Larry Wells’ rather unconventional journey to acting began with horse feed and welding supplies. “I was a regular shopper at Tractor Supply,” said Wells. “And Tractor Supply wants real customers in their commercials and advertising. I got suggested, so they reached out, and that opened Pandora’s box. I did the first one, Tractor Supply loved it, and that led to me doing a lot of modeling for their Ridgecut clothing line for print ads and online.”
It was his work with Tractor Supply that led to Wells to the world of Taylor Sheridan. “An agent mentioned that they were filming 1883 in Fort Worth, and I thought that I needed to become a part of that,” said Wells. “So, I reached out and made phone calls, and the stars just aligned.” The stars aligned again when he had to turn down a role as Sam Elliot’s stand-in. “They had talked to me about being Sam Elliott’s stand-in, but I said, ‘Well, guys, I can’t be off work for five or six months. I own a business.’ And they said, ‘We have one deputy role left.’ And I’ll be darned if I didn’t get a featured deputy role.”
That role allowed him to work alongside actors like Sam Elliott, Billy Bob Thornton, and Tim McGraw, which was an experience that Wells did not take for granted. “It was just magical, getting to work with those guys,” he said. “There, there’s a scene in episode two of 1883, where Tim McGraw’s getting deputized and we’re all in the Sheriff’s office, and it’s a small little area, and I had one of those moments where I’m looking around like, ‘How in the heck did I get here?’ It was just a surreal moment. And then after we were high-fiving and shaking hands, and I’m like, ‘Wow, they just accepted me as one of them.’
That opportunity opened many doors for Wells. “I got to do a lot of commercials after that,” he said. “A guy named Bill Miller with Agency 86 kept suggesting that I do voiceover. Last year, they flew me to Maine for a national commercial, and they asked me to do a voice-over for it. So that opened the door for me to do radio spots.”
Wells’ acting career almost took off when he was younger, but his brother and him had different ambitions. “I’ve always been fascinated and intrigued by it,” he said. “I have an identical twin brother, and years ago, back in our early 20s, we were introduced to an agency out of Chicago that was looking for twins. But my brother really never had an interest, so I just kind of let it go by the wayside. “I thought, ‘Well, that, that might be an option to get into it. But that didn’t happen. It came full circle, though. Now he loves being my stand-in. And it’s cool to be a guy in his late 60s who has a twin brother that can be his stand-in.”
Despite changing careers so late in life, Wells has found that the transition to acting was eased thanks to the help of friends in the industry. “I’ve been blessed to have friends who have been supportive,” said Wells. “I’ve talked to Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure, No Country for Old Men), who’s a good friend of mine, and I’ve bounced some things off of him because he’s such a legend and his voice is incredible. He said, ‘Larry, just be yourself.’ So, taking that into account, that’s really what I’ve been doing. I’ve been very lucky. And I’ve learned that while you’re judged for your talent, you’re also judged by who you surround yourself with. I met Buck Taylor (Gunsmoke, Tombstone) fifteen years ago when I worked for the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, and he and I became friends.”
“I met incredible people like Ronnie Hummel, who is a casting director,” Wells continues. She puts together acting classes, which I’ve taken, and I have learned a lot. I learned to speak less and listen more. You can really absorb and learn. I’m a cowboy, but I just did a music video a month ago in East Texas for a guy named Justin Todd Herod, and I’m portraying a biker. That’s a little out of my league; here I am on a Harley instead of a horse. So, there’s a bit of a learning curve.”
Wells has stepped away from the day-to-day operations of the gate automation business that he ran for 35 years, handing the reins over to his son. He will occasionally hop on a truck and help out on a job during a slow week, but slow weeks are few and far between these days. “In February, I’ll be a part of Bob Saul’s Lone Star Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Bastrop, Texas, which I’m really excited about,” said Wells. “And I’m currently filming a movie called Anderson County in Southeast Texas, a true story that Chris Sigler has written, working with a really cool director named Gary Parker. It’s a fun movie, and I’m excited. It’s supposed to hit the screen sometime mid to late this year. Then I’ll start filming a Western up in Kansas in March with Ken Spurgeon. I’ve got a full plate.”
As for the future of his career, Wells just hopes…. “I’ve been blessed to be a deputy in 1883, and I was an Amarillo deputy in 1923, but I’d love to be more involved in the Yellowstone world,” he said. “I know that my agent, Ms. Linda McAllister, who’s awesome, has presented me a couple of times for a recurring role on Landman, but hasn’t landed it yet, but to me, that’s still the challenge. I’m earning my stripes, and I’m not afraid of that. My goals are to get better at the craft. If this wasn’t fun at my age, I wouldn’t be doing it.
I like to think it’s like that old Toby Keith song, “Don’t Let the Old Man In.” It makes me aware that I’ve got a lot of time to make up here. But it’s fun, and it keeps me mentally and physically challenged.”
You can watch our full interview with Larry Wells, which includes Wells discussing how his friends and family have reacted to his new career, as well as his work with Barry Corbin, below.