A rep for actor Chuck Norris shut down chatter that the ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ star was among the pro-Trump rioters who attended the fatal insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6.
Photos of a Norris lookalike began circulating on social media this week as campaigns were underway to identify violent participants in Washington, DC. One man shared a photo with the lookalike identifying him as Norris, and several Twitter users who saw the photo and video of the apparent body double began to trash the actor.
“This is not Chuck Norris and is a wanna be look alike although Chuck is much more handsome,” Norris’ manager, Erik Kritzer, wrote in an email to The Times Tuesday. “Chuck remains on his range in Texas where he has been with his family.”
Norris has been candid about his conservative Christian views, gun-rights activism and championing Republican politicians. He famously backed former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee in his 2008 presidential bid as one half of the ‘Huck & Chuck’ roadshow and blasted President Obama.
The 80-year-old actor has not made any other statements about the riots or attended rallies during the pandemic, Kritzer said. Norris announced his support for President Donald Trump in 2016.
Norris, a former martial artist, retired from the ring before turning to teaching. He moved into acting in his mid-30s at the behest of film star Steve McQueen. He found big-screen success in films such as ‘Lone Wolf McQuade,’ ‘Code of Honor,’ ‘Missing in Action’ and ‘Delta Force,’ all staples of late-night cable TV.
But his most iconic role was that of crime fighter Cordell Walker in the CBS action series ‘Walker, Texas Ranger.’ The action drama aired on the network for nine seasons from 1993 to 2001 and generated plenty of fodder for millennials, who gleefully turned the show’s glib one-liners and other Norris quotes into viral memes.
