Overseeing the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is no small feat, but Rip Wheeler (played by Cole Hauser) does it well, and with style. In Taylor Sheridan’s hit series “Yellowstone,” Rip’s responsibilities as a foreman are just one aspect of his personality, as his complex motivations and no-nonsense outlook have helped evolve the character into a fan favorite. Rip’s relationship with Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) has also come a long way, with the two overcoming the obstacles surrounding a traditional star-crossed lovers scenario and becoming an unstoppable duo, here to stay despite the constant attacks on the Duttons throughout the series.
Hauser plays Rip with equal parts restrained ruthlessness and vulnerability, creating a balanced outlook that is intensely flawed but still easy to root for. Part of Rip’s moral dilemma stems from his difficult past, which he constantly ran away from to avoid the trauma associated with his family before the Duttons took him in as one of their own. However, being committed to the Dutton lifestyle is not a joke, and this prompted Rip to make some tough decisions about the kind of man he would become and the values he would devote himself to.
Hauser’s effortless appeal as Rip is an obvious testament to his craft, and the actor has a stacked filmography to speak for itself, which can be traced as far back as 1992. Although most of these roles are of a smaller or limited capacity, Hauser played the central villain in a mega-popular, still-ongoing franchise that is also, surprisingly, all about family. I am talking about John Singleton’s “2 Fast 2 Furious,” where Hauser played drug lord Carter Verone. He’s a man who’s almost cartoonishly evil, but without any meaningful layers to make him interesting.
Cole Hauser’s 2 Fast 2 Furious villain is a typical bad guy
Spoilers for “2 Fast 2 Furious” to follow.
After witnessing the outlandish antics of one Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa) in “Fast X,” it’s tough to hold the other “Fast & Furious” antagonists to the same standard, as they simply do not measure up. Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw comes close, as he emanated a distinct brand of ruthlessness in “Furious 7,” but even this incredibly cold character has undergone a change of heart since then, having acted as Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) ally many times. In comparison, Carter Verone exudes — as the kids say — negative aura, and this has everything to do with how he is written and nothing to do with how Hauser played him. The narrative structure of “2 Fast 2 Furious” focuses solely on Brian (Paul Walker) flexing his skills as an undercover operative, and Carter’s villainy is just an obstacle that he and his friend Roman (Tyrese Gibson) need to overcome to complete the mission.
For starters, Carter’s presence is too discontinuous for us to truly have an understanding of his rather shallow motives. All we know about him is that he loves brandishing his cruelty whenever someone challenges him and spends most of the film terrorizing Eva Mendez’s Monica, whom he is irrationally possessive over. Having said that, Hauser still manages to make the most of the role, proving that he can ham it up when the script provides him with the opportunity. A case in point is the memorable rat in a bucket torture scene, where Carter traps a poor rat inside a bucket on an uncooperating detective’s stomach and blowtorches it until it tries to burrow its way into the guy’s skin. Thankfully, Carter stops once the detective begs for his life and agrees to his demands, but this makes for a very messed up scene in a film about super fast cars.
Carter’s arc might have been forgettable when compared to other villains in the franchise, but the few moments where he graces the screen are rather fun, even though he is a cookie-cutter bad guy who mostly employs his henchmen to do all the dirty work. Cole Hauser innocent.
