‘Yellowstone’: Kelly Reilly & Cole Hauser Say John Dutton Character ‘Very Present’ Still (Exclusive)

Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser are dishing on “Yellowstone” Season 5, Part 2, which wraps up the series after a nearly two-year hiatus.

“Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi sat down with Kelly and Cole, who insist Kevin Costner’s character John Dutton is still “very present” in the story.

The final episodes come after Costner’s shocking departure from the show.

Kelly said, “He is just the most present character in the show still. Everything revolves around the storyline of him, and now it’s about the characters around him and how they function in this new situation that they find themselves in.”

Cole chimed in, saying, “The maturing of the characters, you know. The growth of them and responsibility… there’s a tremendous amount of responsibility on the two of them and including the brothers as well.”

Kelly said it was “important” that they not let the fans down, despite Kevin’s exit. She emphasized, “It’s the same writer that’s writing all the words that you loved, so I’m hoping that it will be received in the way that we have endeavored to bring it to them.”

Reilly and Hauser also teased what’s in store for Beth and Rip without giving any spoilers!

Do they have a happy ending? Kelly answered, “All they know to do is fight, so what is happiness to them? Is it, you know, lying down in their meadow and relaxing and not having to fight anyone? I don’t know. There is the biggest fight on their hands right now, and it’s coming to a crescendo.”

Reilly also reflected on the experience they’ve had and wanting to go out on a high note.

She commented, “[It] has been such a life-changing, enriching experience for us all and to kind of get to it, can’t go on forever, you know, and you also want to leave it when it’s, like, at its best. And so there’s something really moving about us on our last week’s filming… It was a lot of love and a lot of, just, taking stock of what we’ve achieved. We really put a lot into it this last year, and just really wanted to make it as satisfying and as entertaining and as cathartic for the audience as we could make it.”