‘Dutton Ranch’ Stars Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser on Creating Beth and Rip’s Steamy Chemistry: ‘We Take Care of Each Other’

One of TV’s most beloved couples is back.

Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser have reunited to play Beth and Rip once more on the “Yellowstone” spinoff “Dutton Ranch.” The first two episodes are now available to watch on Paramount+.

The series takes place six months after the couple’s modest Montana ranch burns down, and they head down south to Texas in order to have a fresh start as ranchers. The lovebirds, along with their adoptive son Carter (Finn Little), have to adjust to a place where they have no connections and can’t intimidate everyone around town. Of course, complications ensue, thanks to a stacked cast which includes Jai Courtney, Ed Harris and Annette Bening.

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Reilly and Hauser spoke with Variety about reviving their characters, keeping their onscreen flame alive and surviving the Texas heat.

How are you able to keep the on screen chemistry between Rip and Beth so electric?

Kelly Reilly: I don’t think chemistry is something you create: You either have or you don’t. When we were first cast in “Yellowstone,” Taylor Sheridan had seen something in us individually and together that he thought would work. But the relationship and the vibe they have together has been one of my most favorite things about playing Beth. I don’t know how we keep it going, but it’s just on screen. We’re great friends in real life, and we take care of each other.

Cole Hauser: We work really hard at supporting each other, too, and I think chemistry comes from being able to trust one another. Kelly and I, throughout the years, have found ways to not only take risks, but also really trust each other, too. This year, especially, we talked a lot between the two of us — in between takes, after takes, scenes that we were shooting the next day — about the evolution of our characters and how we can be better. When you trust a fellow actress and actor, and you’re in the war together to be great, it’s obviously we’re blessed to have each other in that way. So chemistry, I don’t know if that’s the right word, but it’s more of a trust and a support of each other.

Reilly: Cole and I are very comfortable with one another, and I’m able to bring Beth to him in a way. He’s sort of a mirror to me. I don’t know what that magic quality is.

Cole, what is your process for playing Rip, and how has it changed over the years?

Hauser: It happens when you get on the horse for the first time in cowboy camp. That’s the tip-off point when I can start to get back into his skin. Being on a horse and getting up early in the morning, and just being around the guys who have trained me for the last 10 years. They are unbelievable horsemen. I get with them, and the switch starts to get flipped on. So it’s really getting on a horse again, getting back into nature. It’s not so much putting my hat on and my jacket and my glasses as much as it is just back to being on a horse and getting into the vibe again.

Kelly, how would you describe Beth’s journey this season?

Reilly: When “Yellowstone” ended, after Beth’s father passed away and the ranch was handed back to the Native Americans, it was almost like a curse had been lifted. There was a freedom for her, for both of them, that they were suddenly not just servants of John Dutton, serving the dream and the promise that they put their whole soul and bodies on the line to defend. They would die to defend that. Now they were given this opportunity to find out who they are, what they want, and what makes them happy. There were always clues in the scripts about what that might be. It always was going to involve one another, and now Carter.

So we begin in a place again, and then something else takes everything away from them. So this is starting again, just literally, but there is a new beginning in her. I was guided internally on where she might be. I wondered about, without the fight, who she is now? What does that space get filled with? Is there an internal kind of thoughtfulness in her that’s suddenly arriving, growing? All of those moments after a huge life change, where you’re just trying to figure yourself out and create a new home and a new business. She’s literally starting again, without a fight for now.

What was the biggest difference between shooting in Montana for “Yellowstone” and Texas for “Dutton Ranch”?

Hauser: It wasn’t just the difference for the characters in the show, but also for me. We had been in Montana for 10 years. Coming down there, it was just a totally different world. The weather was different. We started in July and August, and that was painful. It was 118 degrees, and you’re in all black, sitting on a horse. The trailers aren’t 200 yards away — they’re miles away. So you’re out there in the elements. Getting into that and being able to survive the first couple of months was a feat in itself. And then, the new cast, new crew, new landscape, the new way of cowboying, it was all a learning experience. I took it head on, and we powered through it the first couple of months, and then started to find our feet and get into the groove. 

Reilly: We had to adapt to everything, but the characters do too, so we used that. 

Did you feel any responsibility to welcome the new cast to their first Taylor Sheridan series?

Reilly: The only thing that was consistent from “Yellowstone” was Cole, me and Finn. Obviously, there were some creatives on board behind the cameras that were stalwarts of the original, so it didn’t feel like they were coming into our show. It felt like we were starting this new story together with them. And also because of Beth and Rip, they’re fish out of water. This is their home, and we’re coming into their place, their town, their ranch. So no, I didn’t feel like I had to welcome them into something. I was just so grateful that they wanted to come play with us.

What was it like working with legends like Ed Harris and Annette Bening? 

Hauser: I’ve been watching Ed since I was a little kid. There were three VHS tapes in my house, and we had no real television, so it was “The Godfather,” “Giant” and “The Right Stuff.” “The Right Stuff” was one of those early films where I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, and Ed Harris was so amazing. I grew up looking at him as not only this astronaut, but as this phenomenal actor. When he walked on set the first day, we did a bar scene, and Beth actually introduces me to his character. I took a moment, probably a bit too much of a moment, and realized it was Ed Harris. I thought, “This is amazing.” Annette, I’ve been watching as well, and she and I had some wonderful scenes together where she kind of flirts with my character. She’s just so playful and just full of life, and every take is different. It was just an honor to work with them, and I can’t wait for the audience to see their characters.

This interview has been edited and condensed.