Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
1883, creator Taylor Sheridan's prequel to Yellowstone, which follows the Dutton family as they journey west to make a new life in Montana, is far from a sanitized look at pioneer life. But amid storylines focused on death, disease, and the other hardships of life on the trail, one character offers a bit of positivity: Eric Nelsen's Ennis, a young cowboy beginning to fall in love with Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), the daughter of James Dutton (Tim McGraw).
"Ennis doesn't take things too seriously. He's a little goofy; he's extremely loyal. He's a through and through cowboy—but he's also sensitive, and we're starting to see that more and more with his relationship with Elsa," Nelsen says of the man he portrays. "He's been out on the land, staring at cows for so long, and so finally, a fun, pretty girl comes his way and I don't think he knows what to do with himself. He's completely smitten."
Ahead of tonight's episode, Nelsen opened his camera roll to T&C to share a behind-the-scenes look at 1883, and the moments that didn’t make it on screen.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
It was crucial that the actors playing the cowboys were comfortable on and around horses. I had experience, not as much as my character of course, but my dad was a horse trainer, most of his life. He trained thoroughbred polo horses, and my mom showed horses. So, I was familiar with the world and I was familiar with the animals.
But then we got to cowboy camp. I was pretty confident coming into it because I was like, "Oh, I know horses and I feel okay with this." And boy, I learned real quick, I had a long way to go still. The level at which these cowboys, who we were training with, who are some of the best in the entire world, it's just mind blowing. But needless to say, day in and day out, for three weeks, all day long, riding, roping, shooting. If anything, it got us out of our heads. We weren't worried about the riding, so we were able to really focus on the work and our characters and being in the moment.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
This photo was bring your child to work day. (It wasn't really, I just decided that day was going to be that.) My daughter Molly Morgan, and I had a blast that day. I think that might've been during cowboy camp, before we started filming, and it was really fun and just a day to get to relax, and play around with the horses. I got to show her around the ranch where we were filming. And of course, Isabel was there and we just had a really nice, fun time with my daughter.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
To see your name on a cast chair, on a show of this magnitude, is a pinch me moment—and then when you get to see it sitting next to some of your biggest icons and idols in music and television and movie history, it takes your breath away. At least it does for me. It was just a constant reminder of all the hard work I've been putting into this career and industry paying off in such a beautiful way. And so, I captured it, to remind myself that I did it. I'm sharing a stage with some of the people I've idolized my whole life and don't forget this feeling.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
I film pretty much every scene outside, on horseback because the Texas landscape is such a central character in our show. And oftentimes on set, I find myself just in awe of my surroundings. This picture is a perfect example of that because I'm sitting here on my horse, in Texas, surrounded by these Longhorns, and cattle, in the most beautiful setting. And then the sun is beaming down and it's got this nice flare to it. It felt like the world of the cowboys got all summed up in that one photo.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
Then, the next day I get to set and we get to work in a whole new, beautiful landscape and we're down by the river. It was just like day after day, the most beautiful scenery—and sometimes, I was lucky enough to have a phone nearby where I could capture it. Every day felt like I was living in a movie with how beautiful our surroundings were, and the livestock, and the animals, the nature. It all just came together. My pictures don't even do it justice.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
Sam [Elliot, who plays Shea Brennan on the series] is probably the most down to earth, giving man you'll ever meet. He's not one to hide out in his trailer. He loves to just be sitting out there with everybody. Even when he's done filming and his scenes are wrapped, he hangs out, supports all of us, watches the rest of the scenes for the day.
That picture was taken when we were filming down in the Fort Worth Stockyards. I think that was episode two. Fort Worth Stockyards is such a historic place. And for us having filmed there. It was just one of those moments. I was like, okay, "I need to get a picture with you, right here, so I remember this exact moment, because it's one I won't forget."
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
This was just your classic Texas sunset, a day after a long day of filming. It's funny because James and I, who plays Wade— oftentimes, we'd wrap a day and look at each other and say, "How could it get any better than this?" This particular day was just another beautiful Texas sunset. And we happened to have had a big scene right before that, where we were pushing cattle. And we're out there working through this really, really tall grass that your horses can't even see over it's so tall. So we're blazing our own trails through this really tall grass. Finding cattle, trying to herd them in and cutting them through this field. It was one of those days where you don't feel like an actor at all, because you're actually living as a cowboy.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
I was so nervous to even ask [Tom Hanks, who makes an appearance in the second episode of the show] for a photo because I'm such a mega fan. But, Tim McGraw and I, we've become close friends, and he's had my back throughout all this. So I went to Tim and I'm like, "Hey man, we're friends, you can tell me the truth. Is he approachable? I want to talk to him before filming starts. I'm just so excited." He goes, "Oh, he's the nicest guy ever, of course." I think Tim actually took that photo of us. It's one I'm going to treasure for a long time just because, as I said, I truly don't think I've seen a single movie of his I haven't loved, which is rare to say about actors. But I truly believe that's the case for Tom.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
This was taken the night we shot the scene in episode four, where she's singing to the cattle, and I ride up, and I'm completely in love. Jaw's on the floor, just trying to take in, not only her beauty, but the fact that she can sing as beautifully as she does. And between takes, Emerson Miller, who's our photographer on set, snapped the picture of us, on my phone. It was just so beautiful and the moon was right in between us. And that misty kind of darkness in the sky, it just really set the tone.
Go Behind the Scenes of 1883 with Eric Nelsen
The reaction to 1883 has been more than I ever could have expected, to be honest. We knew the show was going to be big because we were teed up for it because of Yellowstone, and Taylor Sheridan doesn't touch anything that isn't successful. So, we had an idea coming into it. But to see what it's done, as far as ratings and viewership, and the fan reactions that I hear, it's just been through the roof. I mean, truly. It's been such a wild ride—and I'm so, so grateful every second of it.
Eric Nelsen who plays Ennis on 1883 shares her favorite photos from the set.