Chris Kerson

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 in 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 and discovered a passion that would become his career. Following graduation, he spent time in New York City and Los Angeles for work and continued developing his craft.

Film
Kerson's filmography begins with a role in Paul Duran's debut feature, Flesh Suitcase, which premiered at WorldFest Houston in 1995. He played the lead in The Ride by NYU filmmaker and Martin Scorsese Scholarship recipient Thomas Kim, 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 on the streets of Philadelphia opened in fifty 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 cult sci-fi Daylight's End. Kerson won multiple awards for his co-starring role in the 2019 suspense short Rendezvous. He played Paddy (son of Bruce Dern's character) in the 2020 comedy Last Call. Chris played a lead 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 started with a supporting role as Buck in the "Takedown" episode of Pacific Blue's first season. In 2010, he nabbed an uncredited role as the Cool Camera Guy in the "College" episode (season 5, episode 6) of 30 Rock. Next, Kerson played Gunnar in the Merchants of Menace episode in the 15th season of the hit show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. 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 bears as the result of a nail gun attack.

Theater
Kerson has worked Off-Broadway in a variety of theater roles. Early billings include Franz Xaver Kroetz's play The Nest and Stephan Morrow's Hurry, a sold-out show at the Blue Heron Art Center. He played Carl the Usher in the New York premiere of Tennessee Williams's rediscovered play These Are the Stairs You Got to Watch. Kerson also starred in Mario Fratti's Missionaries opposite theater icon Rose Gregorio.