Sam Elliott is a veteran actor famous for his roles as Conn Conagher in Conagher which was released in the early 90s and as Wild Bill Hickok in the 1995 miniseries Buffalo Girl. Most of Sam Elliott movies have made him a recipient of several prestigious awards and nominations as proof of his outstanding acting career.
The talented actor, known for his thick mustache and signature deep voice, was born in the capital city of the state of California in the United States of America on August 9, 1944. Sam’s ancestry can be traced to Texas, El Paso to be precise, as his parents hailed from there. His father, Henry Elliott, worked at the United States Department of the Interior while his mother, Glynn Mamie, was a teacher and fitness instructor.
In 1957, Elliott, alongside his family, left California for Oregon, settling in Portland upon their arrival. He schooled in David Douglas High School, graduating in 1962. Sam’s college education was quite a bit dramatic. He got admitted into the University of Oregon where he was studying Psychology and English but later dropped out after a period of time. Elliott then went on to complete a two-year program at Clark College Vancouver in 1965. After leaving Clark College, he reapplied and got admission back to the University of Oregon but later dropped out again after the death of his father.
Sam Elliott began his acting career sometime in the 60s as a supporting actor, portraying unusual, yet interesting characters. The following content highlights the various Sam Elliott movies and television shows that the Sacramento-born actor has ever featured in till date, coupled with a few film reviews and summaries.
Sam Elliott Movies
Elliott got his movie debut in 1967 as a minor character in the western film The Way West which was directed by Andrew McLaglen. The movie’s storyline was gotten from a novel titled The Way West by Alfred Bertram Guthrie Jr. Alfred was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1950 for his efforts in the novel. The film starred notable actors like Kirk Douglas, Richard Widmark, Lola Albright, Sally Field, and Jack Elam.
In 1969, the American actor appeared in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, portraying the character of a card player. The film was largely successful, becoming the top-grossing film at the time and also as the writer, William Goldman, was awarded an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The movie was directed by four-time Golden Globe award-winning director, George Roy Hill. It also featured actors and actresses like , , Jeff Corey, Henry Jones, , and Cloris Leachman.
Sam Elliott’s much-awaited break came in 1976 when he starred in Lifeguard. The film’s screenplay was written by Ron Koslow and directed by Canadian director, Daniel Petrie. Anne Archer, , Stephen Young, and were among the cast of the movie.
The talented actor starred alongside Katharine Ross, and Andy Griffith in the 1981 film Murder in Texas. The drama film was written and directed by John McGreevey and William Hale respectively. The movie got a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1982. In the same year, Sam was among the cast for The Shadow Riders. The movie which was directed by Andrew McLaglen also featured top acts like Katharine Ross, Dominique Dunne, and .
The California native was featured in The Quick and the Dead released in 1987. The movie which was directed by Robert Day was an adaptation of a novel by popular novelist Louis L’Amour. It also starred Tom Conti, Kenny Morrison, Matt Clark, and Kate Capshaw. Conagher is one of the Sam Elliott movies that marked a milestone for the actor. It was based on another novel of the same title by Louis L’Amour. The movie starred Elliott’s wife, Katharine Ross, as well as Barry Corbin, Ken Curtis and James Gammon. The western drama was directed by Reynaldo Villalobos. For his spectacular performance in the film, he received a Golden Globe Award nomination.
The American actor portrayed the character of John Buford in the 1993 war drama Gettysburg. The film is an adaptation of The Killer Angels, a novel written by Michael Shaara which depicts the Battle of Gettysburg. It featured the likes of Tom Berenger, , , and . The film was directed by Ronald Maxwell who also wrote the screenplay.
Elliott featured as the famous deputy U.S Marshal Virgil Earp in Tombstone, a movie written by Kevin Jarre. It starred , Val Kilmer, , Michael Biehn, and . The western film which was released on Christmas day in 1993 by Hollywood Pictures was directed by George Cosmatos. It grossed over $55 million at the box office.
He featured in popular American film Ghost Rider which was released in 2007. The film was written and directed by Mark Johnson. It also has famous American actor playing the lead role of the Ghost Rider, as well as , Peter Fonda, and Wes Bentley. Ghost Rider, despite its many non-positive reviews, especially from Rotten Tomatoes which scored it 27% based on 13 reviews, was a box office hit, grossing over $228 million globally.
Other films by the award-winning actor include We Were Soldiers, Hulk, and comedy film The Hero which was released in 2017. Another notable film by the top actor is the 2018 musical film A Star is Born. Following his superb performance in the film, Elliott was honored with a National Board of Review Award, coupled with nominations at Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Critics’ Choice Award.
TV Shows
Elliott made his television show debut in 1969, starring in an episode of Judd, for the Defense. The series started airing from September 8, 1967, up until September 19, 1969, on American Broadcasting Company network. The show was created by Alexander Courage and had a total of 50 episodes spread over two seasons. It also starred some Hollywood top acts like Carl Betz, Stephen Young, and Katharine Houghton.
The award-winning actor was featured in the American series titled Lancer – a show created by Samuel Peeples. The series which began airing on September 24, 1968, on CBS network, starred the likes of James Stacy, Andrew Duggan, Elizabeth Baur, and Wayne Maunder. Out of a total of 51 episodes that the show comprised of, Elliott managed to make an appearance in just three.
Elliott was part of the cast in the hit American series Mission: Impossible, featuring as Doug Robert. He appeared in quite a number of episodes from 1970 to 1971.
Sam was a guest star actor on American T.V series Justified which was released in March 2010. It starred , , Erica Tazel, and Jere Burns. It aired a total of 78 episodes in 6 seasons. Metacritic, a review aggregation site, based on 12 reviews scored the series 91/100 on its first season. The series received a Peabody Award in 2010 and a Critics’ Choice Television Award.
In 2016, Elliott joined the cast of Netflix series The Ranch. The Sitcom which was created by Don Reo and Jim Patterson also starred the likes of , , Danny Masterson, and . It consists of 3 seasons with a total of 60 episodes. The American series received widespread positive reviews from various critics. Rotten Tomatoes awarded the series an approval rating of about 70% which was based on 141 reviews. Metacritic scored the series 56/100 based on 20 reviews.
Elliott appeared as a guest star actor in western series Gunsmoke, created by Norman Macdonnell for radio and television. The radio series aired from 1952 to 1961 while the television series began airing from 1955 up until 1975.
Sam’s first nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award came after the miniseries Buffalo Girls was released. The series which began airing in 1995 also bagged an Emmy for its outstanding sound mixing alongside several Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. The western series was directed by Rod Hardy and featured other actors like Gabriel Bryne, Peter Coyote, Tracy Walter, , and Anjelica Huston.
Sam Elliott Movies and TV Shows – Reviews and Summaries
Most of the films and TV shows that Sam Elliott has featured in have received quite a lot of criticism from many experts and film aggregator websites. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic have been the outspoken critics so far. We shall be reviewing some recent film works by the American actor.
The Hero earned Elliott widespread praise and admiration. The 2017 film which was directed by Brett Haley also starred his wife, Katharine Ross, as well as and Nick Offerman. The film got a 78% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews from 106 critics. The aggregator site gave the actor all the credit for his superb performance. The comedy-drama scored 61/100 on Metacritic which was based solely on 28 reviews.
Some other Same Elliott movies include The man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot. The adventure film was written and directed by Robert Krzykowski. The film received a Certified Fresh approval rating, based on 87 critics’ reviews, of 75%. It also had an average rating of about 6.5 out of 10.
In 2018, Sam Elliott was part of the cast on the award-winning film A Star is Born which also starred , , and . The box office hit movie grossed over $430 million globally. Rotten Tomatoes spoke highly of the movie, giving it an approval rating of 90% which was based on over 480 views. The average rating of the movie was about 8/10. He received his first Academy Award nomination, as well as another award nomination from the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
