While waiting for the return of Yellowstone, you can watch these five Cole Hauser movies.
For those of you growing impatient to see Cole Hauser, aka Rip Wheeler, in new episodes of Yellowstone — and we know who you are, so don’t try to be coy about it — we have some unhappy news: You’ve got more than a month before the actor and the series return to Paramount Network.
But if that seems much too long to wait, consider: Here are five films starring Hauser that may keep you satisfied until November 10, when what may (or may not) be the final season of Taylor Sheridan’s phenomenally popular series kicks off.
1. 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
It may be hard to believe after decades of increasingly over-the-top sequels and spin-offs, but the Fast and Furious franchise began as something slightly more grounded in reality, an action-thriller about an L.A. cop (Paul Walker) who goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of street racers bent on hijacking truckloads of DVD players and TV/VCR combos. This first sequel, one of the last to acknowledge the restraints of gravity and other real-world limitations, has now ex-cop Brian O’Conner recruited by the FBI to help take down Carter Verone, a Florida-based drug lord played by — yes, you guessed it, Cole Hauser. Verone is pretty much your standard-issue crime boss, with a penchant for sadism and no impulse control whatsoever, but Hauser rises to the occasion with a fully committed performance that suggests even Rip Wheeler might be wary of this dude.
2. Paparazzi (2004)
Mel Gibson served as producer (and cameo bit player) for director Paul Abascal’s violent action-thriller. But Hauser is the star of the piece, effectively cast as Bo Laramie, an up-and-coming movie actor who plots revenge against the sleazy paparazzi who invade his privacy and endanger his family just as he’s making a major career breakthrough. At the time of the film’s original release, many pegged Paparazzi as a possible revenge fantasy for Gibson, who even then wasn’t shy about expressing his displeasure at being the subject of constant media scrutiny. But it’s easy to root for Hauser’s obsessed avenger, especially whenever he’s facing off against Rex Harper (Tom Sizemore in his ranting slimeball mode), the sleaziest of the celebrity photographers. When Rex promises to make life even more miserable for Bo — “I’m going to destroy your life and eat your soul!” — you are inclined to believe that, hey, this creep deserves anything that happens to him.
3. The Hit List (2011)
Echoes of Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train resound throughout director William Kaufman’s direct-to-DVD indie thriller, with Hauser well-cast as a businessman who’s understandably depressed after being passed over for a well-deserved promotion at work, and betrayed by his adulterous wife in their home with his best friend. While trying to drown his sorrows in a bar, Allan Campbell (Hauser) makes the big mistake of sharing his woes with a suspiciously attentive stranger, Jonas Arbor (Cuba Gooding Jr.), then compounds his error by dismissing an offer from his new “friend” to kill five people most responsible for Allan’s malaise. Trouble is, Jonas is a bad guy who’s as good as his word: He’s a contract killer who only rarely aims to please. After his boss turns up brutally murdered, Allan realizes his mistake — and tries to stop the slaughter before the other four folks on the Hit List are exterminated.
4. The Last Champion (2020)
And now for something completely different: Hauser tones down the badassery to give a credible and creditable performance in this family-friendly drama as John Wright, a former champion wrestler and Olympic contender who plummets into disgrace after he’s busted for steroid abuse while going for the gold. He gets a shot at redemption only after he returns to his hometown after 20 years of self-imposed exile, where just about everyone but his former high school coach thinks he’s a thoroughgoing louse. Unfortunately, the coach dies of a heart attack not long after Wright’s arrival. Fortunately, he’s offered the coach’s old job, and winds up pushing his student athletes — and himself — to defy the long odds and score some uncontested victories.
5. Panama (2022)
Hauser reunited with Mel Gibson for this diverting action-thriller set in and around 1989 Panama, using his macho charm, intimidating snarl, and effortlessly authoritative physicality to great effect while playing an ex-Marine who free-lances for the CIA. Although he’s still morning the death of his beloved wife, Becker (Hauser) reluctantly comes out of retirement — very reluctantly, as a matter of fact — to oversee the purchase a Soviet helicopter from drug dealers and corrupt Panamanian officials before the U.S. Military launches Operation Just Cause to topple the even more corrupt Nicaraguan dictator Manuel Noriega. Not surprisingly, nothing goes according to plan. Gibson provides frequent comic relief as Becker’s CIA boss, a loose cannon whose unbridled zealotry colors his behavior and spills into his narration: “There’s nothing more rock ‘n’ roll than taking out the bad guys for the Red, White and Blue.”
After you watch these Cole Hauser movies, read our November/December 2021 cover story.
