James Norman Beaver, Jr. (born August 12, 1950) is an American stage, film, and television actor, a playwright, screenwriter, and film historian, who uses the professional name Jim Beaver. He is perhaps most familiar to worldwide audiences as the gruff but tenderhearted prospector "Ellsworth" on the HBO Western drama series Deadwood, a starring role which brought him acclaim and a Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for Ensemble Acting after three decades of supporting work in films and TV.