Season 5 of 'Yellowstone' premieres Nov. 13 on Paramount Network.
Yellowstone star Cole Hauser was in utter shock after seeing how much Carter, portrayed by Finn Little, grew up between seasons 4 and 5, prompting Hauser to wonder what the 16-year-old actor ate in Australia during the show's hiatus!
The 47-year-old actor spoke with ET's Rachel Smith at the season 5 premiere of Yellowstone in New York City, where Hauser revealed Little is not so little anymore, because "that boy's looking me in the eye!" As fans know, Little's character was introduced in season 4 when the troubled teen, Carter, became an orphan before he was taken in by Hauser's no-nonsense character, Rip Wheeler, and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly).
With season 5 just around the corner, fans have already gotten a glimpse of Little's sudden growth spurt thanks to his social media posts, where he's proud about evolving from young boy to young fan.
In a May 28 post earlier this year, Little took to Instagram and posted an updated headshot, with the caption reading, "...when you say, 'hi, nice to see you!' to the film crew and they don't know who you are!'" In a separate post, Little poses next to someone on the film crew and he captioned it, "... taller than Tim!"
Fans have quickly taken notice, with one commenting, "OMG your growing up to be a handsome young man ❤️." Another fan wrote, "My, how you have grown in just one year. 😍."
Hauser's reaction is no exception.
"Yeah, he went from, like, a little pudgy kid to all of the sudden lean and tall, and I think he's 6-foot-1," Hauser says. "He came in this year and he looked at me and he's like, 'You ain't gonna f**k with me this year, Cole.'"
Hauser says he couldn't help but laugh and go full-Rip on Carter.
"And I said, 'Let me tell you something, I'll punch you in your throat and I don't give a s**t,'" said Hauser with a laugh.
All kidding aside, Hauser says having a growing teen in the house adds layers to each of their characters.
"It's interesting the way that Taylor wrote it," Hauser says. "It's been kind of a slow crawl and he certainly hasn't given Carter any breaks. In [season] four it was tough love. This year, there's a little bit more of like me kind of opening up. But he's also doing great things, you know what I mean? He's learning and he's failing while he learns, but at least he's trying. So, I think Taylor wrote it really well where Finn and I, the actor, can kind of slowly walk the dog this year."
Hauser also offered a glimpse at what married life is like for Rip and Beth. Fans will remember they tied the knot on the ranch in the season 4 finale, and they pulled it off only after kidnapping a priest to do the honors. Hauser tells ET that marriage for the lifelong on-again, off-again lovers is not always so euphoric.
"It's never really bliss, you know?" said Hauser, who will appear in Sheridan's 1883: The Bass Reeves Story. "But it's an interesting season in the sense of [Yellowstone creator] Taylor [Sheridan] wrote some really wonderful stuff; some really heartfelt stuff. A little bit of the past. You just get to see more into their past as young adults and teenagers. They did a great job, the actors and actresses they were phenomenal."
Part of the challenge, Hauser says, is that Rip's not quite used to being part of the Dutton family, never mind his lifelong connection to John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and the expansive Montana ranch he's learned to care for like his own.
"It's an odd thing to be in the Dutton house," Hauser admits. "It's like letting the dog into the house for the first time. This year's a little uncomfortable, I think, for Rip at first. But John obviously gives him some time [and] along the way [Rip] got a little more responsibility as far as the ranch is concerned and being the foreman. I had some wonderful scenes with Kevin. It was really fun this year."
Season 5 of Yellowstone premieres Nov. 13 on Paramount Network.
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