Yellowstone's Cole Hauser Starred Opposite Vin Diesel In A Sci-Fi Horror Movie

One of the most annoying things in the life of a cinephile is when you see a familiar actor in a movie or TV show but can't place them. You're sure you've seen them before, but your memory lets you down. Well, depending on your age, you may have had that very feeling when watching Cole Hauser in Taylor Sheridan's macho cowboy melodrama, "Yellowstone." He played Rip Wheeler, a farmhand and fixer on the Dutton Ranch, for five seasons. But before he became one of the regulars in the Paramount+ hit, Hauser also appeared in dozens of movies (like "Good Will Hunting," "Olympus Has Fallen," and "A Good Day to Die Hard") and various TV series (he was a guest star on "ER" and a regular on "Rogue").

But perhaps his best role prior to "Yellowstone" was in David Twohy's cult classic 2000 sci-fi horror, "Pitch Black." Naturally, everybody remembers Vin Diesel as the breakout star of that feature (establishing a franchise led by enigmatic antihero Richard B. Riddick), but many forget that Hauser played the smart-aleck bounty hunter, William Johns, opposite him. Despite being a man of law, Johns was the true villain of the movie (besides the monsters), and Hauser portrayed him with a vicious and overly selfish pragmatism. Compared to his cruel and scheming nature, Diesel's calculating savage slowly turned into an empathetic human being we could sincerely root for.

Made on a relatively low budget of $23 million, "Pitch Black" combined its original story (written by David Twohy and brothers Jim and Ken Wheat) with a mesmerizing atmosphere and raw action to make up for some of its narrative shortcomings. Its plot follows the survivors of a spaceship crash, with the events taking place on an ominous and unknown planet. That planet is home to nocturnal creatures that seem to have killed the members of a research expedition who had been working on the planet's surface prior to the crash. After some of the crew are killed by the monsters, the remaining members of the team stick together in hope of surviving and escaping. However, a total eclipse descends on the survivors — providing a perfect opportunity for the predators to devour them before the sun returns.

"Pitch Black" wasn't an obvious box office hit, but it managed to garner $53 million worldwide over time, developing a cult following who fell in love with its enticing strangeness. Upon its release, critics mostly dismissed it (the flick currently stands at a 58% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) as another average B-horror that gave just enough room to Vin Diesel to make him a star. Yet over the years, "Pitch Black" found an ever-growing appreciation among its core fanbase, resulting in two sequels (2004's "The Chronicles of Riddick" and 2013's "Riddick") that reunited Twohy and Diesel to further explore the character. Despite being commercially successful, neither could match the first film's quality and appeal. But, apparently, that doesn't mean there's no room for more. As of now, another sequel of the antihero's journey (titled "Furya") is in the works.