Taylor Sheridan on “Walker, Texas Ranger” (left) and Chuck Norris as Cordell Walker
Credit: Roku Channel; CBS via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
Taylor Sheridan’s first acting credit was in a 1995 episode of Walker, Texas Ranger
The series went on to inspire Sheridan’s 2016 Hell or High Water
The success of Chuck Norris and Walker, Texas Ranger paved the way for Sheridan’s current neo-Western hits, Yellowstone and Landman
Taylor Sheridan‘s early career work with Chuck Norris made Yellowstone possible.
Following the news of Norris’ death at age 86, the actor turned television hit-maker spoke about what the martial arts legend meant to him.
“I met Chuck on my first acting job. He remains one of the kindest and humblest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with,“ Sheridan tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement Friday, March 20.
The Western showrunner got his start in acting, with his first on-screen credit in Walker, Texas Ranger, which premiered in 1993. The neo-Western, which starred Norris as the title hero, featured Sheridan in a season 3 double-episode titled “War Zone.” Sheridan played a drag racer named Vernon, who ends up in a high-speed chase with Norris’ Cordell Walker. The budding actor would then go on to pursue the genre with a role in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman in 1997.
Sheridan’s time on the Walker set made an impact, inspiring his 2016 film, Hell or High Water, where two Texas Rangers chase after bank robbers. The neo-Western series’ success also made way for Sheridan’s fan-favorite series like Yellowstone and Landman.
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Taylor Sheridan in 2007
Credit: Charley Gallay/Getty
In 2019, Sheridan shared some memories from the set and recalled seeing Norris, who died at age 86 on Thursday, March 19, get into a fight with another actor on the set.
“Chuck Norris was the first celebrity I ever met, and he was such a gracious guy. But he got into a fight with another actor. Chuck’s itty-bitty, and this guy was huge,” Sheridan told The New York Times in 2019.
“You know all the Chuck Norris jokes? He actually does just beat up people with his fists.”
Chuck Norris as Cordell Walker
Credit: CBS Photo Archvie/Getty
Walker, Texas Ranger premiered on CBS in 1993 and ran for eight seasons depsite early trouble. Ten days before it was set to premiere, Cannon Television, the studio that produced it, shut down after filming three episodes. When those episodes found strong ratings, CBS stepped in to produce it. Though the show aired on Saturday nights, by 1996 it was a Top 10 show.
“There’s heart and it’s emotional and gripping,” saying that he thought it took a few years for people to stop thinking of him as just an action movie guy. The series ended in 2001, but he also reprised the role in the 2005 TV movie Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire.
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