‘Yellowstone’ Star Cole Hauser Reveals Exactly How Season 5 Got a Little More Real for the Cast On and Off Screen
Yellowstone star Cole Hauser has been living the cowboy life playing ranch foreman Rip Wheeler. On-screen, he leads a group of John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) ranch hands. Viewers regularly see them on horseback doing everything from roping and branding to pushing cows and wrestling steers. According to Hauser, things have gotten a little more real for the cast in season 5 — both on and off-screen.
How much of the roping and riding does the ‘Yellowstone’ cast actually do themselves?
According to Yellowstone stars Denim Richards (Colby) and Ian Bohen (Ryan), the first question they always get from fans is how much of the roping and riding they do themselves. In a video titled Yellowstone: Inside the Phenomenon, the co-stars addressed this question. And Bohen made it clear that “there is no CGI here.”
“What you see is what you get, and you’d be surprised to learn how much preparation goes into playing a ranch hand,” Bohen said.
Richards noted that the cast “thankfully” has professionals on the set to help the actors “look like real cowboys” — to which Bohen pointed out that some needed more than others.
As many fans know by now, before the start of each season of Yellowstone, the cast participates in creator Taylor Sheridan’s cowboy camp. Which, according to star Jefferson White (Jimmy Hurdstrom), motivates the cast to improve their skills.
“We all at least know enough about this stuff to know what we don’t know. The more you learn about it, the more drive you have to learn more, and that’s a huge motivator to get better,” White said.
Cole Hauser reveals how season 5 of ‘Yellowstone’ got a little more real for the cast on and off screen
The first few episodes of Yellowstone Season 5 have given the cast plenty of chances to show off what they’ve learned over the years while pretending to be cowboys. According to Hauser, things are even more real — both on screen and off — because the professional wranglers aren’t on set anymore to help out.
“We wrestle steers, we’re pushing cows. I mean, there’s some amazing cowboy stuff this year that I don’t think anybody’s ever seen on television or film. Taylor really took off the shackles and let the actors do their thing,” Hauser told Town & Country. “Even when we’re working, if we have an hour off, we’re roping, we’re cutting cows. I mean, at this point, there are no wranglers. We are it.”
Rip Wheeler is a still a ranch hand, not a Dutton, according to Cole Hauser
At the end of season 4, Rip married John’s only daughter Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and moved into the main house on the ranch. He is officially a Dutton by marriage — but that doesn’t mean he considers himself to be a member of Montana’s new first family.
“Taylor didn’t write it that way, which I love. I actually like the fact that it’s business as usual,” Hauser says. “No, I don’t think that ever crosses his mind being a Dutton. It’s more of the loyalty, the honor that he has for John, the friendship that he has with Kayce. But no, never a Dutton.”
Yellowstone airs Sundays on the Paramount Network.
