What The Cast Of Longmire Is Doing Today
In 2012, Longmire debuted on A&E. Among the channel's wealth of reality programming, including Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars, this modern take on the Western genre debuted to rave reviews. It quickly became one of the highest-rated series on the channel. Yet after two seasons, it was canceled, as A&E attempted to focus on its younger demographic. Luckily, Netflix stepped in and saved the day, giving fans four more seasons.
Based on Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire Mysteries series of novels, this beloved show is about the titular sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Shortly before the show begins, Sheriff Walt Longmire loses his wife. He is forced to deal with her death, a new partner, and a very concerned daughter. Season after season, secrets about the family and the small town are revealed. In the end, all of them come crashing together, creating one majorly compelling drama.
Since Longmire is on Netflix, people are still discovering the show and falling in love with its multilayered characters, even though its last season aired in 2017. Let's see what the cast is up to now.
Robert Taylor as Sheriff Walt Longmire
Robert Taylor plays Sheriff Walt Longmire. Taylor completely embodies this small town, cowboy-like law enforcement officer. His performance is as powerful as it is nuanced — you'd think he grew up alongside the likes of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. Fun fact: He's not American at all! Taylor is actually Australian. He should absolutely get an award for fooling everyone.
Since starring on Longmire, Taylor has been busy living life off-screen in Melbourne, Australia. His Instagram is filled with pictures of him getting beers with friends, rooting on the Dodgers, and traveling. He even made a trip back to Wyoming.
If you miss watching the Sheriff on screen, you can see Taylor as Dr. Heller in the 2018 film The Meg, as Geoff Walters in The Newsreader, or as Reverend Covern in the "Down from Dover" episode of the delightful Dolly Parton's Heartstrings. Anyone who is associated with Dolly Parton and seems to be living his best life surrounded by friends and family is doing it right.
Katee Sackhoff as Vic Moretti
Originally from Philadelphia, Vic Moretti moves to Absaroka County, becoming Longmire's deputy sheriff. Vic and Walt's will-they-won't-they relationship lasts all six seasons. While they decide to live together, their past relationships never allow them to fully commit to each other. This bad*ss detective is played by the equally awesome Katee Sackhoff. Moretti is tough, layered, and intelligent, much like the other characters Sackhoff portrays.
Since her time on Longmire, Sackhoff has been continuously working — often in major franchises. In the Arrowverse, she played Leslie Jocoy (better known as Amunet Black) on The Flash. She also wields the power of her voice playing various characters on Robot Chicken. But she is perhaps best known as Bo-Katan. Sackhoff originally only played her on the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, but Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau decided to bring Bo-Katan to life in season two of The Mandalorian, inviting Katee Sackhoff along for the ride.
If you're looking for even more of Sackhoff's brilliance, look no further than Netflix. She starred as Niko Breckinridge on the sci-fi thriller series Another Life. It's safe to say that this hard working woman and friend of Baby Yoda is already a legend.
Lou Diamond Philips as Henry Standing Bear
Henry Standing Bear is played by the amazing Lou Diamond Philips. A resident of the Cheyenne reservation, owner of The Red Pony, and longtime friend of Longmire, he is accused of murder. Henry's connection with Longmire, paired with Philips' engaging portrayal, made this character one of the most prominent pieces of the show.
Lou Diamond Philips is not new to the Hollywood scene. In 1987, he received rave reviews for his portrayal of Ritchie Valens in La Bamba. His career continued to thrive with a Tony Award nomination for The King and I, and a Golden Globe nomination for Stand and Deliver.
Since the finale of Longmire, Philips' success has known no bounds. He's actually a world-class poker player, frequently playing in major tournaments. Guess his stoic persona as Henry Standing Bear comes in handy even beyond Longmire. Even though he hasn't managed to win big at the World Series of Poker yet, you never know how the chips will fall. While you wait for his epic victory, you can catch him on the Fox series Prodigal Son as Gil Arroyo.
Cassidy Freeman as Cady Longmire
If Cassidy Freeman looks familiar, it's because you probably remember her as Tess Mercer on the hit show Smallville. After her tenure on the Superman drama ended, she stepped into the shoes of Cady Longmire. Cady, or Punk as she's affectionately known, is a lawyer, Sheriff Longmire's daughter, and Branch's girlfriend. Henry's arrest sends her career in a new direction as a public defender for members of the reservation. The series ends with her following her father's sheriff path.
Freeman is a woman of many talents. She's in an indie rock band with her brother, called The Real D'Coy. She's also politically and socially active, having volunteered her time in support of Jon Ossoff during the 2020 election. On screen, she's kept busy playing roles like Emma Kate in The Forever Purge. If horror thrillers aren't your speed, definitely check her out as Amber Gemstone in one of the best shows of 2019, HBO's The Righteous Gemstones. Freeman absolutely shines in every role she tackles and will likely continue to do so.
Bailey Chase as Branch Connally
Bailey Chase is Branch Connally, the Deputy Sheriff of Absaroka County. This affluent and ambitious detective is the on-again-off-again boyfriend of Cady Longmire. Sadly, after he is kicked off the force, his time on the show is cut short when he is murdered by his father.
Like his character on Longmire, Chase played football at Duke University on a football scholarship. Luckily for us, he became an actor, and has been working steadily for years. After playing the disgraced deputy, he joined the casts of 24: Legacy, Twin Peaks, and S.W.A.T. He also reunited with his Longmire castmate A Martinez on Queen of the South.
Chase's frequently updated Instagram is particularly fun for Longmire fans to peruse. It's filled with adorable pictures of his family, pets, travels, and passions.
Zahn McClarnon as Officer Mathias
Zahn McClarnon plays Officer Mathias. As a member of the Cheyenne reservation's tribal police force, he is often a thorn in Longmire's side: His ambivalence often leads to obstruction. Officer Mathias is a bit of an enigma, forcing the audience to constantly question if he's working towards good or bad aims. This uncertainty leads to an incredibly nuanced and dynamic performance from McClarnon.
As a Native American actor of Lakota descent, McClarnon is part of a small minority of working indigenous actors. UCLA's "Hollywood Diversity Report" revealed only 0.5 percent of top film roles were played by Native American actors as recently as 2019. Even though the industry should be more inclusive across the board, McClarnon's casting as Officer Mathias is enormously important and forward-thinking.
McClarnon's career is filled with unique and interesting roles. He played Hanzee Dent in the second season of Fargo alongside Kristen Dunst, the critically acclaimed role of Akecheta on Westworld, and William Lopez on Marvel's Hawkeye. He also stars as Big on Reservation Dogs. Zahn McClarnon is breaking barriers for indigenous actors and is kicking butt while doing it.
Adam Bartley as Deputy Archie the Ferg Ferguson
Adam Bartley endearingly portrays the role of Deputy Archie "the Ferg" Ferguson. A seemingly bumbling addition to the team, the Ferg is just a diamond in the rough. His relationship with Longmire is filled with heart and mutual admiration. When Ferguson tries to resign, he gets one of the series' most heartbreaking lines: "I know I was a favor. I only got hired 'cause you were helping out my dad." The strong bond between him and Longmire shines through, as Longmire refuses the resignation, still seeing potential in Ferguson. Thank goodness for that, because the show wouldn't be the same without the Ferg.
Since Longmire, Bartley has appeared on a plethora of great shows. He plays Carl Brown on NCIS: Los Angeles, Erik Doyle on Lucifer, and Duke on This Is Us. He also appeared as Byron on Night Sky. Hopefully, he'll soon play another wonderful series regular role like Deputy Ferguson. In the meantime, his Instagram is filled with joy, including his adorable animals and reunion photos with his Longmire cast members.
A Martinez as Jacob Nighthorse
Perhaps the most disliked character on Longmire, A Martinez brilliantly takes on the role of business opportunist Jacob Nighthorse. The series begins with him being quite the jerk who takes advantage of the people of the Cheyenne reservation. Yet, as with all the multilayered characters on this show, there is more to Nighthorse than meets the eye. In season four, he pleads with Cady to help save his business.
Martinez is able to walk the line of being beyond despicable and remarkably engaging, creating a stand-out performance in Longmire. The semi-pro baseball player-turned-actor began his career in film, but is best known for his work on soap operas. After wrapping on Longmire, he found a home again in soap operas, playing Eduardo "Eddie" Hernandez on NBC's Days of Our Lives. If his top-shelf acting on Longmire is any indication of what he brings to Days of Our Lives, he deserves all the Daytime Emmys.
Louanne Stephens as Ruby
All operations for Walt Longmire and his small crew run out of the fictional Absaroka County Sheriff's Office. That's where Ruby (Louanne Stephens) works, the glue for the town's chief police agency as well as for the people that work there. Ruby appears in episodes in all six seasons of "Longmire," serving as the sheriff's office manager and dispatcher.
According to her self-written IMDb bio, Stephens didn't pursue acting until after her third child had started school in the mid-1980s. A class she took for fun led to an agent and small roles in Texas-centric productions like "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "Friday Night Lights," in which she portrayed Grandma Saracen. That part, and her work as Ruby throughout the run of "Longmire," are Stephens' best-known roles.
Stephens went on a five-year hiatus after her time on "Longmire" came to an end, returning to the screen in 2021. Along with appearing in episodes of the acclaimed shows "Better Call Saul" and "Reservation Dogs" (as a character named Louanne), she factored into B.J. Novak's 2022 podcast satire/murder mystery "Vengeance." She plays Granny Carole Shaw in the critically acclaimed film.
Graham Greene as Malachi Strand
Walt Longmire and the Absaroka County Sheriff's Office staff frequently clash with the tribal police headquartered on the local reservation over jurisdictional and philosophical differences throughout "Longmire," especially in Season 3 onward, when Malachi Strand shows up. A former reservation chief, this violent, antagonistic, and crafty parolee lands a job as security chief for Nighthorse's casino, where he gets up to all sorts of corrupt and illegal activities, particularly embezzlement and the kidnapping of his enemies.
Graham Greene portrayed Malachi Strand in 12 episodes of "Longmire," one of the more high profile roles in a prolific career that dates back to the mid-1970s. Before Malachi, Greene (who was born on the Oneida Six Nations Reserve in Ontario) was best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Kicking Bird in "Dances with Wolves" and for playing Harry Clearwater in the "Twilight" movies. Since the show ended, Greene has continued his career as a character actor, notably as Littlecrow in "Goliath," Whiskey Jack in "American Gods," and Spotted Eagle in "1883."
In 2023 and beyond, Greene has roles lined up in major projects including the TV adaptation of the video game "The Last of Us" and the Marvel Cinematic Universe series "Echo."
Derek Phillips as Travis Murphy
An important figure on the fringes of the Absaroka County elite as depicted on "Longmire," Travis Murphy factors into the lives of deputies Branch Connally and Victoria "Vic" Moretti from Season 2 through Season 6. He's a childhood pal of the former, who aspires to be a sheriff's deputy himself. He's also the possible father of Vic's baby following a brief fling.
Bowing out of "Longmire" midway through the drama's sixth and final season in 2017, actor Derek Phillips has built up a resume of appearances on similar crime, police, and action-heavy TV hits. He had a recurring role on the USA series "Swagger" and has appeared on "S.W.A.T.", "Criminal Minds," "9-1-1," "The Rookie," "Law and Order: SVU," and "The Terminal List." He's also lent his voice to video games ("Call of Duty: Vanguard," "The Last of Us: Part II") and superhero cartoons ("Injustice").
Phillips was recognized for his film work in 2018 — he was nominated in the best actor category at the Montreal International Wreath Awards Film Festival for his turn in the thriller "Point Defiance." In 2022, the former "Fright Night Lights" star scored a main cast role on "The Last Police," a pilot for a Fox sci-fi mystery saga, but the network opted not to turn it into a series.
Gerald McRaney as Barlow Connally
Barlow Connally appears throughout the first four seasons of "Longmire," a wealthy, powerful, cutthroat, and morally ambiguous real estate developer who will do anything for more money and more power. He even arranges for an attempted contract killing to clear a path for his ambitious son — main character and deputy Branch Connally — to rise all the way to sheriff. It all goes South for Barlow when his son discovers the truth about him. Of course, Branch knowing what he knows means he can't live anymore, and Barlow executes his own son, thereafter falling into a haze of booze and depression that ends in his own tragic death.
The face of Barlow Connally was probably the most recognizable in the entire "Longmire" universe, as it belongs to veteran TV star Gerald McRaney. In the 1980s, he co-starred as one of the titular private detective brothers on the hit action-comedy series "Simon & Simon," and he followed that up by playing a stern Marine turned doting stepdad on the long-running sitcom "Major Dad."
After his stint on "Longmire," McRaney has been all over the small screen, with prominent arcs on "House of Cards," "Shooter," "24: Legacy," "Castle," and "NCIS: Los Angeles," to name but a few. He put in several memorable appearances as kindly physician Dr. Nathan Katowski on the acclaimed and beloved family drama "This Is Us," which earned him his first ever Emmy Award nomination and win. On the personal side, McRaney has been married to "Designing Women" star Delta Burke for more than 30 years.