'Yellowstone' Star Cole Hauser Came to Blows With Show Creator Taylor Sheridan in One of Their First Meetings
Dec. 7 2023, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
Yellowstone fan favorite Cole Hauser revealed he got into a fight with the show's creator, Taylor Sheridan, years ago when they first met, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Amid a lawsuit filed by Sheridan, 53, against Hauser, 48, over his coffee brand, a 2022 interview has resurfaced in which the actor known for playing gruff cowboy Rip Wheeler described his first encounter with the showrunner.
Hauser's 2022 interview with Men's Journal is being in a new light amid his legal battle over his coffee brand, Free Rein Coffee Company.
While discussing the intense two-month "cowboy bootcamp" Hauser went through before filming Yellowstone's first season — and the overlap of Hauser's real life and his character — the actor was asked if he had ever been in a bar fight.
Without giving any details, Hauser joked, "Does a bear s--- in the woods?"
During their second time meeting, Hauser said he came to blows with Sheridan — but he didn't give specific details.
"I’ve probably been in one on every continent," Hauser said. "I don’t think there’s anything wrong with fighting. Sometimes I’m just tired of words, so let’s beat the s--- out of each other."
"Maybe at the end of it you’ll buy me a Guinness and I’ll buy you a Bushmills, and we’ll be done. It’s kind of what guys do," the actor added.
Interestingly, Sheridan backed up Hauser's remarks and noted that because he's known the 48-year-old for so long, he "uses aspects of Hauser’s early life to elicit emotional responses from him on camera."
Now, Sheridan is riling up emotions in court — and contributing to ongoing drama on-set.
Sheridan, who owns Bosque Ranch, where Yellowstone and the spin-off prequel 1883 are filmed, filed a lawsuit against Hauser's coffee brand in late November for trademark infringement.
The 53-year-old filed the lawsuit on November 21 in the Northern District of Texas federal court in San Angelo.
Sheridan claimed the actor's brand, which he co-founded with friends Karl Pfluger, Aron Marquez, and Paul Anderson, uses "a brand mark strikingly similar to Bosque Ranch’s registered trademark, potentially misleading consumers," according to San Angelo Live.
The showrunner cited unfair competition and false advertising in the filing.
Sheridan's Bosque Ranch and Hauser's Free Rein Coffee Company both use a similar Western-style design for their logos — and earlier this year, the ranch also launched their coffee line with Community Coffee.
While the legal matter is ongoing, the show is set to begin filming for its final season, due out in November 2024, this upcoming spring.
It's still unclear whether or not the show's patriarch, Kevin Coster, will return to finish his role as John Dutton.