The 1883 co-star is up to no good in the new western on digital platforms and in limited theatrical release.
When we last saw James Landry Hébert riding alongside fellow actor and good buddy Eric Nelsen, they were amiable cowboys traveling with a wagon train led by Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw and LaMonica Garrett in 1883, producer Taylor Sheridan’s well-received prequel to Yellowstone.
But when you flash forward to Trail of Vengeance — the intense new western now available on digital platforms and in limited theatrical release — you’ll see he and Nelsen cast as black-hearted bad guys who don’t aim to please.
Specifically, they play Zeke (Hébert) and Frank (Nelsen), the murderous minions of Colonel Davis (Jeff Fahey), a politically ambitious former Confederate officer who sends the pair on a search-and-destroy mission to exterminate anyone who might link him to wartime atrocities.
There is some collateral damage along the way during their campaign of terror. (C&I reader favorite Graham Greene appears — fleetingly — as a general store owner who knows too much for his own good.) But Zeke and Frank mostly set their sights on intended targets, and at one point kill homesteader Caleb Atherton (Jeremy Sumpter) in front of his terrified wife, Katherine (Rumer Willis).
They spare Katherine only because she is “with child.” This turns out to be a big mistake, however, because the widow vows to track down Caleb’s killers with a little help from John Scobell (Gbenga Akinnagbe), a straight-shooting fellow who not only shared a bond of friendship with her late husband, but also served as the first pioneering black agent for the Pinkerton Agency.
As the plot progresses, the body count increases.
It was all in a day’s work for Hébert — pronounced (pronounced A-Bear) — who’s currently a co-star in Season 3 of the award-winning HBO series Euphoria. His impressive resume includes earlier credits like Axel in Stranger Things, Slim Miller in Westworld, and Clem in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
He’s also done his fair share of Wild Westing in the independently produced films Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher (starring fellow 1883 cast member Martin Sensmeier) and The Last Son (starring Sam Worthington, Thomas Jane, and rapper/actor Machine Gun Kelley). Coming soon: Cottonmouth, a western thriller inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo starring Martin Sensmeier, Esai Morales, Ron Perlman — and Hébert’s buddy, Eric Nelsen.
Hébert was born to a Cajun family in Lafayette, La., but orphaned at an early age — and eventually adopted by a Chitimacha family on a St. Mary Parish reservation, where he spent most of his childhood. After graduating from high school “on the rez,” he studied theater at Louisiana State University, spent years at various occupations ranging from horse wrangler to band manager, then settled in post-Katrina New Orleans just in time to take advantage of a filmmaking boom there.
One of his first professional showbiz gigs: Serving as Brad Pitt’s stand-in during filming of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). Eleven years later, he would get pummeled by Pitt during Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019) when, as the Manson Family member Clem, he made the grave mistake of slashing the tires of Pitt’s stunt man Cliff Booth.
A few days ago, Hébert visited the C&I Studio during a break in filming Euphoria. Here is a transcript of highlights from that conversation.
“How do you gear yourself up to play a black-hearted villain? On some level is it fun? Or do you find yourself having to reassure people on set: ‘Look, I’m really not this bad a guy’”?
I think it’s a little bit of both. You always have more fun playing the villain — and maybe end up overcompensating for it when you're off camera. I fancy myself the nicest bad guy you’ll ever meet. I think that sums it up.
“Yeah, but you wanted to kill a pregnant woman. That’s really beyond bad — going into evil territory, wouldn’t you say?”
You’re not kidding. I think fans of 1883 might be in for a shock when they see just how bad these guys are. But at the end of the day, you're just doing your job when you’re playing the villain. And honestly, it’s all under Jeff Fahey’s orders — so I blame him.
“Jeff Fahey seems to be in his lip-smacking villainy phase. Does he ever crack you up on set or during scenes?”
Oh man, he’s the best. I worked with him on Horizon, too — we were both baddies there, with me as one of his henchmen. And then of course with Eric Nelsen on 1883. It’s like we’re getting the band back together.
One of my favorite things about Jeff is he refers to scene work as “playing jazz.” We’d rehearse before the director came in, and it really felt like we were all just riffing — layering our performances like instruments in a band. Jeff would be like, “I'll be B, you be beep bop, and then we’ll bop bop bop to the end.” It was wild and fun. That spirit made the scenes flow in such a natural way.
“Now with you and Eric, this is what — the third or fourth western you've done together? I hear you’ve also got Cottonmouth coming up?”
Yeah, Cottonmouth is coming up after Trail of Vengeance. And we also did a horror western last year. So three westerns together, all thanks to Eric Nelsen throwing my name in the hat. I love that guy like a brother. We became so tight during 1883, and we’re just keeping it going — good guy, bad guy, whatever. If Eric’s in, I’m in. Same with Jeff Fahey.
“When you’re recognized — at the bank, grocery store, or just walking down the street — is it usually for 1883 or something else?”
Funny story: I’m shooting Euphoria Season 3 now, and I was chatting with a transportation guy who’s also a country musician. We were bonding over Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Turns out, he was at the Boots in the Park concert where Tim invited us on stage to sing “I Like It, I Love It.”
Anyway, as I was walking away, the guy hears my laugh and goes, “Wait, where do I know that from?” I go, “Maybe Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood?” And he’s like, “Yeah! You were the guy who told Brad Pitt, ‘Screw you!’”
Since I shaved the beard, people don’t always recognize me from 1883. Sometimes they confuse me with Eric, and I have to say, “No, I’m not Eric Nelsen—I’m the buddy.” If it’s not the face, it’s the laugh!
“Have you been waiting for another call from Taylor Sheridan?”
Oh, all day, every day. I’m always hoping, wishing, and praying that he calls. After we wrapped 1883, there were rumors of a Four Sixes spinoff. I don’t know if that’s happening, but for me, that would be a dream come true. We had the time of our lives shooting out there. That ranch holds a special place in my heart. Best cowboys in the world out there.
That said, I’ve been feeling fulfilled with stuff like Righteous Gemstones with Bradley Cooper and now Euphoria Season 3 — which I can’t say much about, but let’s just say... if I’m involved, it might be getting a little more western.
“Or country and western, or whatever.”
Maybe not western, but definitely redneck. [Laughs] I think I’ve made a career out of playing good ol’ boys and Southern characters. I love it. I look up to actors like Sam Elliott and Walton Goggins who’ve made a life in that space. Being a Cajun cowboy from South Louisiana, growing up on the reservation — it just feels right. Cowboys and Indians is my favorite magazine, so to be here talking with you is a dream come true.
“What do you see yourself doing five years from now?”
I’m just taking it day by day out here on the ranch. But in five years? I’d love to be on something like Four Sixes in a more leading capacity.
“Any interest in working behind the camera?”
Definitely. I think we’re all storytellers first. I’ve got a list of scripts I’m developing. I’d love to produce, connect the dots for people, help others get their stories told. I’ve started dipping my toe into directing through branded content — last year, I did a spot for Ranch Hand, the company that outfits the trucks on Taylor Sheridan’s shows.
We filmed it here at my ranch, using stunt guys doing scenes with trucks and horses. One of the horses was Moose, who was Rumer Willis’s horse in Trail of Vengeance. After the shoot, Rumer bought him — and now she boards him at my ranch. I see him every day. Don’t tell my other horses, but — he’s my favorite.
