Why The Sheriff From Taylor Sheridan's The Madison Looks So Familiar

Deputy sheriff Van Davis is the resident stud on "The Madison." He is basically in the show to be fawned over, as the other characters keep talking about how hunky he is. That said, it looks like he and Abigail (Beau Garrett) could become the series' breakout couple, assuming they can eventually overcome their differences. Be that as it may, some of you might be wondering who plays the kind-hearted sheriff in this particular Taylor Sheridan TV show, as he has quite the familiar face.

Ben Schnetzer brings Davis to life on "The Madison," but he has also starred in other notable film and TV projects. One of his early breakout roles came in 2014's "Pride" (one of the best LGBTQ+ movies out there), in which he plays a dramatized version of real-life activist Mark Ashton. After that, he played Khadgar, a gifted mage, in director Duncan Jones' "Warcraft," a fantasy video game adaptation that's found new life on Netflix in the years since its theatrical release in 2016.

Schnetzer has also lent his talents to political entertainment, as he has a supporting role in Oliver Stone's real-life-inspired whistleblower thriller "Snowden." In this one, the actor plays an NSA agent named Gabriel Sol, who appears to be a fictional character created for the movie. Schnetzer has starred in other films since then, too. Most recently, he was in 2025's "The Yellow Tie," a biography about the composer Sergiu Celibidache. However, his small screen work also deserves a mention, as the actor appeared in some fun shows before joining the SheridanVerse.

Ben Schnetzer initially broke into television with a guest starring role on "Law & Order." He shows up in the season 20 episode "Crashers," playing a character who finds himself at the center of a murder investigation after having an affair with a politician's wife.

Following his one-off stint on Dick Wolf's long-running procedural, Schnetzer landed a regular role on ABC's short-lived 2010 mystery box series "Happy Town." After that, he became the star of FX's now-canceled "Y: The Last Man," a post-apocalyptic series about an event that eliminates every mammal with a Y chromosome — apart from Schnetzer's character. That isn't his only sci-fi credit, either, as he additionally appears in a couple of episodes of the first season of Netflix's "3 Body Problem."

"The Madison" will undoubtedly propel Schnetzer to new heights, as he has quite a significant role in Taylor Sheridan's latest hit series. Season 2 has already been confirmed, so viewers can probably look forward to seeing more of Montana's hunkiest deputy sheriff in the near future.

"The Madison" is now streaming on Paramount+.