famous feud with Cole Hauser over their businesses. Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Headquarters LLC sued Hauser’s Free Rein Coffee Company for trademark infringement. According to the lawsuit filed on November 21, 2023, Free Rein allegedly copied Bosque Ranch’s trademark logo.
Sheridan’s brand sought permanent damages from Hauser’s 2022 bought company under Texas Law and the Lanham Act for copyright infringement (via San Angelo Live). Costner and Sheridan’s feud also took a legal turn when both of them involved their lawyers.
Yellowstone is yet to begin its season 5 part 2 shoot. All other seasons of the show are now available for streaming on Paramount+.
