Today, Taylor Sheridan is known as the man at the center of a vast TV empire that stretches from “Yellowstone” and its many spin-offs to multiple other premium dramas which include “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” “Lioness,” and “Tulsa King.” Taylor Sheridan TV shows are almost too numerous to count at this point. But the man wasn’t always the prolific writer and producer he’s known as today. In fact, he started out on a very different career path in Hollywood.

Specifically, Sheridan started as an actor in the mid-90s, appearing in several small film and TV roles before landing the recurring role of Deputy Chief David Hale on “Sons of Anarchy.” Prior to that he could be seen appearing in episodes of “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Veronica Mars,” and “Star Trek: Enterprise,” His acting background is part of the reason Sheridan cast himself as Travis Wheatley on “Yellowstone,” though he also happened to be one heck of a horse rider, making him the perfect fit for Travis the rodeo star. He can also be seen in the “Yellowstone” spin-off 1883 as real-life rancher Charles “Charlie” Goodnight, and in “Lioness” as Cody Spears.

Sheridan’s writing talents came to prominence with 2015’s “Sicario,” which, with the help of director Denis Villeneuve, easily became as one of the best movies of the 2010s. After that, Sheridan’s writing career was off and running, but he still found time to act in small roles. That’s how he ended up in 2018’s “12 Strong,” an underrated war movie that also starred Chris Hemsworth.

Taylor Sheridan had a small role in Chris Hemsworth’s war movie

Warner Bros.

“12 Strong” is a war movie directed by Danish filmmaker Nicolai Fuglsig. It tells the true story of U.S. Army Special Forces sent to Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and it’s based on Doug Stanton’s non-fiction book “Horse Soldiers.” The movie stars Chris Hemsworth as U.S. Army Captain Mitch Nelson, who leads a team of ten other soldiers into Afghanistan, alongside Michael Shannon’s Special Forces Officer Hal Spencer, on a perilous mission to take down the Taliban. Nelson and his team quickly find themselves overwhelmed, however, and they  have to fight their way back out.

Hemsworth has struggled for hits outside of his Marvel Cinematic Universe films, though he has had some success with his “Extraction” movies on Netflix, even if he won’t be starring in the upcoming “Extraction” TV series. “12 Strong” is another underseen and overlooked entry in his filmography which managed to do reasonably well at the box office but failed to make much of an impression critically. It is, however, one of only a handful of movies from the 2010s that features Taylor Sheridan.

The “Yellowstone” creator shows up briefly in the movie, which debuted the same year as “Yellowstone” first aired, as field officer Brian. After Nelson and his crew land in Afghanistan, they’re attacked by Brian and his team, who mistake them for enemy forces. Soon after, Brian realizes his mistake and welcomes the team to Afghan soil, introducing them to the headquarters known as The Alamo. It’s a very small role for Sheridan, but considering the man was one the verge of becoming one of TV’s most influential figures, it’s probably not something he’s too worried about.

12 Strong was neither a critical hit nor a complete disaster

Warner Bros.

“12 Strong” made $71 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of $35 million, which certainly isn’t anything to be ashamed of. It’s at least as solid a performance as the Taylor Sheridan-scripted “Hell or High Water,” which made $37.5 million on a $12 million budget. “Hell or High Water” was Sheridan’s last acting role before “12 Strong,” with the writer playing a small part as a cowboy in his neo-Western.

While “Hell or High Water” is often cited as one of Sheridan’s best movies, “12 Strong” — written by Ted Tally and Peter Craig — didn’t receive anywhere near as much critical acclaim. A 50% critic score and a 5.6 out of 10 average rating on Rotten Tomatoes should tell you most of what you need to know. It seems critics were somewhat divided, with some praising the action sequences and performances, while others, such as the Times’ Kevin Maher, dubbed the film “intense jingoistic nonsense.”

Perhaps with eight years of middling streaming films between us and the debut of”12 Strong,” we might revisit the movie today and find it to be underrated. As it stands, it’s lamentably one of many forgotten entries in Chris Hemsworth’s career and a fun little on-screen moment for Sheridan, who at this point in his career surely isn’t too bothered about “12 Strong” flying under the radar.

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