Dutton Ranch Star Jai Courtney Knows Why Audiences Love Rob-Will Jackson

This post contains spoilers for "Dutton Ranch" Episode 7.

When "Dutton Ranch" debuted, it looked as though Cole Hauser's Rip Wheeler and Kelly Reilly's Beth Dutton were headed for a major clash with Jai Courtney's Rob-Will Jackson. The son of the 10 Petal Ranch matriarch Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening) was a chaotic force who began the season by murdering his own ranch's foreman before running afoul of Rip outside a gas station. Then, he disappeared — sent off to rehab by his own mother. When he returned in Episode 5, fans were sure glad to see him. But why would a murderous, drug-addicted thug appeal so much? Well, for Courtney, it's all about having fun with the part and making sure audiences "look forward to him being back on the screen."

In the 2010s, Courtney looked to be building towards Hollywood leading-man status. But the one-two punch of 2015's "Terminator Genisys" and 2016's "Suicide Squad" seemed to put a damper on his career (despite the latter's box office success). In reality the Australian actor continued to work solidly following that DC debacle, albeit in smaller-scale projects. In one of his best post-"Suicide Squad" roles he played a corrupt debt collector in comedy drama "Buffaloed" which earned him praise for portraying his character with what Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com called "gorgeous sinister sleaze."

He's now bringing that same energy to the role of Rob-Will, adding yet another highlight to a show that has managed to fix all the issues "Yellowstone" fans had with fellow spin-off "Marshals." Put simply, Rob-Will is a wild psychopath. But Courtney is having so much fun he makes what should be a repulsive character endlessly watchable. For the actor himself, that's the key to it all, and the reason why audiences can't get enough of his corrupt cowboy.

The best villains have something likable about them and "Dutton Ranch" fans seem to enjoy Rob-Will Jackson. A Reddit thread entitled "Rob Will is back!! Anyone else happy to see him?" is one example. It's not hard to see why the character might appeal. For one thing, he's so awful that most of us can't wait for Rip Wheeler to give him what he deserves. But there's also the fact that Jai Courtney seems to be having a grand old time. For the actor, this is a crucial aspect to any villain he plays.

In an interview with Men's Journal, Courtney was asked why audiences are thrilled to see his character despite his unscrupulous ways. "That's just the key to playing roles that serve to antagonize," he said. "You can be unlikable fundamentally, I think, as a character, but if you're not having fun when that character's on screen, it's easy for the audience to check out." The actor went on to say that he'd played similarly "morally ambiguous dudes" several times and taken multiple punches to the head from various heroes. "I don't have a rule book around it," he continued. "But I'll only play those parts if there's something that I can connect to and lets me have fun while I'm doing it."

Ultimately, Courtney thinks the audience response to Rob-WillI is proof he's doing things right. "If you're enjoying seeing him on screen, then I'm doing my job," he said. "I want people to have fun with a character like Rob-Will. You may be challenged by his morals, and maybe you're not ultimately rooting for him, but I sure as hell want you to look forward to him being back on the screen."

In 2022, Jai Courtney spoke to /Film about how he's more than happy to play villains. At the time, he was portraying tech billionaire Steve Horn in Amazon's offensively bad military thriller "The Terminal List," and as our own Jack Giroux noted, when Horn "lets out a smug smirk, it's obvious Courtney is indeed having a great time." As the actor put it, "I just try and have fun with it [...] I think for me, when things are reduced to sort of two dimensions and it all gets very predictably nasty or villainous or whatever, it's not as fun to jam with as an actor."

Courtney also said he tries to "never judge [the villains he plays] too harshly" and strives to "humanize" them. That's particularly interesting in light of "Dutton Ranch" Episode 7 which delivered the best and worst installment yet. The episode features flashbacks in which we learn how Rob-Will Jackson was conceived. As it turns out, he was the product of a sexual assault that left Beulah Jackson so hurt she decided to take revenge by shooting dead the man responsible. That might have led to resentment towards Rob-Will on Beulah's part which, when coupled with the fact his father was just as slimy as he is, might well have contributed to his descent into drugs and ultimately account for his destructive personality.

The question now is how long Rob-Will will hang around. After Episode 7, he's in charge of the 10 Petal Ranch, which means he's essentially the show's main antagonist. But it's surely only a matter of time before this larger than life villain gets his comeuppance. It will be interesting to see how the writers handle that given the character's incongruous likability.