Taylor Sheridan is ruling the television landscape in the 2020s. From Yellowstone to Landman, he has no shortage of hit shows. However, the road to becoming a titan was never smooth. Before he became a star producer and writer, he was primarily an actor, restricted to supporting roles. For most viewers, the memory rewinds to Sons of Anarchy, where he played the Deputy Chief of the Charming Police Department, David Hale. After his character was subjected to one of the cruelest deaths on television, he must have figured that it was time to be his own boss.
Hale was such a good character that fans often forget everything else he did before starring in the crime drama. Well, his acting resume stretches as far back as the mid-1990s when he starred alongside Chuck Norris in an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. Sheridan appeared in the Season 3 episode, “War Zone.” This was his first ever role, and even though his responsibilities in the episode were minimal, he was excellent in it.
Clowns Are Laughing Their Way Out of Banks in “War Zone”
Bleak and brutal, “War Zone” takes caper madness up a notch with a crime story set in the rough-and-tumble alleys of Texas, as well as a few institutional halls. Bank robbers are on the loose, and they’re disguising themselves as clowns, looking like they are paying over-enthusiastic homage to their counterparts in the movies Point Break and Quick Change. During one of the robberies, a ranger gets killed, prompting the mandatory “They’re gonna pay!” line from Walker. To restore the department’s reputation, the protagonist thus goes on to hunt the perpetrators who seem rather casual in their planning, hence ripe for plucking. And as the caring lawman that he is, he also helps the deceased ranger’s children cope with their loss.
Sheridan plays a local named Vernon. To lighten the mood amidst all this mindless violence and crime, the cops and robbers in the episode are never short of a quip or two, and Sheridan’s character gets a few great lines of his own. He exits quickly, but in the few minutes while he is on the screen, he reminds you of all the shady movie and television miscreants that never posed much of a threat to the hero but went out with a bang. The character radiates a variety of visceral moods and Sheridan conveys them all perfectly.
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Today, “War Zone” remains one of the show’s best episodes, borrowing Hitchcok’s nail-biting suspense and the directorial panache of Michael Mann. How does it end? Let’s just say the denouement has a startling inevitability surrounding it, but it still packs the punch, and the powerful coda that follows will definitely leave a saccharine after-taste.
Those familiar with Sheridan’s later work might lament the lack of his unique imprint on the episode. His brief and impactful role is so different from what we are used to, but it reflects his hunger and initial struggles in Hollywood. Though he shines in the episode, it would take him more than a decade to land a decent job. In the late ‘90s, he settled for more supporting roles in shows like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and Party of Five before moving up the ladder via police procedurals like NYPD Blue and CSI: NY in the early 2000s. He then got a five-episode contract on Veronica Mars before joining Sons of Anarchy.
Having been raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Sheridan must have felt a connection to Walker, Texas Ranger, which was set and filmed in the state. He has always been fascinated with stories with a neo-Western touch, too, hence the reason he has made movies and TV shows in that mould.
Sheridan Confirmed That Chuck Norris Is a Tough Guy in Real Life
Over 200 episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger were made, enough to satisfy Chuck Norris fans and action lovers in general. Interestingly, the chaos stretched beyond what we saw on screen. According to Taylor Sheridan, he saw Norris beat up another actor on set for a misdemeanor. Yea! Norris wasn’t the kind of person to yell at you. He simply delivered a punch or a roundhorse kick, leaving you writhing in pain on the floor like a villain.
The Yellowstone creator disclosed the information during an interview with The New York Times, stating that Norris was “such a gracious guy” but he couldn’t be messed with. Sheridan remarked, “You know all the Chuck Norris jokes? He actually does just beat up people with his fists,” he added. He didn’t go into detail regarding the who and the why, but there is no reason to doubt him. After all, Chuck would have already debunked the report if it wasn’t true.
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Lawyers might curse the man who was punched for not suing The Great Chuck for assault and getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation, but fans will love this little bit of information. So, Mr. Norris is really as tough as they say. Over the past several years, the internet has been overflowing with memes about the actor’s baddassery. “When Chuck Norris left home for college, he told his father, ‘You are now the man of the house,’ one joke says. “The Great Wall of China was created to keep Chuck Norris out,” another joke claims.
As we wonder who would win between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, for example, it’s safe to conclude that Chuck could beat everyone. The Missing in Action star is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and judo. He also served in the United States Air Force, where he won several martial arts championships before founding his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Norris then trained numerous celebrities in martial arts, before caching the eye of Bruce Lee who invited him to play one of the main villains in The Way of the Dragon. Be careful around Chuck
Sheridan Remains Fascinated with Hollywood Stars
Chuck Norris was the first movie icon Taylor Sheridan ever met, and the Landman creator must have been impressed so much that he has remained fascinated with Hollywood stars ever since. Many of the writer/producer’s popular and slickest gems owe their enduring popularity to the fact that they use several giants of American cinema.
For Yellowstone, Kevin Costner is ensconced in his habitual patriarchal make-all-key-decisions role. The legendary actor is obsessed with westerns, so this was a match made in heaven, until it wasn’t. Then came Jeremy Renner in Mayor of Kingstown. The actor was dominating the world of Marvel via his role as Hawkeye when Sheridan signed him up. After that, he approached Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren for parts in 1923.
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In Tulsa King, Sylvester Stallone is once again the cold-blooded, fashion-savvy hoodlum, a virtual reprise of his portrayal in Capone (1975). Then there is David Oyelewo in Lawman: Bass Reeves, Zoe Saldaña and Morgan Freeman in Lioness, and Demi Moore in Landman. And he isn’t done. His upcoming series, The Madison, is set to have Michelle Pfeiffer in the lead role.
It would have been amazing for the Yellowstone creator to get Chuck Norris for one of his small-screen productions. After all, the action star loves cowboy stuff. He’d also fit into Lioness quite easily, given his experience with military-themed movies. Previously, such a dream felt impossible because Chuck had chosen to stay away from Hollywood over the past few years. However, he came back in 2024, via the B-movie, Agent Recon, and is also set to star in the upcoming Australian action comedy, Zombie Plane. Talk to the guy, Taylor, he just might be interested.
It’s worth noting that even though Sheridan might be obsessed with the big boys and girls, he has never allowed them to take all the space. His shows have no obvious juggling challenges. They comprise numerous lesser-known actors, most of whom get ample screen-time. No one’s complaining about what Mr. Sheridan does, though. He has the Midas Touch, and if he chooses to give us an Expendables type of show, we’ll gladly consume it.
