# Eric Nelsen
**Eric Nelsen** (full name Eric Michael Nelsen; born 1991) is an American actor and producer known for playing the cowboy Ennis in the [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) western series *1883*, for the Hulu revival of *All My Children*, and for the Amazon daytime drama *The Bay*, on which he won four [Daytime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/daytime-emmy-awards) as an actor and producer. He also won a Tony Award as a co-producer of the Broadway play *The Inheritance*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173) • [2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eric-nelsen-480690)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1991, West Palm Beach, Florida; height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173) • [2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eric-nelsen-480690) |
| Signature role | Ennis in *1883* (2021–2022), the Yellowstone prequel created by Taylor Sheridan; 5 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173) • [3](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/1883/about) |
| Emmy Awards | Four Daytime Emmys for *The Bay*: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series (2018) as an actor, and producing wins in 2015, 2017, and 2018[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173/awards/) |
| Emmy record | At age 23, described as the youngest producer in history to win an Emmy Award[5](https://www.cowboysindians.com/2022/03/live-from-los-angeles-with-eric-nelsen/) |
| Tony Award | Best Play, 2020, as a producer of *The Inheritance*[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eric-nelsen-480690) |
| Broadway acting | Brett Sampson in the original Broadway production of *13* (2008–2009)[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eric-nelsen-480690) |
| Awards total | 10 wins and 18 nominations across Daytime Emmy, festival, and web-fest competitions[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173/awards/) |
| Family | Married to actress Sainty Nelsen since November 29, 2013; two children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173) |
## Early life and training
Nelsen was born in [West Palm Beach, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-palm-beach-florida). Most English-language databases, including IBDB and TV Insider, give his birth date as 1991; the Baidu encyclopedia entry lists June 26, 1989, a discrepancy that remains unresolved between sources.[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eric-nelsen-480690) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/eric-nelsen/) • [7](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/Eric%20Nelsen/19310379?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
He trained in the performing arts locally: he attended The King's Academy and was accepted to the BAK Middle School of the Arts, took tap classes at Nicole's Dance Studio, competed in a national dance competition in New York City, and danced at FAME in [Wellington](https://www.edgepedia.org/wellington). He performed in *Oliver* at the Lake Worth Playhouse and in *The Sound of Music* at St Ann's School, and helped open the Maltz Jupiter Theater. He has credited the dance studio with starting his career, saying classmates told him he was funny and should act.[8](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/west-palm-beach-native-eric-110248291.html)
An early career setback came at 15, when he was contracted to play Eric van der Woodsen on the CW series *Gossip Girl*; Warner Brothers released the contract after learning his age.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173) At 16, his mother moved the family from West Palm Beach to New York City so he could take his first Broadway role.[9](https://fortworthdigitaldiary.com/?p=1513)
## Television
**Early guest roles.** Nelsen's television career began with single-episode appearances on series including *Law & Order*, *Guiding Light*, *iCarly*, *The Good Wife*, *Zeke & Luther*, *Big Time Rush*, *Blue Bloods*, *NCIS*, *The Blacklist*, *Girls*, and *The Following*.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/eric-nelsen/) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/person/eric-nelsen/)
**The Bay and All My Children.** From 2010 he played Daniel Garrett on the Amazon web series *The Bay*, a role that ran through 2025 across 96 episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173) The role brought him a 2018 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series, and he shared three producing Daytime Emmys for the series in 2015, 2017, and 2018.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173/awards/) In 2013 he was a series regular as AJ Chandler in Hulu's revival of the soap opera *All My Children*.[11](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Eric-Nelsen/) He also had a recurring role as Bram in season 4 of Showtime's *The Affair*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173)
**1883.** Nelsen's widest exposure came as Ennis in *1883*, [Taylor Sheridan](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-sheridan)'s prequel to *Yellowstone*, which premiered on Paramount+ on December 19, 2021. Ennis is a young cowboy hired to help guide a wagon train from Texas to Oregon who romances Elsa Dutton ([Isabel May](https://www.edgepedia.org/isabel-may)); he first appears in episode 2 and dies in episode 5 after bandits attack the train.[3](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/1883/about) • [12](https://www.purewow.com/entertainment/1883-cast-members) • [13](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/1883-episode-5-ennis-dies-eric-nelsen-interview-1235010323/) Nelsen said the death scene was the hardest thing he shot on the show, calling it emotionally draining even though his character was simply lying on the ground.[13](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/1883-episode-5-ennis-dies-eric-nelsen-interview-1235010323/) He had originally auditioned for the role of Wade, which went to James Landry Hébert, before being redirected to Ennis.[14](https://ventsmagazine.com/2023/03/30/interview-1883-show-actor-eric-nelsen/)
The role reshaped his career. Nelsen, who moved to [Fort Worth, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/fort-worth-texas), with his family during the pandemic, said *1883* opened the door to Western projects, and he has since appeared in the Westerns *Trail of Vengeance* (2025), as Frank Cooper, and *Cottonmouth* (2025), and joined season 6 of *The Chosen* as a Roman soldier. He also founded a Western clothing company, Stockyard Supply Co.[15](https://www.star-telegram.com/entertainment/article307372956.html)
## Stage and producing
Nelsen made his Broadway debut as Brett Sampson in [Jason Robert Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-robert-brown)'s musical *13*, which ran at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre from October 2008 to January 2009, appearing alongside [Ariana Grande](https://www.edgepedia.org/ariana-grande).[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eric-nelsen-480690) • [16](https://www.artistsandbeyond.com/ericnelsen) [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway), he understudied roles in *Freckleface Strawberry the Musical* (2010) and starred in The New Group's production of *The Good Mother* opposite Gretchen Mol (2012).[11](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Eric-Nelsen/)
As a producer, he was part of the team behind Matthew López's play *The Inheritance*, which won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eric-nelsen-480690) • [16](https://www.artistsandbeyond.com/ericnelsen) His producing credits also include the indie feature *Wakefield* (2016), starring [Bryan Cranston](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-cranston) and [Jennifer Garner](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-garner), on which he was co-executive producer, and *The Last Whistle* (2019), *Silent Partner* (2021), and *Broadway Rising* (2022).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173) At 23 he became, according to multiple profiles, the youngest producer in history to win an Emmy Award, for producing *The Bay*.[5](https://www.cowboysindians.com/2022/03/live-from-los-angeles-with-eric-nelsen/) • [17](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/1883-actor-eric-nelsen-signs-193631139.html)
## Film
Nelsen's film work includes *A Walk Among the Tombstones* (2014) opposite [Liam Neeson](https://www.edgepedia.org/liam-neeson), *Coming Through the Rye* (2015) opposite [Chris Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-cooper), *Nightmare Cinema* (2018) opposite [Mickey Rourke](https://www.edgepedia.org/mickey-rourke), and *Chasing Yesterday* (2015), which he also produced and which won festival awards including the Garden State Film Festival's Home Grown Award for Best Feature.[16](https://www.artistsandbeyond.com/ericnelsen) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173/awards/) Recent and upcoming credits include *Buffalo Daze*, *Shakey Grounds*, *40 Dates and 40 Nights*, *The Yeti*, and *Pickleheads* (all 2025–2026).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173)
## Personal life
Nelsen married voice actress Sainty Nelsen, a Fort Worth native he met on the *All My Children* revival, on November 29, 2013; they have two children, including a daughter, Molly Morgan Nelsen, born 2019.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173) • [18](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173/bio/) • [5](https://www.cowboysindians.com/2022/03/live-from-los-angeles-with-eric-nelsen/) His younger brother is the actor Matthew Gumley.[18](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173/bio/)
## References
1. [Eric Nelsen, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173)
2. [Eric Nelsen, Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/eric-nelsen-480690)
3. [Paramount+ | 1883 | About, Paramount Press Express](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/paramount-plus/shows/1883/about)
4. [Eric Nelsen – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173/awards/)
5. [Live From Los Angeles With Eric Nelsen, Cowboys & Indians (March 2022)](https://www.cowboysindians.com/2022/03/live-from-los-angeles-with-eric-nelsen/)
6. [Eric Nelsen – Actor, Producer, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/eric-nelsen/)
7. [Eric Nelsen, Baidu Baike](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/Eric%20Nelsen/19310379?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
8. [West Palm Beach native Eric Nelsen riding high in '1883', Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/west-palm-beach-native-eric-110248291.html)
9. [Catching Up With Eric & Sainty Nelsen, Fort Worth Digital Diary](https://fortworthdigitaldiary.com/?p=1513)
10. [Eric Nelsen, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/eric-nelsen/)
11. [Eric Nelsen, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Eric-Nelsen/)
12. ['1883' Cast: Here's Where You've Seen Them Before, PureWow](https://www.purewow.com/entertainment/1883-cast-members)
13. [1883's Eric Nelsen on Ennis' Tragic Farewell, TVLine (July 2023)](https://www.tvline.com/interviews/1883-episode-5-ennis-dies-eric-nelsen-interview-1235010323/)
14. [INTERVIEW: "1883" Show Actor Eric Nelsen, Vents Magazine (March 2023)](https://ventsmagazine.com/2023/03/30/interview-1883-show-actor-eric-nelsen/)
15. [Fort Worth's Eric Nelsen on '1883,' 'The Chosen' and his new Western, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (May 2025)](https://www.star-telegram.com/entertainment/article307372956.html)
16. [Eric Nelsen, Artists and Beyond](https://www.artistsandbeyond.com/ericnelsen)
17. ['1883' Actor Eric Nelsen Signs With APA, The Hollywood Reporter via Yahoo (January 2022)](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/1883-actor-eric-nelsen-signs-193631139.html)
18. [Eric Nelsen – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2235173/bio/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Mo to Ne*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license