Who Plays Rip on Yellowstone?

Yellowstone, a nighttime drama that premiered in 2018, has quickly captured the hearts and minds of many Americans with its rich, beautiful mountain scenery and the tough, gritty characters it portrays.

Central to the Yellowstone storyline is Rip Wheeler, the tough ranch hand and right-hand man to the show’s patriarch, John Dutton.

Yellowstone – Fans Don’t Just Dig The Character, They Dig The Actor That Portrays Him So Well.

But who plays Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone? Rip Wheeler: The Man, the Myth, the Legend Rip grew up in Miles City, Montana farming pigs.

On a fateful day in 1997 his father, who had been estranged from his wife and family, came to the farm to kill him, his brother and his mother.

Yellowstone Season 4 Ep 3 Reveals John Dutton In Desperate Need of Allies

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The Wheeler patriarch murdered Rip’s brother and rendered him unconscious and then Rip woke up to his father killing his ex-wife and proceeded to violently bash his father’s skull in with a frying pan.

The young Rip Wheeler was later discovered sleeping in a barn by the sheriff who suggested that Livestock Commissioner John Dutton look into it.

John Dutton decided to adopt the boy giving him a new lease on life and, from there, we see a budding relationship between young Rip Wheeler and the despondent daughter of John Dutton, Beth Dutton.

Fans immediately responded to the plight of Rip Wheeler and gushed over the way John Dutton took him in and turned him into a loyal and faithful right hand.

Rip is a huge help to the rancher, often doing the shady illegal things to protect his benefactor at all costs.
But who plays this gritty tough ranch hand?

Yellowstone – Who Plays Rip Wheeler?

As a child, Rip was portrayed by up-and-coming actor Kyle Red Silverstein, seen below. However, the primary actor portraying Rip Wheeler is Cole Hauser.

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Cole Hauser was born in San Bernadino, California in 1975, the son of Cass Warner, founder of the production company Warner Sisters and daughter to Harry Warner of the Warner Brothers empire, and actor/director Wings Hauser.

The actor made his film debut at 17 years of age in the 1992 movie School Ties, alongside several other up-and-coming stars, Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell and Ben Affleck.

Prior to Yellowstone, Hauser made an impact as Carter Verone in 2 fast 2 Furious but the actor has played roles in many hit movies over the years.

Hauser has played Billy McBride in Good Will Hunting, James “Red” Atkins in Tears of the Sun, Special Operations Senior Chief Fox in Jarhead 2: Field of Fire just to name a few.

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