Some fans need to remember that Sam Elliott only portrays characters and is a human.
Firstly, the Hollywood star spoke to AZ Central about his accurate portrayals of characters over the years. His iconic roles in The Big Lebowski and Road House are anything but forgettable.
“I’m pointing to a screen behind me. That’s not me up there,” he said. He clarified that it’s “what I do for a living. That’s me playing that part.”
While some actors are into methods and truly getting into their characters, Eliott is the exact opposite.
“And I’m not one of those actors that’s ever going to be accused of becoming a chameleon. There’s a certain thing of me here,” he admitted. “It’s channeled through me, that part, and it is me. But still, I’m playing a part. It’s not Sam Elliott. It’s Sam Elliott, actor.”
Sam Elliott on the Decline of Western Films
Sam Elliott is known for making some of the most iconic Western movies to date. He has also been featured in television shows about the cowboy lifestyle like The Ranch. Unfortunately, the film genre has seen a steep decline recently.
“Hollywood’s forgotten about the western genre, and that’s unfortunate. Cowboy movies are really hard work, but I’d love to do another one. I have a great simpatico for the Old West. We need to stay true to those old values,” Elliott previously told AARP.
Although he enjoyed Western roles and movies, he does feel that he was “pigeonholed” into the genre.
“There’s no doubt about that. I used to bristle at that on some level, like I was sold short as a one-note actor. Like I could only do the cowboy thing and that’s it. But then I got out of that,” he told Collider.
Sam Elliott is becoming increasingly known for his roles beyond the cowboy genre. His most recent major blockbuster was A Star Is Born with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. The film won and was nominated for almost every prestigious award. Overall, it banked almost half a billion dollars at the box office.
Finally, Elliott noted that some of the Westerns have gotten his foot in the door for his non-western roles.
“Those things came to me because of my backstory in westerns,” he added. “So I didn’t growl about it anymore. Nowadays I’m more thankful that I had it. Probably the truth of it is that if the Western thing hadn’t have happened, I wouldn’t have much of a career.”