The Columbian actor plays Joaquin Jackson on the Paramount+ series that follows Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler<\/a> after the events of \u201cYellowstone.\u201d Joaquin is the right-hand man to his surrogate mother Beulah Jackson, played by Annette Bening, who runs the 10-Petal Ranch.<\/p>\n After surviving a gunshot wound to the hand in last week\u2019s episode<\/a>, \u201cA Cowboy Saint,\u201d Joaquin\u2019s world is further flipped upside down in this week\u2019s episode, \u201cDen of Sin,\u201d out Friday, June 19.<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfac In case you missed it: <\/p>\n Ahead of the episode, Raba spoke to the Star-Telegram about his journey playing this character and what\u2019s next for Joaquin after the shocking reveal.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also some chatter about Raba\u2019s fondness for Central Market<\/a>, a place he and his family visited many a times while in Fort Worth making \u201cDutton Ranch.\u201d<\/p>\n This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Spoilers for \u201cDutton Ranch\u201d episodes 1-7 below.<\/p>\n Star-Telegram: Juan Pablo, I think Joaquin is a fascinating addition to this mix of characters. He has this deep love for Beulah and the 10-Petal Ranch, but he\u2019s always on the outside of things because he\u2019s not a blood relative to the Jackson\u2019s. What\u2019s it like playing a character like this that has something he can never quite grasp?<\/p>\n Juan Pablo Raba: That\u2019s a great question. Because in this historical moment, where ideas and feelings about immigration are so polarized, right? Having spent my life being an immigrant, practically, because I was born in Colombia [to an] Argentinian father, but lived in Spain, Venezuela, the US, Canada. I feel that Joaquin embodies what most immigrants feel. It\u2019s, \u201cI am here, I\u2019m doing everything the right way. I want to be a legal citizen of whatever it is. I want to pay my taxes, I want to do things right. I\u2019m going to go to college, I\u2019m going to get my degree, I\u2019m going to do everything right. I\u2019m not going to get into trouble. I don\u2019t do drugs, I don\u2019t do booze, I don\u2019t get in trouble with women. Like I do everything right. Why won\u2019t you accept me?\u201d<\/p>\n I just think that feeling can translate to millions of people around the world of, \u201cI want to be here, but I want to do you right. I want to belong. Why won\u2019t you love me? Why won\u2019t you accept me?\u201d That feeling of constantly being reminded that you\u2019re not a Jackson, you\u2019re not blood. This is why I\u2019m not going to give you the throne, although you deserve it, you\u2019re not going to get it. I just think it\u2019s very heartbreaking. That\u2019s how I feel. I feel Joaquin has given everything to that ranch. Joaquin has given everything to be loved by that woman, and he still doesn\u2019t get that. I just feel that he is feeling very lonely and very heartbroken.<\/p>\n S-T: There\u2019s a nice moment in episode 6, where Joaquin goes and buys a cowboy hat. You see him trying on the hat in the mirror, and he\u2019s visualizing himself as the head of the 10-Petal. I was wondering if you could talk about that scene, now knowing that Joaquin will not lead the ranch.<\/p>\n JPR: I love that you paid so much attention to that scene, because actually I also believe it to be a very important scene. It\u2019s not just a guy who goes and buys a hat, I think he\u2019s a prince buying a crown. You have that moment right where he\u2019s just trying on that crown, and he\u2019s saying, \u201cThis is my moment, I\u2019m going to be king.\u201d With the director, she did such a fantastic job, because she really understood how important that scene was. It was a big scene, and it took a long time to shoot it, actually, because we really wanted to get it right. Jessica Lowrey directed that, and we talked a lot about that. We just said this scene reads simple, but it\u2019s very complex, because it has a lot of subtext.<\/p>\n I love that we had the opportunity to do it, because that\u2019s exactly what it is. It\u2019s a prince shopping for his crown, and when he looks in that mirror, he\u2019s like, \u201cThis is the moment.\u201d It\u2019s very interesting, because as you can see in this universe, every man has a hat. He didn\u2019t have a hat till that moment. It\u2019s like, \u201cOkay, now I\u2019m ready. Here we go.\u201d<\/p>\n S-T: Of course he buys the hat for the big party in episode 7, where his brother Rob-Will (Jai Courtney) pressures Beulah into forking over the ranch to him and not Joaquin. What were your thoughts when you read that moment in the script?<\/p>\n JPR: I remember reading that Brayden and just crying out of heartbreak. He\u2019s not even angry at it anymore, he\u2019s just devastated because he has worked so hard towards that. He knows he deserves it, like why are they taking that away from him. Yet again not being accepted, and I just felt so heartbroken. I remember writing to the writer and telling him, like, \u201cMan, this was hard to read.\u201d Just thinking of how I was going to play, and how can I show the audience how broken this guy is right now by this. Hopefully I did it. But that was my whole idea, like this is one of his worst moments.<\/p>\n S-T: I think it especially hurts in this episode since we see the bond that young Beulah and Joaquin\u2019s father had back in the day. His father calls her \u201cB\u201d and later in the present Beulah tells Carter (Finn Little) to call her \u201cMama B,\u201d showing that she\u2019s kept that nickname. Just interesting storytelling to have those past and present moments together in the same episode where Joaquin gets the rug pulled out from under him.<\/p>\n JPR: Yeah, I think it was great, Brayden. Because actually that installed in my mind and in my soul so many questions, right? That I really hadn\u2019t kind of thought about it that much until I read that material, where I\u2019m like, \u201cOh my god, imagine being a little kid and suddenly all your world is turned upside down in just one day.\u201d Your dad tells you like, \u201cHey buddy, we\u2019re gonna go and you\u2019re gonna stay with this beautiful lady who promises to take good care of you.\u201d How does that feel growing up in a place that\u2019s not your own, in a family that\u2019s not your own, and really not being loved? Yes, cared about, tended to, but not really loved. Then it gives you a lot of questions, like who is Joaquin? Who is he really? At his core, when he\u2019s alone with his thoughts, what does that create in a human being?<\/p>\n S-T: Episode 7 ends with Joaquin driving off into the night. What can you tease about the last two episodes of the season?<\/p>\n JPR: I think it\u2019s brutal. I think that every character comes to a point where it\u2019s a decision that will create a point of no return. For Joaquin, it\u2019s a huge one, because once he makes that phone call, there\u2019s no turning back. He knows that because he\u2019s not dumb, he\u2019s smart. He has had the possibility of making that phone call for years, and he hadn\u2019t done it because he wanted to do things right. He knows that this is his last resource, but it\u2019s like pressing a nuke. A lot of people are going to be destroyed by that, and you\u2019re going to be destroyed, but they left you no other choice, or you didn\u2019t find any other choice. It\u2019s definitely going to change everybody\u2019s life, like one phone call is going to change everybody\u2019s life.<\/p>\n S-T: I\u2019ve got time for one more question. I wanted to follow up with you from our conversation at the \u201cDutton Ranch\u201d press day<\/a> last month, where you mentioned how much you loved visiting Central Market while in Fort Worth. I\u2019m curious about why that place was highlight for you.<\/p>\n JPR: My God, I miss it so much. That was like the first grocery store that I entered [in Texas], and it was like the best one I\u2019ve ever been to. Something about the Central Market that\u2019s just so fresh, and it\u2019s also so abundant, you know? When people talk about Texas, and how everything is bigger in Texas like, \u201cOh, and this is a grocery store in Texas, right?\u201d It was not only me, when my family visited me, Central Market became like their favorite place, because it\u2019s like a little Disneyland, right? It\u2019s like the possibilities. As I said, the freshness. You like mushrooms? We got 30 types of mushrooms. You like tomatoes? We got 40 types of tomatoes. You want apples, we got 50 types of apples. You\u2019re like, \u201cHow is this even possible?\u201d<\/p>\n But also, they got a little band, and they got a children\u2019s [area], it just feels like such an inclusive place. Like some, I\u2019m not going to name names, but some grocery stores, especially in some Californian cities, they feel so out of reach in so many ways. It\u2019s not only the price range, but it also feels like they\u2019re doing you a favor. The moment you enter Central Market, and like most places in Texas, you feel Southern hospitality. I\u2019m telling you, and I\u2019m telling everybody, Southern hospitality is a thing, and I am very grateful I got to experience it.<\/p>\n \u201cDutton Ranch\u201d airs Fridays on Paramount+ and the Paramount Network.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n![\"(L-R):](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/RP_102_LS_0909_0475_RT.jpg\" "\\"RP_102_LS_0909_0475_RT.jpg\\"")
(L-R): Juan Pablo Raba as Joaquin and Annette Bening as Beulah Jackson in \u201cDutton Ranch,\u201d episode 2, season 1, streaming on Paramount+, 2026. Lauren \u201cLo\u201d Smith Paramount+ <\/p>\n![\"L-R:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/RP_102_LS_0814_0492_RT.JPG\" "\\"RP_102_LS_0814_0492_RT.JPG\\"")
L-R: Juan Pablo Raba as Joaquin and Jai Courtney as Rob-Will Jackson in \u201cDutton Ranch,\u201d episode 2, season 1, streaming on Paramount+, 2026. Emerson Miller Paramount+ <\/p>\n![\"Juan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/RP_106_LS_1107_0237_RT.JPG\" "\\"RP_106_LS_1107_0237_RT.JPG\\"")
Juan Pablo Raba as Joaquin in season 1, episode 6, of \u201cDutton Ranch\u201d streaming on Paramount+, 2026. Emerson Miller Paramount+ <\/p>\n![\"Juan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/RP_108_LS_1210_0456_RT.jpg\" "\\"RP_108_LS_1210_0456_RT.jpg\\"")
Juan Pablo Raba as Joaquin in \u201cDutton Ranch,\u201d episode 8, season 1, streaming on Paramount+, 2026. Lauren Smith Lauren Smith\/Paramount+ <\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/STAFF_BRAYDEN_GARCIA.JPG\")