You didn’t give yourself much time off in taking this PBR gig after finishing Yellowstone. Was this so important that you wanted to make it work?

Yeah (laughs). I was a little hesitant, but at the end of the day, I feel like it’s an important thing that needs to be seen. I’m a big fan of hopefully seeing the sport grow to a place where it’s true mainstream and on ESPN, and that these athletes are being treated with the respect that they deserve. They are high-end, top-of-their-game athletes. I want to help grow the brand. So I talked to my wife and she said, “You can go and do a couple weeks,” so I took [daughter Steely]. She’s in the commercial. You can watch and pick her out. I also snuck in Sean Gleason, he’s the Lieutenant Commander.

With this story you tell in the PBR ad, how much were you leaning into Rip? There are Rip vibes, but it feels like Cole speaking to the audience.

I can’t help the fact that I look like the character. I am the character (laughs). But I changed my jacket, my hair color and my hat. It’s not like I could put on shorts and flip flops, so it is what it is!

I can see how you leaned into appealing to women. Taylor Sheridan has leaned into the female audience, especially in more recent seasons of Yellowstone by spotlighting not only his starring women but more female characters in this world. That’s something we haven’t typically seen in Western projects. What inspired you here? 

I grew up with three sisters. So the white-collar side of the ad, I just thought, I’m going to make these girls strong and cool and smart. So, they are kind of badasses! They’re on a $15 million yacht and then they jump into a million dollar Dodge, a classic car. Then they show up [at PBR] and they’re in their own space in VIP. They are full of energy and life. The women we cast were perfect for it.

The ad debuted during the recent PBR finals. That’s a big audience, but you’re also on a show that has the biggest audience on TV. Does the fandom differ when people approach you?

Not much! It’s the same world. When I walk through the stadium versus the airport, it feels exactly the same (laughs). It’s amazing how much people have fallen in love with not only the show but the character, and the amount of love I’ve gotten over the last seven years is just mind-blowing. I got into acting to affect people. So the idea that I’ve done that in a big way and that I can see personally is always something that is going to make an artist like myself feel good.