TLDR: After playing rookie Ranger Francis Gage on Walker Texas Ranger from 1999-2001, Judson Mills spent years grinding through guest spots on every procedural you can think of (CSI: Miami, Bones, The Mentalist). Then in 2017, he completely surprised everyone by starring as the male lead in The Bodyguard musical national tour.
After that, he did Hallmark Westerns for a bit, but his recent career shift is the wildest part. He’s now playing antagonists in socially conscious films, including an intolerant father who kicks out his non-binary kid.
At 56, he’s evolved from action hero to one of those reliable character actors who can play basically anything.
Judson Mills joined Walker Texas Ranger pretty late in the game. It was 1999, the show’s seventh season. Chuck Norris and the core cast had been doing this for six years already. Clarence Gilyard was about to leave the show, and they needed fresh blood.
Enter Judson Mills as Texas Ranger Francis Gage, the rookie. He was 32 years old, had a legitimate Taekwondo black belt, and looked like he walked straight out of a Western. He was perfect for the show’s vibe.
But here’s the thing. He only got two seasons. Walker Texas Ranger ended in May 2001, which meant Judson was facing the same question every actor faces when their show gets cancelled: now what?
What happened next is honestly one of the most interesting actor survival stories in Hollywood. Because Judson Mills didn’t become a huge star. But he also didn’t disappear. He became something arguably harder to achieve: a working actor who’s stayed consistently employed for 25 years by being willing to do basically anything.
Staying in the Chuck Norris Universe (For a While)
Right after Walker ended, Judson took the safe route. He stuck with what he knew: the Chuck Norris brand.
In 2002, he was cast in The President’s Man: A Line in the Sand, a TV movie sequel starring Chuck Norris. Judson played Deke Slater, a younger operative being mentored by Chuck’s character. It was basically Francis Gage with a different name.
This was smart in some ways. It kept him visible with the Walker audience. It let him use his martial arts training. But it also created a problem. He was getting typecast as the apprentice, the sidekick, the guy learning from the older hero. That’s not a great place to be if you want to become a leading man.
In 2005, he came back for the Walker Texas Ranger reunion movie, Trial by Fire. He reprised Francis Gage alongside the original cast. But the movie didn’t lead to a new series. CBS had moved on. Television had moved on. The whole earnest, morally clear action hero thing was dead.
Shows like CSI and Lost were dominating. The audience wanted forensic science and mystery boxes, not roundhouse kicks and Bible quotes.
Judson needed to adapt or disappear.
The Procedural Guest Star Grind
What Judson did next is what a lot of former TV regulars do. He became a procedural guest star. And when I say he did procedurals, I mean he did ALL the procedurals.
CSI: Miami in 2005. He played Ty Radcliffe in an episode about a prison work-release program and a fire in the Everglades. The role required him to be suspicious and morally ambiguous, which was different from his Walker days.
Bones in 2008. He played Nick Devito in “The Passenger in the Oven,” a murder-on-an-airplane episode. This was a “bottle episode” filmed entirely on a plane set, which meant he had to hold the screen through dialogue alone. No action sequences to fall back on.
The Mentalist in 2014. He played a character in the episode “Grey Water” involved in an oil fracking dispute. By this point, he’d matured into a perfect “blue-collar working man” type.
This is the part of an actor’s career nobody really talks about. The grind. Flying to Vancouver or LA for three days of work. Playing “Suspect #2” or “Witness Who Saw Something.” Making scale pay. Keeping your SAG-AFTRA health insurance active.
It’s not glamorous. But it’s how you survive in Hollywood when you’re not a movie star.
The One Role That Showed He Could Really Act
In 2008, Judson got a recurring role on Saving Grace, the TNT drama starring Holly Hunter. And this role was completely different from anything he’d done before.
He played Ralph “Rafe” Dewey, a Marine Lieutenant who died from wounds sustained in Afghanistan. The character only appeared in flashbacks and visions. He was a ghost haunting the living characters.
Think about that for a second. For his entire career up to that point, Judson had played active heroes. Guys who fight, shoot, win. Now he was playing the consequence of that life. The memory of a fallen soldier. A character defined entirely by loss and grief.
The role required solemnity and emotional depth. He had to work opposite an Academy Award winner in Holly Hunter. And he had to make people feel the weight of a life cut short.
This was the role that proved Judson Mills could actually act, not just perform stunts and deliver tough-guy lines. It was a turning point in how the industry saw him.
The Weirdest Career Pivot: Musical Theater
Okay, so this is where Judson’s story gets really interesting. Because in 2017, he did something absolutely nobody saw coming.
He became the male lead in the national tour of The Bodyguard musical.
Yes, that Bodyguard. The one based on the Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston movie from 1992. Judson Mills, the Texas Ranger, was now playing Frank Farmer, the bodyguard, in a massive Broadway-style musical tour.
Here’s how it happened. The musical’s book was written by Alex Dinelaris, who’d just won an Oscar for writing Birdman. Alex and Judson were college roommates at Barry University in Miami 20 years earlier.
The production was having trouble casting Frank Farmer because the role is challenging. The guy needs to be stoic, charismatic, physically imposing, and he doesn’t even sing.
Alex called Judson and basically said, “The bodyguard doesn’t sing. You feel like traveling?”
Judson auditioned by recording scenes on his iPhone from a hotel room. That’s the modern hustle right there. And he got the part.
Playing Frank Farmer on stage is completely different from playing him on film. Kevin Costner could rely on close-ups and subtle expressions. On stage, playing to the back of a 2,000-seat theater, that stillness can look like stiffness.
Judson had to adapt the character. He described his version as more charismatic, more physical, more gregarious than Costner’s. He had to radiate energy even though he wasn’t singing, so he wouldn’t disappear between all the Whitney Houston musical numbers.
The tour was grueling. Two hours on stage every night, driving the show. Traveling from city to city. Los Angeles, Baltimore, all over the country. Judson described it as requiring “incredible focus and stamina.”
But it worked. The tour was successful. It proved Judson could carry a major commercial production. It physically reconditioned him. And it showed he was willing to take risks and try something completely outside his comfort zone.
How many former action stars would even consider doing musical theater? Most would rather retire than risk looking foolish on stage. Judson just went for it.
Back to Westerns and Hallmark
After the musical tour ended, Judson moved into a more comfortable zone: Westerns and Hallmark movies.
In 2020, he did JL Family Ranch: The Wedding Gift, a Hallmark movie starring Jon Voight and James Caan. He played Caleb Peterson, fitting right into the modern Western aesthetic that shows like Yellowstone had made popular again.
This made sense strategically. The Walker Texas Ranger audience had mostly migrated to Hallmark and neo-Western shows. By appearing alongside legends like Voight and Caan, Judson reestablished himself with that demographic.
He also kept doing indie crime dramas and thrillers. Lifetime movies. The kind of stuff that keeps a working actor employed between bigger projects.
But then, in 2024, his career took another unexpected turn.
Playing the Villain in Gen Z Movies
In the most recent phase of his career, Judson Mills has started playing antagonists. And not just any antagonists. He’s playing the specific type of villain that resonates with younger, socially conscious audiences.
In 2024, he was cast in I Wish You All the Best, based on Mason Deaver’s novel about a non-binary teenager. The film was directed by Tommy Dorfman and premiered at SXSW in March 2024 before getting wider release in November 2025.
Judson plays Mr. De Backer, the father who kicks his non-binary child out of the house. He’s ultra-religious, conservative, and completely intolerant. It’s the exact opposite of the protective father archetype he built his career on.
Reviews described the parents’ presence as “looming like a cloud” even when they’re off-screen. Judson didn’t play it as a cartoon villain. He made the intolerance feel realistic, which makes it more chilling.
This is a bold choice for an actor with a conservative fanbase from Walker Texas Ranger. At the film’s after-party, Judson said: “The world feels so chaotic right now. I just hope this film gets seen widely by both kids and parents and helps open a few minds along the way.”
That’s a pretty clear statement about where he stands. He’s prioritizing artistic relevance and social messaging over playing it safe.
In late 2025 and early 2026, he’s starring in Your Biggest Fan, a horror-thriller filmed in East Hampton. He plays David Carpenter, described as a “volatile stepfather whose presence dredges up buried trauma.”
It’s categorized as “Influencer Horror” targeting Gen Z audiences. Judson is literally the scary stepdad in a movie aimed at people who were born after Walker Texas Ranger ended.
He’s using his size and intensity to create fear instead of safety. It’s a complete subversion of everything he represented for the first half of his career.
The Personal Life Stuff
Judson has been married three times. His first marriage was from 1990 to 1993, early in his career. His second marriage was from 1997 to 2002, during the Walker years. He has a son named Dalton from that marriage.
In 2005, he married Morgan Rae Mills. They have two sons together, Jagger and Cash. They’re still married as of 2026.
The timeline of his kids’ births lines up with shifts in his career. From 2005 to 2010, he took steady TV work that kept him in Los Angeles. The period from 2012 to 2015 was quieter, probably so he could focus on raising young kids. Then he went back on the road for The Bodyguard tour once they were older.
Judson was raised in Northern Virginia in a house built by George Washington that’s now a national landmark. He’s formally trained, having graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1991. That classical training explains why he was able to transition to stage work so smoothly.
What Makes His Career Actually Impressive
Here’s the thing about Judson Mills that’s easy to miss if you’re just looking at his IMDb page. He’s not a household name. He’s never been the star of a massive blockbuster. He probably can’t walk through an airport without being recognized.
But he’s been working consistently for 25 years in an industry where most people wash out after five.
When network action movies died, he became a procedural guest star. When the industry moved to cable drama, he found emotional depth in Saving Grace. When digital content emerged, he tried web series. When Hollywood stopped making mid-budget romantic thrillers, he starred in the stage version of one. When Westerns came back, he was ready. And now that socially conscious indie films want authentic-looking actors who can play complicated villains, he’s doing that too.
He’s treated his career like a business, not a quest for stardom. When one door closed, he found another window. When he got typecast, he broke the mold. When opportunities dried up in one medium, he moved to another.
The musical theater detour is the perfect example. How many former action stars would risk their ego like that? Most would rather fade away than potentially embarrass themselves on stage. Judson saw an opportunity to work, to grow as a performer, and to make money. So he did it.
His recent shift to playing antagonists in progressive films shows he’s still willing to take risks. He could easily coast on Hallmark movies and Western fan conventions for the rest of his career. Instead, he’s playing an intolerant father who rejects his non-binary kid, knowing it might alienate some of his Walker fanbase.
That takes guts. And it shows he cares more about being a good actor than being universally liked.
Where Judson Mills Stands in 2026
At 56 years old, Judson Mills is proof that you don’t have to be a movie star to have a successful acting career. You just have to be willing to work, adapt, and occasionally take big swings.
He went from being the rookie Texas Ranger on a 90s action show to a character actor who can play literally anything. Cowboys, cops, bodyguards, ghosts, villains, stepfathers. He’s done it all.
The trajectory from Francis Gage to Mr. De Backer is wild when you think about it. From the guy who protects people to the guy who traumatizes his own kid. From the hero of conservative America to the villain in a movie about LGBTQ+ acceptance.
But that’s what good actors do. They disappear into roles. They challenge audiences’ expectations. They grow.
Judson Mills isn’t famous. But he’s successful in the way that actually matters for most actors. He’s still working. He’s still paying his bills. He’s still getting to do what he loves.
And unlike a lot of his Walker Texas Ranger castmates who are riding on nostalgia, Judson is actively building a new phase of his career with younger audiences who have never even heard of Francis Gage.
That’s not just survival. That’s evolution. And in Hollywood, evolution is everything.
