You probably remember the hype. Back in 2015, the History Channel basically tried to recreate the lightning-in-a-bottle success of Hatfields & McCoys by throwing every famous face they could find into a dusty, blood-soaked epic. It was ambitious. It was expensive. And honestly? The cast of Texas Rising was arguably more impressive than the actual script they were given to work with.
When you look back at that lineup now, it feels like a fever dream. You’ve got Bill Paxton leading the charge, Jeffrey Dean Morgan before he became Negan, and a pre-Renaissance Brendan Fraser. It’s a weird, wonderful collection of talent that somehow ended up in a miniseries that most people have forgotten—even though it’s still one of the biggest Western productions of the last decade.
Why the cast of Texas Rising was actually a family affair
A lot of people don't know that for Bill Paxton, playing Sam Houston wasn't just another paycheck. It was personal. Paxton was a proud Texan, born and raised in Fort Worth. But the kicker? He was actually a distant relation to the real Sam Houston. His father had told him about the family connection for years, so when he stepped onto that set in Durango, Mexico, he wasn't just playing a historical figure. He was playing his own blood.
✨ Don't miss: The Actors in A Series of Unfortunate Events: Who Actually Nailed Those Weird Roles?
Paxton brought a specific kind of "weary integrity" to Houston. He wasn't playing the legendary hero as some untouchable statue; he played him as a man trying to keep his head while everyone else was losing theirs. It’s one of his last great roles before his passing in 2017, and you can see the genuine love he had for the history in every scene.
He even got his son, James Paxton, a small role in the series. Talk about keeping it in the family.
The heavy hitters you forgot were there
The sheer density of the cast of Texas Rising is staggering. If you rewatch it today, you’ll constantly find yourself pointing at the screen.
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan as "Deaf" Smith: Long before he was swinging a barbed-wire bat on The Walking Dead, Morgan was losing weight and growing a grizzled beard to play Houston's right-hand man. He played Smith with a quiet intensity, portraying a man suffering from consumption (tuberculosis) who was basically a 19th-century ninja.
- Ray Liotta as Lorca: This is where the show gets a bit "Hollywood." Liotta played a fictional survivor of the Alamo who goes on a PTSD-fueled revenge spree. It’s classic Liotta—intense, terrifying, and wildly out of place in a "historical" drama, yet you can’t look away.
- Brendan Fraser as Billy Anderson: This was during Fraser’s "quiet years." He played a Texas Ranger with Comanche ties. It’s a physical role that showed glimpses of the comeback kid we’d all eventually cheer for in The Whale.
The controversy of historical accuracy
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. The show took a lot of heat for its historical liberties. While the cast of Texas Rising delivered solid performances, the writers played fast and loose with the timeline.
👉 See also: Farming Life in Another World Where to Watch Crunchyroll: Getting Your Isekai Fix
Take Olivier Martinez as General Santa Anna. Martinez is great—he plays the Mexican dictator with a seductive, dangerous charm. But the show leans heavily into the legend of the "Yellow Rose of Texas." They portray a romantic entanglement between Santa Anna and Emily West (played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson) that most historians will tell you is more folklore than fact.
Then there’s the geography. If you’re from Texas, you probably noticed the mountains. Big, beautiful, jagged mountains. The problem? The real Battle of San Jacinto took place in the coastal plains near Houston. There isn’t a mountain in sight for hundreds of miles. Director Roland Joffé (who did The Mission) clearly wanted a "Cinematic Western" look, so he shot in Mexico. It looks great on a 4K TV, but it’s definitely not the Gulf Coast.
Who else was in those trenches?
It wasn’t just the A-listers. The supporting cast of Texas Rising was a revolving door of "hey, it’s that guy" actors:
- Max Thieriot as Jack Hays: Before he was the lead in Fire Country, he was the young, hotshot Ranger.
- Chad Michael Murray as Mirabeau Lamar: A far cry from One Tree Hill, Murray played the ambitious soldier who would eventually become the second president of the Republic.
- Kris Kristofferson as Andrew Jackson: A literal legend playing a literal legend. It was brief, but having Kristofferson show up gave the series instant gravitas.
- Thomas Jane as James Wykoff: He played a homesteader caught in the crossfire. Jane is one of those actors who makes everything he’s in 10% better just by standing there.
The legacy of the 10,000 extras
One thing the production didn't fake was the scale. They didn't rely on cheap CGI for the battle scenes. They actually hired around 10,000 extras over the course of filming. When you see a line of Mexican soldiers charging across a field, those are real people in period-accurate uniforms.
The sound department actually won an Emmy for their work on the show. You can hear it in the musketry and the cannon fire—it feels heavy. That’s the irony of Texas Rising; it had the budget of a blockbuster and a cast that would make a Marvel movie jealous, but it’s mostly remembered by history buffs and fans of Bill Paxton.
👉 See also: Where to Captain America Civil War Watch Online and Why It Still Hits Hard
What to do if you want to watch it now
If you’re looking to dive back into the world of the Texas Revolution, don't go in expecting a documentary. Treat it like a high-budget "what if" story. The performances by the cast of Texas Rising are genuinely worth the price of admission (or the subscription fee).
Your next steps for the full Texas experience:
- Watch the show for the acting, not the map: Stream it on platforms like Amazon Prime or the History Channel vault. Focus on the chemistry between Paxton and Morgan.
- Fact-check as you go: Keep a tab open for the Texas State Historical Association. It’s actually a fun game to see what the show got right (like Deaf Smith’s bravery) versus what they invented (the mountains).
- Check out the soundtrack: The theme song was actually performed by Jose Feliciano, and the score captures that sweeping, epic feeling that the History Channel was clearly aiming for.
The show might be "forgotten" in the grand scheme of the Peak TV era, but as a showcase for a group of world-class actors playing cowboys in the dirt? It’s hard to beat.
Actionable Insight: To get the most out of your viewing, watch the first episode alongside the 2004 film The Alamo. It provides a perfect "before and after" look at the events that shaped the Republic of Texas and helps you appreciate why Bill Paxton’s Sam Houston was so focused on strategic retreat over suicidal glory.