After spending six years filming Yellowstone in Montana, Cole Hauser discovered that life in Texas came with a very different set of challenges while shooting the hit spinoff series Dutton Ranch.

In a recent interview, Hauser admitted that the extreme Texas weather became one of the toughest parts of portraying fan-favorite rancher Rip Wheeler. The actor revealed that the intense heat made it difficult to maintain the physical appearance he wanted for the role.

“I was trying to keep weight on,” Hauser explained while attending the show’s premiere in New York City.

The actor noted that he typically gains around 25 pounds to play Rip, but the Texas climate worked against him throughout production.

“I was sweating it out,” he said, describing the exhausting conditions on set.

 

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According to director Christina Alexandra Voros, the cast and crew were thrown into extreme weather almost immediately after filming began. During the first week of production, temperatures reportedly reached around 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius), creating difficult working conditions for everyone involved.

The challenges did not end there.

Voros explained that the production experienced nearly every type of weather imaginable during filming. While the crew battled scorching summer temperatures at the start of production, they later faced the opposite problem when an ice storm forced filming to shut down for four days near the end of the schedule.

“We had every weather emoji over the course of shooting this,” Voros joked.

Despite the obstacles, she praised both the cast and crew for pushing through the demanding conditions.

“Our crew is really intrepid. Our cast is really intrepid. We got through all of it, but it wasn’t easy.”\

The environmental challenges mirrored the story being told on screen.

In Dutton Ranch, Rip Wheeler and his wife Beth Dutton, played by Kelly Reilly, leave their familiar life in Montana and relocate to Rio Paloma, Texas. The move places the couple in unfamiliar territory where they must adapt to a completely different landscape, culture, and way of life.

Hauser previously described the experience as being almost alien for the characters.

“It’s like going to the moon for these characters,” he said, explaining that Rip and Beth suddenly find themselves in a place where they know neither the land nor the people.

Reilly echoed that sentiment, noting that the couple has gone from being dominant figures in Montana to outsiders trying to establish themselves in a new environment.

On Yellowstone, Beth and Rip were among the most powerful and respected people on the ranch. In Texas, however, they are simply newcomers.

“They went from being the top dogs to the strangers,” Reilly explained.

That shift has become one of the central themes of the series, with local residents in Rio Paloma having little idea who the newcomers are or what they are capable of.

Beyond acting, both Hauser and Reilly have also taken on larger creative roles behind the scenes. The pair now serve as executive producers on Dutton Ranch, giving them greater influence over the direction of the series than they had during their time on Yellowstone.

Hauser acknowledged that the additional responsibility brought new challenges but said it was an opportunity he and Reilly embraced.

“It was more responsibility,” he admitted, adding that both stars invested significant effort into continuing the story alongside Voros, showrunner Chad Feehan, and the rest of the creative team.

For fans watching Beth and Rip struggle to adapt to life in Texas, it turns out the actors themselves were facing their own battle against the Lone Star State. Between triple-digit temperatures, sudden ice storms, and the demands of producing the series, Dutton Ranch proved to be just as challenging behind the scenes as it is on screen.

New episodes of Dutton Ranch are released every Friday on Paramount+, where viewers can watch Beth and Rip continue their fight to build a new future far from the world they once ruled.