Biography
A laconic performer whose trademark bushy mustache and deep gravely voice made him perfect for Western roles, actor Sam Elliott unfortunately emerged at a time when that particular genre had run its course. As one of the last actors to sign an exclusive contract under the old studio system, Elliott struggled to find his footing in the feature world, which led to getting his start on the small screen with a regular series role on "Mission: …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
| Attended Columbia Pictures Film Workshop in Los Angeles | ||
| Signed contract with 20th Century Fox | ||
1969 | Appeared in episodes of the CBS series "Lancer" | |
1969 | Made film debut in a bit role of 2nd card player in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"; future wife Katharine Ross was the female lead, but the two did not meet | |
1970 | TV-movie debut, "The Challenge" (ABC) | |
1970 | Was a series regular on "Mission: Impossible" (CBS) playing the role of Dr. Doug Lang | |
1972 | First feature lead, "Frogs" | |
1973 | Played Detective Charlie Bronski in the acclaimed NBC miniseries "The Blue Knight" | |
1975 | Pursued the Nez Pearce Indians as they tried to flee to Canada in "I Will Fight No More Forever" (ABC) | |
1976 | Had breakthrough feature playing the title role in "Lifeguard" | |
1976 | Portrayed Sam Damon on the seven-part NBC miniseries "Once an Eagle" | |
1979 | Began relationship with Ross during the making of the goofy-gothic mystery "The Legacy" | |
1979 | Starred with Tom Selleck in the NBC miniseries "The Sacketts" | |
1981 | First of five TV projects with Ross, the CBS miniseries "Murder in Texas" | |
1982 | Re-teamed with Selleck on "The Shadow Riders" (CBS) | |
1983 | Acted opposite Cybill Shephard on NBC's "The Yellow Rose" | |
1985 | First feature film in six years, Peter Bogdanovich's "Mask" | |
1987 | Acted opposite Kate Capshaw in the HBO film "The Quick and the Dead" | |
1988 | Fought drugs and corruption as a NYC undercover cop in "Shakedown" | |
1989 | Co-starred with Patrick Swayze as bouncers in "Road House" | |
1990 | Played a man who suffered a heart attack and died following a mad, pasionate afternoon of carnality with Kirstie Alley in Carl Reiner's "Sibling Rivalry" | |
1991 | Cast as a detective keeping tabs on his undercover narcs Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Rush" | |
1991 | First executive producer and co-screenwriting credit (shared with Jeffrey M. Meyer and wife Katharine Ross), the TNT movie "Conagher"; also played the title role opposite Ross; earned a Golden Globe nomination Best Actor | |
1993 | Acted the part of Virgil Earp in "Tombstone" | |
1993 | Distinguished himself as Brigadier General John Buford, one of the unsung heroes of "Gettysburg" (TNT) | |
1993 | Was a hard-drinking cop in the NBC movie "Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert" | |
1994 | Headlined the surprisingly good straight-to-video Western, "The Desperate Trail" | |
1995 | Gave an unflinching portrayal as Wild Bill Hickock in the CBS miniseries "Buffalo Girls"; earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Best Supporting Actor | |
1995 | Starred in the ABC movie "The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky" | |
1997 | Portrayed Captain Bucky O'Neill in TNT's "Rough Riders" | |
1998 | Appeared as the stranger in the Coen brothers' "The Big Lebowski" | |
1998 | Played villainous Jim Ed Love to Woody Harrelson's heroic Big Boy Matson in Stephen Frears' "The Hi-Lo Country" | |
1999 | Executive produced and starred as legendary lawman Bill Tilghman in TNT's "You Know My Name" | |
2000 | Earned critical acclaim for playing the presidential chief of staff in "The Contender" | |
2002 | Cast as a grizzled veteran sergeant major in "We Were Soldiers" | |
2003 | Appeared in the Ang Lee-directed "The Hulk" | |
2005 | Starred with Joan Allen in the Campbell Scott directed "Off the Map" | |
2006 | Co-starred as the original Marlboro Man in Jason Reitman's satirical comedy "Thank You for Smoking" | |
2007 | Co-starred with Nicholas Cage in the Marvel Comics-inspired "Ghost Rider" | |
2009 | Acted opposite Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant in the comedy "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" | |
2009 | Featured in Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air," starring George Clooney | |
2010 | Voiced the character of Chupadogra in the live-action film based on the comic strip "Marmaduke" | |
Awards
1991 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television in Conagher |
1995 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in Buffalo Girls |
1995 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor In a Miniseries or Special in Buffalo Girls |