‘1883’ star Tim McGraw’s castmate talks filming ‘Yellowstone’ prequel with country artist: ‘He’d throw me off’

Eric Nelsen had no idea what to expect when it came time to transform himself into a cowboy alongside a country music megastar.

The actor is starring in the “Yellowstone” prequel “1883,” which stars Tim McGraw and his real-life wife, fellow country crooner Faith Hill. The series tells the story of James and Margaret Dutton, played by the couple, as they travel through the Great Plains in hopes of seeking a better future in Montana, known as “America’s promised land.” The series, which originally became available for streaming on Paramount+, is now airing on Paramount Network.

The 31-year-old plays Ennis, a young cowboy enamored with James’ daughter Elsa Dutton [Isabel May].

“[Tim’s] got three daughters – three awesome daughters – who were always on set visiting and hanging out with us,” Nelsen told Fox News Digital.

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“But he didn’t have a son,” he shared. “And so, I felt at times he was kind of, not like I became a son to him, because as soon as I would feel comfortable, he’d kind of throw me off my access and still let me know that our characters have some friction on the show just to… toy with me.”

The Western series was created by Taylor Sheridan, who recruited McGraw, 56, to play the elder Dutton in a “Yellowstone” flashback scene during Season 4, People magazine reported. According to the outlet, Sheridan soon developed the stand-alone series, which premiered in December 2021.

While McGraw acted more like a big brother at times with Nelsen, even pulling the occasional prank, he also wasn’t afraid to stay in character as an intimidating patriarch – something that came easy to him.

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Eric Nelsen plays Ennis, who becomes smitten with Tim McGraw’s on-screen daughter. (Emerson Miller/Paramount+ © 2021 MTV Entertainment Studios)

“He became a great friend, and I really looked up to him,” said Nelsen. “But as the season goes on, and the viewers will see, our characters aren’t always on the best of terms, and he liked to throw that around on and off set.”

McGraw wasn’t the only dominating figure present.

“When you find out you’re about to work with someone like Sam Elliott, you’re like, ‘Oh wow, it’s real now,’” LaMonica Garrett told Fox News Digital. “[But] when you meet him and [you have] all the nerves and anxiety… about working with someone of his caliber, he makes all that fall to the ground.”

LaMonica Garrett, right, said Western veteran Sam Elliott welcomed him with open arms on set. (Emerson Miller/Paramount+ (C) 2021 MTV Entertainment Studios)

Garrett, 48, plays Thomas, a soldier who becomes the right-hand man to wagon master Shea [Elliott]. The baritone-voiced star, a veteran of TV and movie Westerns, quickly welcomed his castmate with open arms.

“[I was surprised at] how easy he was to work with and how warm he was,” Garrett explained… “We became brothers like immediately after meeting, and it just built on that. We didn’t have any chemistry reads or anything [before filming]. From the first time we were on camera together, Taylor’s like, ‘You guys got it. I’m not going to bother you guys.’ He went back behind the camera and me and Sam just did what we did.”

But bringing the show to life wasn’t exactly a smooth ride for Garrett or Nelsen. The cast was required to take on a strenuous, no-nonsense cowboy camp. Sheridan, a native Texan, is also a cattle ranch owner in his home state.

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Sam Elliott and Tim McGraw in a scene from “1883.” The cast was required to take on cowboy camp, learning how to ride and shoot like pros. (Emerson Miller/Paramount+ © 2022 MTV Entertainment Studios)

The “Yellowstone” cast has previously shared that they trained with actual cowboys to make their series appear as authentic as possible.

“We all got to do it together, which was an incredible experience,” Nelsen explained. “But it was a time for us to get comfortable on our horses, to learn how to cut cattle, how to rope, how to shoot guns – all the things we’re going to have to do on the show. So by the time the cameras were rolling, the last thing we were thinking about was how to control these animals. We could really be present with our scene partners and go into this thing feeling at least somewhat [like] the cowboys that we were portraying.”

“And it also happened to be the most fun time on set,” he added.

Faith Hill, Tim McGraw’s wife and fellow country crooner, also stars in the series. (Emerson Miller/Paramount+ © 2022 MTV Entertainment Studios)

“It was learning how to ride… and it was also a bonding experience for the cast to get together,” Garrett chimed in. “So we have a month before we start shooting… We’re all in our little bubble on Taylor’s ranch. We would have dinners together, we would wake up together. If someone’s going into town for food, I’d get a headcount like, ‘Hey Sam, you need anything? Tim? What do you guys need? Oh, I’m coming with you, wait for me.’ It was like herd mentality with us for a month. So once the cameras started rolling, we were so comfortable with each other already that it was a seamless transition.”

For Garrett, saddling up was no easy feat.

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LaMonica Garrett admitted it took a while for him to get comfortable on a horse. (Emerson Miller/Paramount+ © 2021 MTV Entertainment Studios)

“Learning to ride a horse is humbling,” he chuckled. “There [are] people that have been doing this since they were kids, and I’m a grown man. I jump on a horse… and I’m trying to figure it out. I’m not getting it, but day after day, you keep working at it, and you get better and better. For a good portion of the beginning, I had my stunt guy do a lot of the extreme stunt stuff on horses. [But] there was a time that came when I was like, ‘I got this,’ and I figured it out. That’s life. You’re not going to be great when you first get at something. The more and more you put work into it, [the more] you become good. And if you fall, you got to get back up.”

Tim McGraw was originally recruited by creator Taylor Sheridan to film a flashback scene for “Yellowstone.” (Emerson Miller/Paramount+ © 2021 MTV Entertainment Studios)

Sheridan’s frontier tales have become a phenomenon, helping to pave the way for a Western comeback. However, Garrett and Nelsen said the 53-year-old has no desire to create a glitzy, Hollywood version of the Wild West. The filmmaker grew up riding and roping in rural Texas, and assumed he would spend his life heading from ranch to ranch, The New York Times reported. According to the outlet, Sheridan’s gritty empire aims to expand his audience’s understanding of cowboys and the American West.

Faith Hill has a heartfelt moment with co-star Rita Wilson while on set. (Paramount+)

“He was born in this lifestyle,” Garrett explained. “This is his culture. He knows the Western story that he’s telling. And I think the people that tell these stories should be the people that are in it. You grew up [in] it, you know things that a writer might not know or study so much. But when you’re in it, you’re born into it, and you lived it, it’s a lot easier for you to tell that story. And authenticity and specificity are very important to him… It’s that real to him.”

Isabel May plays Elsa, Eric Nelsen’s on-screen love interest. (Emerson Miller/Paramount+ © 2021 MTV Entertainment Studios.)

“Taylor builds these tough people that have to survive this world, that have to stick through it,” Garrett continued. “Technology has made it easier for us. But a byproduct of that is a society that has gotten a little lazier. The stories that Taylor tells, there’s no laziness there. Everyone’s fighting. It’s survival. It’s man versus man, man versus nature and man versus himself. We could all see something in that. That’s why we gravitate toward those kinds of stories.”

TIM MCGRAW AND FAITH HILL WANTED ROLES IN ‘1883’ TO BE ‘REAL,’ ‘AUTHENTIC’

Tim McGraw as James, Sam Elliott as Shea and Billy Bob Thornton as Marshal Jim Courtright. (Emerson Miller/Paramount+ © 2021 MTV Entertainment Studios)

For Nelsen, revisiting the past has made him feel even more hopeful about his future.

“[‘1883’] has definitely taught me that nothing is impossible,” he reflected. “Just because you haven’t maybe experienced something doesn’t mean you’re not capable of achieving it. We all learned unique skills [on set] that we had never known before and can still apply that to ourselves today.”

The full season of “1883” airs Sundays on Paramount Network.