Cole Hauser is well-known for his portrayal of ruthless Yellowstone ranch manager, Rip Wheeler. The Taylor Sheridan series has become a huge hit, but Cole, in the role of John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) right-hand man, has had it pretty rough. In fact, Hauser has revealed all the injuries he has suffered during his years in TV and film.
Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler in Yellowstone
Cole Hauser has opened up about the number of injuries he has sustained over the years of his career. In fact, his performance as Rip has been quite challenging for the handsome actor. However, his most severe accident was long before Yellowstone, when the actor broke his back while filming the 2020 film, The Last Champion.
However, since then, Cole has suffered a variety of other incidents of different levels of severity. Basically, his body is a little battered as he enters the fourth decade of his career. The Express quotes Hauser as saying he is now 47 years old and he has been in a “ton of accidents.” He explained:
Motorcycles, horses, I’ve crashed my back, I’ve torn my hamstrings, torn calf muscles.
Cole takes his injuries into his stride
However, Hauser has managed to take these painful experiences in his stride and he says his injuries have even helped him get into character for Yellowstone’s future seasons. In the show, his character Rip is often called upon by his boss to take care of the ranch’s many rivals.
Rip is often called upon by his boss John to take care of the ranch’s numerous rivals. In fact, in his role as a ranch hand, and much like the actor himself, Rip is almost constantly in recovery from various injuries, breaks and bruises. However, they are starting to take their toll on the show’s tough guy.
As such, the ranch hand, much like Cole himself, is in almost constant recovery from various breaks and bruises which have started to take their toll. He explained that it is all in the walk, and he has put a little bit more into the brokenness of Rip versus himself. He added:
So, essentially, I have a little bit of the limp, the back pain, or the getting up and getting down or having to bend down to give [Beth] a kiss. You’ll hear my knees pop sometimes!
Hauser explained that those things are all very real and that he gives a little bit more to them for the character.
Yellowstone actor gains weight
As was reported earlier, Hauser has also put on around 20 pounds of muscle for his role in Yellowstone. This means the actor is in good shape, enabling him to overcome his many injuries and give his best performance.
In fact, after breaking his back on the set of The Last Champion, it took him almost no time at all to return to horseback riding. He said:
It was like the old saying, ‘F**k it, you just gotta get back on the horse and do it’.
My back was so bad I couldn’t move around very well, and so I lost strength in my stomach. What riding ended up doing is strengthening my back and my core.
Season 5 of Yellowstone coming soon
Currently, production is making great headway for the much-anticipated season 5 of Yellowstone. Meanwhile, the season will offer a huge 16 episodes this time around, compared to the usual 10.
Yellowstone season 5 premieres Sunday, November 13 on the Paramount Network.
