FORT WORTH, Texas — Eric Nelsen is a busy guy.

The 33-year-old actor/producer was en route to a Utah airport after shooting night scenes for “The Chosen” Season 6, when he spoke to the Star-Telegram last month. He was gearing up for a flight to Oklahoma City to do press for his new Western, “Trail of Vengeance.”

“From beginning till end, you are on the edge of your seat,” Nelsen said about the film, now playing in select theaters and on video-on-demand. “Lot of shootouts.”

Nelsen, an Emmy and Tony award winner, has been in the business for about two decades, but found major acclaim for his role as Ennis in Taylor Sheridan’s “1883.”

The “Yellowstone” prequel series filmed scenes in Fort Worth, which was a plus for Nelsen, who moved to Cowtown with his family during the pandemic. In Fort Worth, Nelsen found a home and even started a Western clothing company aptly titled, Stockyard Supply Co.

For “Trail of Vengeance,” Nelsen spoke with the Star-Telegram about the Western film, how “1883” changed his life, his role on “The Chosen” and how he was almost in “Landman.”

[This interview has been edited for clarity and length.]

Q: Tell me about “Trail of Vengeance.” It looks like an action-packed revenge Western.

A: A hundred percent action-packed. Rumer Willis is the lead and she had a great quote: “It’s like a Western ‘Kill Bill.’” From beginning till end, you are on the edge of your seat. Lot of shootouts. I am, I guess, could be pigeonholed as the bad guy in the movie, or one of them, for sure. My character Frank [Cooper], you don’t like him, I’ll say that much. But from my opinion, Frank is really just trying to do what’s necessary in order to save himself.

What’s really unique to me, is it’s just a story I have never seen done in Westerns before. I’ve read a lot of scripts, especially since “1883,” in the Western genre and a lot of them feel very similar in a lot of ways. But this one is super fresh, because it’s actually about a top secret agency group [Pinkerton] that was appointed under Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War, that basically sent a group of spies from the North to infiltrate the South, to get in with the groups down there to basically gather intel and information that otherwise they’d have no idea about. And it ultimately helped them, in a lot of ways, win the war.

It’s really unique and it’s a real group of people. This was a real group of spies that pretended to be Southern and infiltrated the South and became friends and colleagues. Really the whole time, they were just trying to get as much information as they could.

That being said, my character knows that there’s only a couple of these, they call them “woods.” There’s only a couple of these woods left. It’s basically my mission to get rid of them, because they know too much, and ultimately could ruin my life forever. Jeff Fahey, his character, is kind of the head of this group trying to take these woods out and I’m kind of his head honcho henchman. We really see a story through the eyes of Rumer Willis’ character seeking revenge, because we come to try to get her husband, because he was a wood and ultimately had to be taken care of.

You don’t necessarily like me, but you do see that I have a moral compass. There’s a great scene in the beginning, where my character is in there to find the husband, who’s not there. My henchman is played by James Landry Hébert, who is a dear friend. We got to do “1883” together. His character is really nasty [laughs]. He’s got no moral compass whatsoever. You get a glimpse of my morality. I’m not just this evil guy, although it’s very easy to pigeonhole him as one.

Q: It looks like your character Frank has a pretty good scar on his face. Was that tricky to apply everyday?

A: It took some time. The head of our makeup department was absolutely phenomenal at her job. Sometimes we didn’t even have the time, so she would do it really quick. Probably a solid 30-45 minutes to get it right. But the hardest part, we were shooting this thing in the dead of summer in Arkansas, and those days are blistering. I mean, 100 degrees, we’re in all that period-correct military outfits and the whole thing. Pouring sweat from day to night. The hardest part was keeping that thing on there, because the sweat would pool up underneath it. We’d basically be seeing these, like sweat pustules forming. Getting it on there took some time, but keeping it on there was where the real time had to be.

Q: You mentioned how this script was different from other Western scripts you’ve read. In the wake of “1883,” were you getting more Western scripts and offers because of that show?

A: “1883” was my first Western ever. It’s hard to imagine that now, because I’ve been so ingrained in the genre and the culture. It’s embraced me and I’ve embraced it. Since “1883,” I feel like I’ve read more Westerns than I had my entire life. It opened up those doors, certainly, and it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been able to work with some of my other “1883” co-stars. Of course, James Landry and I have done a handful of movies together now. Martin Sensmeier and I got to do one as well. It’s been really exciting to see where I’m going to bump into my co-stars from the show in other Westerns, other movies in general. I’m just so happy that the country is a fan of the cowboy right now, because there’s so many great Westerns being made. As long as they’re calling me, I’m gonna be saying say yes if they’re good scripts. There’s nothing better than getting to ride your horse for weeks on end and getting to play cowboy a little bit. I feel like a little kid every day I come to work [laughs].

Q: It seems like “1883” changed your life. Do you see it as this major thing in your career?

A: Absolutely. It was the biggest turning point in my career, which has basically spanned 20 years. I started this when I was 13 years old in New York City. Finally got started on Broadway by the time I was 16, and really got into film and TV after that. There’s been a lot of turning points for me, but certainly, “1883” was the most monumental. It really changed the trajectory of my career. I’ve been fortunate enough to just get a bunch of offers come in after that. Just the exposure and the amount of eyes. .It’s definitely a moment I’m not taking for granted. I’m trying to ride this wave as long as I can. Certainly in this industry, big waves come and then waves disappear. Even though the show was a few years ago now, this wave is still riding hard. I’m forever grateful for that, of course, forever grateful to Taylor Sheridan for giving me the opportunity.

Q: If you’re looking to add more to your plate, “Landman” is filming Season 2 in Fort Worth at the moment. Have you talked to Taylor about that?

A: That’s a great question, man. I originally read to play Billy Bob’s son in “Landman.” Had a good run there and ultimately they went in a different direction with the character. I’m still actively pursuing a working relationship with Taylor and David Glasser. They’ve had me in on a couple of their other shows, but hasn’t really been the perfect fit yet for the role. I pray on it, I really hope so. He’s got so much happening, and so much of it right where I’m living in Texas. It would be a dream come true. Definitely in the cards, I hope, and just kind of figuring out what might be the right thing.

Q: Let’s talk about “The Chosen” for a minute. You’re joining the Season 6 cast as a Roman soldier. Were you a fan of the show before being cast and what can you say about your character?

A: I was a huge fan of the show coming into it. I believe this is the first show I have come in on that my entire family was a fan of as well, from my young cousins to my grandmother, who is in her 90s. That was pretty special for me, just given the joy it’s given my family for so many seasons now. My sister-in-law, Emily, who is one of my best friends, when she found out she jumped. We were on our way to go play tennis, actually, and I was like, “Yeah, I’m working on ‘The Chosen’.” She like almost stopped the car completely and grabbed my arm and said, “You’re kidding me, that’s the greatest show. I can’t believe it!” Just to know that my family’s is as excited about it as I am, means everything to me.

I actually reached out to [series creator] Dallas Jenkins, because I knew the show shot in Texas, and because I was just a fan. I wrote him basically a long email pitching myself and not expecting to hear even anything back, let alone for it to pan out. But he wrote back immediately, and said, “Hey, I’m huge fan of your work. My son can’t even believe you wrote to me, because he loves ‘1883’ so much. There’s no one blonde and blue-eyed on the show, because it takes place in the Middle East and it’s a very biblical series. There’s just not a lot of roles that you fit. But I will 100% keep you in mind, and hopefully this will work out one day.”

Well, fast forward, I think, two years. He followed through on his words, and emailed me. I actually read for the part, I sent him a tape and he emailed back and said it was a very powerful performance. Then I got the call that I was going to do it. I can’t say too much about the storyline, because we had to sign all these NDAs and stuff. But I do play a Roman soldier named Max and am appearing in a handful of episodes.

Q: Last thing for you: It was announced a few years ago that you were developing a biopic about actor and humorist Will Rogers. Do you have an update on that?

A: Unfortunately, we had a couple of hiccups in the development process. It is now being reopened, so we hope to have some development on that. But unfortunately, it’s been slower than anticipated, and due to the hiccups we had, it’s just kind of one of those things. I feel like it happens in Hollywood all the time, you get the wheels going and the trains moving, and then all of a sudden it takes one thing to kind of derail it. That is one of my desires in life, to see that thing through and I really hope it does. I know the support of Fort Worth has been behind us and looking forward to future developments on it, but as of right now, it’s kind of on a little pause.

———

“Trail of Vengeance” is now playing in select theaters and is available on VOD.

———

©2025 Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Visit at star-telegram.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.