American Primeval: Everything we know about Jim Irsay's cameo in Netflix's western miniseries

Netflix's American Primeval, the Western miniseries set in 1857, has been ruling the platform's Top 10 charts since its premiere on January 9, 2025.

The story follows a party-fictionalized account of the Utah War, where many groups fought to take control of the American West, i.e., the Utah territory. Among those groups, the Mormon religious and cultural group was the most rampant and violent.

American Primeval also features real-life figures, including Shea Whigham as Jim Bridger, Kim Coates as Brigham Young, and Alex Breaux as Wild Bill Hickman. Other star casts for the show include Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, Preston Mota, and Dane DeHaan.

Among this star cast, American Primeval also featured an unexpected cameo by the American business and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Isray, who appeared in a brief cameo in Episode 1.

Remember Ed Sheeran randomly dropping to sing a little song on Game of Thrones? Isray's cameo was as unexpected as that and brief you might have missed it.

Here is everything to know about the Colts owner's cameo in American Primeval.

Exploring businessman Jim Isray's cameo in Netflix's American Primeval

Expand Tweet

Looks like there is a trend for television shows to feature random and unexpected cameos from NFL franchise owners. While Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones was in recent news for featuring in Taylor Sheridan's Landman Episode 9 on Paramount+, another NFL franchise owner has entered the league with Jones.

While his cameo was not much noticed and did not blow much on social media, Indianapolis Colts team owner Jim Isray made a random cameo in Netflix's American Primeval Episode 1.

Isray did appear in one of the scenes as "Bathing Mountain Man'', who catches Two Moons while she is stealing a knife.

Isray randomly appears as a man sipping whiskey and getting bathed. And for those of you who believe that he might be someone who resembles Isray, American Primeval also credits James Stephen Isray as the Bathing Mountain Man in the credits for Episode 1.

Who is Jim Isray? Has he done any cameos before?

Isray is an American businessman and son of Robert Isray, who acquired the Baltimore franchise for $12 million and moved them to Indianapolis in 1984.

Jim Isray served as the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) till 1996, after which he eventually became the team's owner and CEO in 1997.

While Isray's cameo might be random, this is not the first time the Colts owner has guest appeared in a television show or movie before.

Earlier, he also made a cameo in the 1996 romcom Jerry Maguire, starring Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger in the titular roles. He has also appeared in two episodes of the beloved sitcom Parks & Recreation as himself.

While there is no further information on how Isray ended in American Primeval, the owner's previous cameos suggest that he has a side interest in acting, which he occasionally tests by dropping as cameos here and there. Netflix's miniseries seem to be the Colts owner's recent interest.