Rex Linn Chopping a Cucumber with His Bare Hands on the Happy’s Place Set Is So Chaotic

The star behind Emmett on NBC’s Happy’s Place has no need for a knife.

Rex Linn is a man of many talents. Beyond starring as Emmett on Happy’s Place and holding a state champion title in duck calling, the accomplished actor can also chop up a whole cucumber with just his bare hands. And Linn’s skills in the kitchen have certainly impressed Reba McEntire, his longtime girlfriend and sitcom costar who’s “upped her cooking game quite a bit” since they began dating.

In real life, Linn is a talented chef, who takes his duties as a chili cook-off judge pretty seriously. And on NBC’s Happy’s Place, Linn plays the tavern’s short-order cook, who’s a “man of few words,” as he told TODAY. “I think Emmett kind of navigates the ship from the kitchen,” Linn said of his bandana-clad role. And that character has a unique and impressive approach to chopping vegetables.

Rex Linn demonstrated how to make a cucumber salad with his bare hands on the Happy’s Place set

@rexlinn

Emmett’s keeping it cool as a cucumber at #HappysPlace

♬ In The Kitchen – Giulio Cercato

In summer 2024, whole cucumber salads had taken over TikTok after content creator Logan Moffit started sharing his recipes, effortlessly slicing up the whole thing with a mandolin. Linn was inspired to recreate the salad, exactly as his Happy’s Place character Emmett would.

“Sometimes you need to eat an entire cucumber. Let me show you the best way to do it,” Linn, rocking a bandana and apron, said in a TikTok video. “First, you’re gonna want to slice up your cucumber, probably with a mandolin. That ain’t happening today.”

Linn then tore up the whole cucumber into several pieces with only his hands. “You just gotta really get into it,” he said while breaking up the veggie.

“Now it’s time to make it exciting,” Linn told his viewers after placing his aggressively sliced-up cucumber in a bowl. He then added a bit of soy sauce, a little chili oil, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds. And, of course, a secret, flavorful ingredient. “A lot people call it MSG but this is MSNBC right here,” Linn quipped.

Once all his ingredients were in the bowl, Linn said that it was “time to shake it up, baby!” and then sang a little ditty as he mixed everything together.

To show off his final product, Linn stabbed a dressed cucumber chunk with a meat thermometer. “Boy, doesn’t that look good,” he gushed. “That’s how we do it at Happy’s Place. More specifically, that’s how Emmett does it at Happy’s Place.”

Reba McEntire says Rex Linn is a “better cook” than her IRL

Rex Linn and Reba McEntire attend a reception for NBCUniversal’s Summer Press Tour for “Happy’s Place” in Pasadena, Calif. on July 14, 2024.

Photo: Todd Williamson/NBCUniversal

While McEntire has tons of famous recipes — from a decadent pineapple upside-down cake to savory beer cheese — the country legend has admitted that Linn is “better” in the kitchen. “Rex and I get along in every aspect,” McEntire told Fox News Digital. “He’s a better cook than I am, so I like that, for sure.”

McEntire also shared in an interview with TV Insider that they enjoy creating meals together, but they do have much different cooking styles. “We cook together, but he’s the type that will find a recipe and cook for three days. I’m like, ‘What’s in the refrigerator?’ I just pile it all together,” McEntire said.

But those opposite approaches work “great” for Linn and McEntire’s relationship. “It’s great that we’re different like that,” the “Fancy” singer told Audible. “If I’m hungry really quick and he is too, I fix. And if we’ve got a little time, he cooks. So, it works out great.”

Linn and McEntire even showed off their culinary dynamic during a 2023 TODAY appearance when they whipped up some pecan-smoked beer can chicken tacos. After introducing The Voice Season 28 Coach as his “up-and-coming sous chef, Tater Tot McEntire,” Linn got his hands dirty as he seasoned and chopped up a chicken and then built some delicious tacos for the TODAY team.

“Reba, that Rex is a keeper,” Craig Melvin told the country icon. “He’s a keeper.”