Unraveling The Mystery Of Ennis' Teeth In Yellowstone Prequel 1883

Yellowstone prequel 1883 is becoming known for excruciating attention to detail, but there is one continuity error that everyone on set recognized but decided to live with. Actor Eric Nelsen, who plays Ennis on the 19th-century western, admits it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Ennis and his partner Wade are cowboys hired by Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) to help guide the pioneers northwest, from Texas to Oregon. Both are rugged men who spend most of the first five episodes looking very much in need of a shower. It’s preposterous to assume either packed a toothbrush for the trip, and that begs a nagging question: Why are Ennis’ teeth so white?

In fact, Elsa’s love interest doesn’t just have a pearly white smile, his teeth are perfectly straight, even by 21st-century standards. That kind of grin would be rare in 19th-century America, and even rarer on the wide-open trails of Texas. The show’s makeup crew knew this and, Nelsen tells Taste of Country, tried to correct it. “Day one,” Nelsen begins during a recent episode of the Dutton Rules podcast, “makeup threw some junk on there and I walked out and smiled at Taylor (creator Taylor Sheridan) and he goes, ‘Take that off, right now.’”

“He wasn’t having it,” the actor adds, laughing. “It might be a little white for back then but you know, he had a vision and he knew what he wanted to see. That was discussed and that was put out there, but that’s not what he wanted, so here we are.” In fairness to Nelsen, his teeth are more noticeable than the rest of the cast’s. In real life, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s smiles are well-kept, and we’d guess that behind his push-broom mustache, Sam Elliott has a fine set of Chiclets. Ennis’ broad smile just seems to bounce off the Texas sun a bit better, so here we are talking about it.