A forgotten revenge thriller from 2004 made Yellowstone’s Cole Hauser the lead over co-stars like Matthew McConaughey and Chris Rock. Cole Hauser’s movie CV is a long and storied one

, with the star having first made an impression in the likes of Dazed and Confused and Good Will Hunting. It was the shock success of 2000’s Pitch Black that was his real breakout,

alongside co-star Vin Diesel. Hauser has rarely stopped working since, but his most famous role is easilyYellowstone’s Rip Wheeler.

Rip is the eternally loyal right-hand man of John Dutton (Kevin Costner) in the modern Western saga and is willing to go to any lengths to protect his adopted family. With Costner’s highly publicized exit from the Taylor Sheridan series, it appears Hauser will become even more important to Yellowstone’s future moving forward too. Hauser still works on the occasional film project too, including 2022’s The Minute You Wake Up Dead alongside Morgan Freeman.

Cole Hauser’s Paparazzi Features A Host Of Major Cameos
This 2004 thriller was Cole Hauser’s shot at leading man status

Following the success of Pitch Black, studios saw movie star potential in Hauser. He was soon given major roles in blockbusters like war drama Tears of the Sun with Bruce Willis and played the lead villain Carter Verone in 2 Fast 2 Furious. The first true test of Hauser’s leading man potential was 2004’s Paparazzi, which – in a pleasingly meta twist – involves a popular young actor being courted for stardom, though he is also tormented by an amoral band of tabloid photographers.

… Chris Rock, Vince Vaughn, Matthew McConaughey and even producer Mel Gibson make surprise appearances in Paparazzi.

One fun element of Paparazzi is how many cameos it packs into a brief runtime, with Chris Rock, Vince Vaughn, Matthew McConaughey and even producer Mel Gibson making surprise appearances. This is often during scenes where Hauser’s Bo is appearing at glitzy premieres or working on his latest action epic, Adrenaline Force 2, an obvious parody of Gibson’s Lethal Weapon movies.

These cameos are a pleasant distraction from a narrative that often fails to engage. Whatever its faults, the film at least has a great supporting cast, from the ever-reliable Dennis Farina as the detective investigating Bo’s case to Tom Sizemore as the repellent main paparazzo, Rex Harper. It’s up to the cast to breathe life into thinly written parts, and while Hauser makes for a likable lead, Paparazzi fails to make Bo’s leap from soft-spoken actor to calculating vigilante feel even a little convincing.

Hauser’s Paparazzi Character Is The Total Opposite Of Yellowstone’s Rip
Yellowstone’s Rip wreaks bloody vengeance on a weekly basis

Gibson is said to have conceived of Paparazzi’s hook, suggesting a celebrity seeking revenge on sleazy tabloid journalists would make for a great revenge story. Paparazzi wants to be a cathartic tale of vengeance that comments on the state of the media but it is stranded within a bland PG-13 thriller framework. The film needed to be much darker and murkier because, despite acts like beating a man to death with a baseball bat (albeit, offscreen), Paparazzi always has to frame Bo as a nice guy pushed too far.

It’s kind of startling to compare Hauser’s Paparazzi character with Yellowstone’s Rip, especially as the latter fits him much better. Bo and Rip are both from Montona and are fiercely loyal to their families, but that’s about where the similarities end. Bo is bright-eyed and naive about his Hollywood journey, and it’s only when the paparazzi cause an accident that puts his son in a coma that he decides to seek revenge.

Rip, on the other hand, is world-weary and no-nonsense and is used to dealing with the Dutton clan’s messy affairs on a regular basis. Had Paparazzi’s titular villains come to the ranch, Bo likely would have been taking them to Yellowstone’s infamous “Train Station” by the end of the episode.

Why Paparazzi Was So Badly Received
Cole Hauser deserved a better leading vehicle

There is a version of Paparazzi that could have been a guilty pleasure, but the film’s execution is severely lacking. Despite selling itself as an action thriller, it’s light on either action or thrills, and its commentary is far too on the nose. The car accident that puts Bo’s young son in a coma intentionally invokes the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, but it has nothing insightful to say about topics like freedom of the press or the rights of celebrities to privacy.

Paparazzi had the potential to be far more controversial and provocative than it ended up being, but instead, it’s the worst thing it possibly could be: dull.

Instead, the movie is oddly pedestrian and lacking in style, wit or saying anything deeper than “the paparazzi suck and should be nicer to poor celebrities.” The film was also a weak showcase for Cole Hauser as a star, giving him a two-dimensional hero who doesn’t even get any cool action scenes to perform. Paparazzi was a critical and box office bomb; it sits at a measly 18% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed only $16 million on a reported production budget of $20 million (via The Numbers).

Of course, any movie about a rich and famous celebrity tracking down and killing members of the press wasn’t going to receive the warmest reviews either. Paparazzi had the potential to be far more controversial and provocative than it ended up being, but instead, it’s the worst thing it possibly could be: dull.

Cole Hauser Found His Perfect Role With Yellowstone
Paparazzi was a career blip for Cole Hauser that didn’t last long

Following Paparazzi’s failure, Hauser took on another lead with 2005 horror adventure The Cave. Again, this film wasted a promising idea, and it didn’t help that rival movie The Descent executed the same basic premise way better. Hauser worked constantly in the years that followed, appearing in everything from The Break-Up to Olympus Has Fallen, in addition to leading gritty cop drama Rogue. It wasn’t until he was cast as Rip in Yellowstone that Hauser found his perfect role, who has grown over multiple seasons from a supporting player to a lead character.

Hauser feels far more at home within the gritty confines of the Taylor Sheridan-created series than he did in Paparazzi…

Ironically, had he become a bonafide movie star, Hauser never would have been offered Rip in the first place. Hauser feels far more at home within the gritty confines of the Taylor Sheridan-created series than he did in Paparazzi, which is another reason why he popped out on the show. Again, with Costner’s exit, it seems Rip will be more important than ever to the franchise. Despite reports the upcoming second part of Yellowstone season 5 would be the end, negotiations are reportedly underway for a sixth series.

Hauser no doubt learned some lessons from Paparazzi that he took into his future roles, Yellowstone included. Speaking with Cowboys & Indians in 2021, Hauser reflected on the 2004 thriller and stated that while he never had a terrible experience with tabloid photographers, he did recall an incident shortly after the movie’s release. When out shopping he encountered a paparazzo taking pictures of him and his young son, but the photographer became scared and ran off after he says Hauser gave him “… the Bo Laramie look.”