Chris Kerson is an American film, television, and theater actor. He is best known for his roles as Nails in True Detective and Wilfred "Willie Boy" Johnson in Gotti.
Early life
Kerson was born in New York City and spent his childhood living between Manhattan and Westchester. He attended the College of William and Mary where he earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology. During his studies, he happened into an acting class, to satisfy an arts elective. He discovered a passion for the medium that would become his career. Immediately following graduation, he began frequent rotations between New York City and Los Angeles for work and continued development of his craft.
Career
Film
Kerson's filmography began with a role in Paul Duran's freshman feature, Flesh Suitcase, which premiered at WorldFest Houston in 1995. He played lead inThe Ride, by NYU filmmaker and Martin Scorsese Scholarship recipient, Thomas Kim, of which Scorsese named best short film of the year. In 2010, Kerson found critical and audience acclaim as the lead in Sean Kirkpatrick's Big Break Movie Contest feature Cost of a Soul. The gritty drama, about a combat soldier who returns to violence in the streets of Philadelphia, opened in 50 theaters nationwide and screened at numerous festivals. Kerson played a supporting role in Broadway's Finest, which won the Audience Award for Best Film at the 2012 Long Island International Film Expo. He followed that performance as a co-star in Another Zero in the System before working alongside Lance Henriksen in the cultsci-fiDaylight's End. Kerson won multiple awards for his co-starring role in the 2019 suspense short Rendezvous. He played Paddy in the 2020 comedy Crabs in a Bucket. Chris plays a leading role as Detective Kevin McKenzie in Equal Standard, a 2020 NYPD action and crime-thriller starring and executive-produced by Ice-T.
Television
Kerson's work in television got started with a supporting role as Buck in the "Takedown" episode of Pacific Blues first season. In 2010, he nabbed an uncredited role as the Cool Camera Guy in the "College" episode of 30 Rock. Next, Kerson played Gunnar in the episode in the 15th season of the hit show '. In 2015 Kerson landed his breakout role, as the recurring character Nails in the HBO hit True Detective''. Nails is named for the scars he wears as the survivor of a nail gun attack.
Theater
Kerson has worked off-Broadway in a variety of theater roles. Early billings include Franz Xaver Kroetz' play The Nest and Stephan Morrow's Hurry, which saw a sold-out show at the Blue Heron Art Center. He played Carl the Usher in the New York premiere of Tennessee Williams' rediscovered play These Are the Stairs You Got to Watch. Kerson also starred in Mario Fratti's Missionaries opposite theater icon Rose Gregorio.
