'Yellowstone' Star Cole Hauser, Then and Now

It's almost hard to remember that for decades, Cole Hauser has had a career in Hollywood that predates playing Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone. While Hauser has easily become synonymous with his onscreen persona as the gruff cowboy, many fans might not realize that Hauser is actually Hollywood royalty. His great-grandfather is Harry Warner...literally one of the founding partners of Warner Bros.

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Hauser grew up in Santa Barbara, California (not far from Los Angeles), and started pursuing an acting career as a teenager. With a father in the industry as well as both grandfathers, Hauser was a shoo-in. He's been regularly appearing in TV shows and films since he was 17 and is currently one of the most popular actors on television.

Here's a little trip down memory lane to see Cole Hauser in the years leading up to his current starring role on Yellowstone.

Read More: The 10 Best Cole Hauser Movies for 'Yellowstone' Fans Who Love Rip Wheeler

1992 - School Ties

1992 was a big year for Hauser. Not only was it his Hollywood debut, but he appeared in three different films that year. He's best remembered for playing Jack Connors in School Ties, the high school drama set at a prep school in the 50s. The film was memorable for not only kicking off Hauser's career but featuring many other faces who are now recognizable including Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell and Ben Affleck.

1993 - Dazed and Confused

If you're a Cole Hauser fan you definitely remember his appearance as Benny in the ultimate high school cult classic, Dazed and Confused. Hauser was in the film with former co-star Ben Affleck as senior football players hunting down the incoming freshmen as part of a hazing ritual. This is also the film where Hauser met longtime pal, Matthew McConaughey.

1997 - Good Will Hunting

A few years later, Hauser teamed up again with Affleck and their School Ties co-star Matt Damon in Affleck and Damon's Oscar-winning drama Good Will Hunting. He appeared as Will Hunting's townie friend, Billy, alongside Affleck's younger brother Casey.

2000 - Pitch Black

Hauser wasn't just a drama star, he could also do action! Pitch Black was the first in a series of Riddick films starring Vin Deisel. Hauser plays law enforcement officer William J. Johns who is escorting prisoner Riddick (Deisel) in his spaceship when they crash land on a dangerous planet.

2000- Tigerland premiere

The same year Pitch Black was released, Hauser appeared as Staff Sgt. Cota in Tigerland, a military thriller following a training camp for soldiers getting sent to serve in the Vietnam War. Just another of many reminders on this list that the actor naturally has red hair.

2003- Tears of the Sun premiere

The same year Hauser starred as the bad guy in 2 Fast 2 Furious, he attended the premiere of his Bruce Willis film, Tears of the Sun. Another military thriller, centered around a fictional U.S. Navy SEAL team rescue mission. You might recall Hauser played James 'Red' Atkins.

2004- Paparazzi

In this Mel Gibson-produced film, Hauser stars as Hollywood actor Bo Laramie, who, along with his family, almost gets killed in a car crash by a group of paparazzi chasing him for photos. He ends up on a mission for revenge and its fast-paced, high stakes and unexpected. The film definitely proved that Hauser could be a leading man.

2006- The Break-Up

But he can also make an impression in a small supporting role as is the case with Lupus Grobowski in The Break-Up. He was Vince Vaughn's brother in the hilarious rom-com which also starred Jennifer Aniston.

2007 - Ghosts of Girlfriends Past premiere

If you're confused, no, Hauser did not appear in this movie in 2007. He was in The Stone Angel and the FOX crime drama, K-Ville though. But this was a really sweet photo of the actor and his wife Cynthia Daniel at the premiere of his friend Matthew McConaughey's film.

2013- Olympus Has Fallen premiere

Following The Family That Preys, Like Dandelion Dust and Good Morning, Killer, Hauser showed up as Secret Service Agent Roma in Olympus Has Fallen, a political thriller about the president getting taken captive by North Korean terrorists.

2016 - Rogue

No, Yellowstone was not the first TV series Hauser had a starring role on. In addition to K-Ville, he appeared on Chase as well as the miniseries The Lizzie Borden Chronicles before playing Ethan Kelly on Rogue for three seasons. The series ended in 2017. It was perfect timing to move on to his next big project.

2018 to present - Yellowstone

2018 was the year Hauser starred opposite A Good Day to Die Hard co-star Bruce Willis in Acts of Violence. But, more importantly, it was also the year Taylor Sheridan cast him as Rip Wheeler in Yellowstone. He's been John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) go-to guy since day one and Hauser has made the character one of the most popular in the entire series. Yellowstone season five is coming soon and we can't wait to see what's in store for Rip and the rest of the cast.