In addition to wanting to work with Yellowstone ’ s two creators , Taylor Sheridan and John Linson and being intrigued with Rip ’ s character , Hauser also saw the job as a way to connect with the rural life he experienced as a child , as well as a chance to explore his deep personal ties to Montana .
“ I grew up on a really nice ranch in Oregon for about four years ,” he told Bobbie Jean Sawyer of Wide Open Country . “ Those were my earliest memories of being a kid .”
Meanwhile , Hauser ’ s dad ’ s family hails from Helena , Montana . Recently , Hauser and his eldest son researched the family to learn his great-great grandfather , Samual T . Hauser , helped fund the Louis and Clark Expedition . “ There is a lake named after him and all kinds of stuff . We went on this little history tour . He was a really special guy , a pioneer in many ways . He has been there since 1870 . Think about that area in 1870 , there was nothing out there . He came through the Great Lakes and into Montana , that ’ s wild . Samual T . Hauser was the first governor of Montana . I have always had this love for the state but didn ’ t really know why . It makes so much sense now .
PHOTO BY PARAMOUNT NETWORK
I mean , my family has been there since the beginning of time ,” he told Courtney Rodgers of the Havoc Journal .
Although he spent time on a ranch growing up and performed some rodeo stunts for The High-Lo Country , a 1998 Western he starred in opposite Sam Elliott and Woody Harrelson , Hauser considered himself a novice horseman before Yellowstone .
“ Taylor Sheridan , Ross Coleman and all these cowboys put me through the works . They had me on horses every day , different horses , different saddles and after a lot of work , I can say now I am a ‘ rider ,’ but before I was not . I now know about my feet and ankles and what they should be doing versus yanking a horse around by his neck ,” said Hauser to Schoby .
While becoming a horseman worthy of Yellowstone took some doing , 46-year-old Hauser didn ’ t require much practice for the firearms part of being a cowboy . An avid hunter who advocates for gun ownership rights , his stance is an anomaly in Hollywood .
“ Listen , my right as an American is to own guns . Responsibility is a big deal to me . Have we as a community forgotten a little bit about
“ RIP WHEELER IS SOMEONE WHO IS NOT VERY MODERN , WHO IS MORE OLD SCHOOL IN HIS LOYALTIES AND IN THE WAY HE ACTS .”
HAUSER PLAYS ROUGH AND TOUGH COWBOY RIP WHEELER IN THE POPULAR TV SERIES YELLOWSTONE .
responsibility ? Possibly . But in my household , no ,” he told Guns & Ammo . “ All my children know how to shoot and handle firearms safely . They will always know how to shoot , and they will be able to protect themselves , in every way they can . But gun ownership really all boils down to personal responsibility .”
Hauser has hunted in Texas , Montana , and other places around the West and holds a deep respect for the age-old practice . He won ’ t shoot anything that he doesn ’ t intend on eating and shuns the use of riding around in a truck or employing anything other than old school methods .
“ When you hunt at the highest level , without bait , feeders , etcetera , and you finally get the one you are after , after walking miles , there is a certain amount of respect you have for that animal as well as respect for the process . I don ’ t think non-hunters really understand that . They may go to Whole Foods to buy meat , and they don ’ t really think about where it came from . When you walked for it and really hunted it and butchered it and stocked your freezer with it and now your kids are eating it , it is just a different feeling .”
It ’ s this ethos of a multifaceted , extremely interesting , deep-thinking , heartfelt , strong American man that Hauser embraces for this once-in-a-lifetime role , one which he suspected would resonate strongly with viewers .
“ It obviously wasn ’ t what it is now . But there were people throughout the country who were watching very closely right out of the gates ,” he told writer Joe Leydon for Cowboys and Indians . “ And then I think it ’ s bled into the younger crowd , which has been really cool to see over the last couple of years . There are
10 • JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022