Sam Elliott is an incredible actor probably known best for his perfect mustache and his gravelly voice. And with those gifts, he’s gone on to star in some of the biggest and best films in history. In a new interview with Yahoo, the actor details some of his biggest roles and what he remembers most about them, and it’s interesting to hear what Elliott remembers about working with the Coen Brothers, Robert Redford and Ang Lee.
Believe it or not, one of his first roles was in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” But you probably wouldn’t know it, unless he told you. “I was in the card game right at the beginning of the film, and in the finished print of the film, I’m not on camera at all, I’m literally a shadow on the wall. I’ve got one line,” Elliott said. “I watched Redford work for a couple days, that was fun.”
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Compare that to one of his most well-known roles, as The Stranger in the Coen Brothers’ film “The Big Lebowski.” In a fourth-wall-breaking scene, Elliott cemented his legendary status in the minds of so many film fans. He was so good in that scene that the Coen Brothers didn’t want it to end.
“That last day on that film, when I’m looking into the camera and talking to the audience, I’d done that scene eight [or] nine times and the brothers were [right there next to the camera],” the actor said. “I’d done the scene and I’d felt like I had nailed it more than once. And I just looked at them and said, ‘Hey, you guys gotta tell me what the f–k you want. And they said, ‘No, we got it on the third or fourth take, we just like seeing you do it.’”
A film he’d probably like to forget is “Hulk,” directed by Ang Lee. You know, the Hulk film that everyone makes fun of and features some of the worst CGI to be seen in the modern era. Well, according to Elliott, the things he remembers most aren’t anything to do with the big, green hero.
“Jennifer Connolly’s green eyes and Ang Lee are the two things I remember most about that film,” he said with a laugh.
For most fans, those are probably the things they would like to recall most, as well.
Of course, Sam Elliott is Oscar-nominated this year for his role in “A Star is Born,” and we’ll have to see if he walks away with the trophy on February 24.