When Skeet Ulrich was a mere lad, his uncle - famed NASCAR race driver Ricky Rudd - gave him a piece of fatherly advice: "Never try and become an actor." He considered his mother's brother a very smart and practical man - and became an actor.

But those words of caution rang in Ulrich's ears when he reported for work on location for the $100 million limited series "Into the West" at a frozen river on the outskirts of Calgary, Alberta, shortly before Christmas. He was particularly alarmed when he spotted a medical doctor toying with a defibrillator just off-camera.

It did not bode well, according to the skinny, 35-year-old actor (who survived open-heart surgery when he was a child), who inspected a warming tent and dozens of heated blankets before preparing himself for a bitter fight scene in the middle of the river as several production crew members chopped a huge hole in the ice for him with long-handled axes.

In the 12-hour, six-week project - chronicling the westward migration of white settlers and their deadly clashes with Native Americans between 1925 and 1890 - produced by TNT in association with DreamWorks Television and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Ulrich portrays Jethro Wheeler, a Virginia gentleman who follows several siblings on the dangerous trail to a gold strike in California.

Believing that his brother Jacob is dead somewhere in the vast wilderness, Jethro takes on the extra responsibilities of caring for the man's widow and children. But ultimately hunger, desperation and greed leads to a deadly confrontation with a distant relative over potentially vast riches. Hence, the bearded actor wound up on the riverbank ready to plunge between ice floes for his close-ups.

"We did the fight scene in three takes," said Ulrich, his teeth still seemingly chattering. "Each time, I was actually in the water from five to seven minutes before emerging as several guys were throwing layer after layer of blankets on top of me. Typically, when the temperature isn't extremely cold, they'll have a hot tub waiting for you. But in freezing conditions like this, going from hot to cold again is dangerous and can lead to hypothermia. I've never been that cold in my life."

But, as the production company's insurance company undoubtedly had already calculated, Ulrich survived along with the cast of hundreds to tell the dramatic tale of settling the Old West from distinct points of view of two multi-generational families - one a Native American family of the Lakota tribe; the other the Wheeler clan, an extended white family of wheelwrights. On the infinite plains, members of the two groups meet, then learn to love and hate each other. Paying close attention to historical accuracy, head writer William Mastrosimone forged the sweeping saga for six directors, including Simon Wincer, Robert Dornhelm and Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, and an enormous cast featuring Matthew Settle (Jacob Wheeler), Michael Spears, Tonantzin Carmelo, George Leach, Zahn McClarnon, Sean Astin, Tom Berenger, Beau Bridges, Gary Busey, Jessica Capshaw, Keith Carradine, Graham Greene, Lance Henriksen, Keri Russell, Matthew Modine, Russell Means, Wes Studi and Judge Reinhold.

When he wasn't drowning or freezing to death, Ulrich had his internal organs rearranged by fighting a team of spirited horses pulling his Conestoga wagon devoid of springs and shock absorbers.

"Research told me that in the pioneer days, the settlers would hang a bucket of cream on the back of their wagons and by the end of the day it had turned into butter by the natural churning of the rough trail," he explained. "Obviously, it knocked you around quite a bit, too."

Though not one to complain, Ulrich readily admits it was a really tough shoot.

"It certainly wasn't a glamorous job," he said, laughing. "Not only did we spend eight to 10 hours a day in the wagons, we also had to brave the elements - extreme heat to frost. On the days we needed rain and it didn't come naturally, they would pump icy water out of glacier-fed rivers and blow and spray it all over us."

Already a fair horseman, he became an expert in the art of riding after a three-week crash course before the cameras rolled on "Into the West."

"I'm no wrangler and don't do a whole lot of riding in the project, but I could handle anything. It's a blast to play cowboys and Indians - which is essentially what we were doing. And I grew fond of several of the horses, but there were no tearful goodbyes."

Every two weeks, he flew home to his 452-acre farm in Virginia to perform chores for his own animals and keep pace with his little twins - one of each - with actress Georgina Cates.

"It was great during the two years I took off to be there from the beginning with the kids, but when I went back to work it started to get away from me," he explained. "It finally became too big and we had to sell it."

A recent divorce also helped seal the farm's fate, according the native of Lynchburg, Va.

"Home is in Los Angeles now and we share custody of these amazing creatures. The most exciting thing in the world is shaping their lives."

© Copley News Service

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