'Yellowstone' Star Cole Hauser Opens Up About His Life's Mission—And It's Not Acting
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Calling all coffee lovers and Yellowstone fans! Last week, we flew down to Fort Worth, Texas, to celebrate Free Rein Coffee Company with Cole Hauser and his co-founders. While sipping on delectable American Dirt and conversing over mouth-watering short rib and brisket, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Cole himself to discuss not only his love of coffee but his career, his childhood, his love of service, and his hopes for the end of an era. Keep reading to get a first-hand look into Cole’s mind and be sure to watch our TikToks testing Cole on his cowboy lingo and coffee knowledge.
He Grew Up on a Ranch
We obviously all know and love Rip and the Dutton ranch, but did you know that Cole actually grew up on a ranch in Oregon and has a background in Montana? Because of these factors, Cole feels particularly grateful for his role as Rip Wheeler.
“My family is from Montana, so to be able to do both… you know, it’s always interesting if you look at your career, and especially as an actor, you usually have one or two kind of defining roles, you know, if you’re lucky, and this is one that I just I think was a match made in heaven—it’s the one I kind of dreamt up; Taylor [Sheridan] helped me do that.”
He’s Dedicated to Serving Those Who Serve
Cole doesn’t solely spend his time on film sets and with his coffee pals. He’s dedicated his life to serving those who serve. “It’s my life’s mission; I’ve been doing it for almost 28 years now,” he says. “I’ve been over to Afghanistan, I’ve spent time on bases all over the world, I’ve done military films, I’ve worked with technical advisors.”
As part of his work with Free Rein, he also makes a point to regularly drop off coffee and do meet-and-greets with police officers, military members, paramedics, and so on. But that’s not all. He and his team also donate $1 of every Free Rein item purchased online to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a charitable organization committed to supporting the children of fallen warriors, as well as all service members awarded the Medal of Honor.
“We can always do better—I’m trying to do better—but we gotta start somewhere,” Cole says, encouraging others to serve, as well.
He Likes His Coffee Black—Preferably in Red Eye Form
Cole says that he and his wife Cynthia enjoy a morning ritual of sipping on three to four cups of coffee to start the day. His go-to cup? Jet black.“That’s how I drink my coffee every day—I usually do a K-Cup of American Dirt and then I take the pour-over, which is like as strong as I can pour it, and put it in the coffee,” he reveals, noting that it’s basically a red eye. “It’s pretty much burnt seed. It’s kind of an acquired taste.”
Speaking of American Dirt, Cole says that his love of strong, black coffee inspired the flavor profile of the popular roast. “I wanted it as strong as it could be and the roasting facility in San Angelo, they tested to get it to where it is now and they kept sending me stuff and I was like burn it more, burn it more,” he shares. “They basically were like, ‘Cole, it’s on fire’ and I was like, ‘Okay, well that’s enough.’”
He’s Fully Focused on Bringing Yellowstone to a Close
As sad as we all are to see Yellowstone conclude, we’re equally as eager to know when the second half of season five will actually land on our screens. As it turns out, Cole is just as tuned in to hoping for a wrap.
“I’m so focused on finishing Yellowstone the way it needs to be finished right now—well, just the show itself," he reveals. "We’ll see where that leads, but I know that there’s some stuff on the horizon when it comes to Taylor’s ideas for Kelly Reilly and myself and some of the other cast. I’m excited to see where he goes creatively with that but right now it’s just, let’s finish strong; let’s do the best we can.”
When asked if we can actually expect the second installment of the fifth season this fall, Cole had one response: “God-willing—your lips to God's ears.”
He’s a Family Man
Cole makes viewers swoon over his performance as a dedicated husband in Yellowstone, and it’s a role he fills in real life, too. He’s been married to Cynthia since 2006 and has three kids with her—a daughter and two sons, one of which recently went off to college at Texas Christian University. “I miss him a lot, you know, his mom misses him a lot—coming and seeing him prior to sitting with everybody, you know, it’s a little sad leaving him but he’s having a great time as a young student, a young man; he’s got some great friends there, he’s part of a fraternity there—I couldn’t be happier for him but I do miss him,” Cole admits.
He Loves to Write
Cole is a dream on screen but he also loves to jot down his own dreams and ideas, as well as scripts—he’s always writing. “I wrote a movie about the Irish mob—you know, the 1970s, the rise and fall of the New York Irish Mob; I’ve done that, I did Chosin, which is about the Korean War and the Chosin Valley on the reservoir," he shares. "You know, I’m always doodling and writing. My mom was a writer, my grandfather was a writer—it’s just in our family.”
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