Hauser's role of the bad boy on the ranch began when his character, Rip, was found by John Dutton (Kevin Costner) as a child. Rip had murdered his stepfather to protect his mother, who succumbed to the abuse by her husband. John raised Rip on the ranch, and he became Yellowstone's hit man by executing violence and murders when necessary.

The smash hit series follows a family of ranchers in Montana , headed by Kevin Costner's patriarch character John Dutton. Rip Wheeler is John's thug enforcer and a multiple murderer.