Tall, thin, wiry Sam Elliott is the classic picture of the American cowboy. Elliott began his acting career on the stage and his film debut was in _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid .
1976: Listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1976" in John Williss Screen World, Vol. 28.
His bare-buns scene in The Legacy earned the highest rating (3 stars) from "The Bare Facts" -- a printed guide to nudity in movies.
In his book "Shirtless! The Hollywood Male Physique," Donald Reuter refers to Elliott as a "super bod" and gives him a full-page color photograph from his 1976 movie Lifeguard (1976/I) .
9/17/84: Daughter with Katharine Ross , Cleo Rose Elliott, born.
Illness forced him to drop out of the 1982 TV movie The Ambush Murders . He was replaced by James Brolin.
He is an alumnus of Clark College in Vancouver, Washington.
For his role on Tombstone , he worked with renowned Hollywood gun coach Thell Reed , who has also trained such actors as Val Kilmer , Kurt Russell , Bill Paxton , Girard Swan , Leonardo DiCaprio , and Russell Crowe.
His character in Hulk , Gen. Ross, wore a combat patch for the 1st Cavalry Division. In We Were Soldiers , he played Sgt. Maj. Plumley of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, part of the 1st Cav Div.
Had not read any of the His Dark Materials books before he was asked to take the role as Lee Scoresby in The Golden Compass . He chose to first read the books by Philip Pullman , then read the films script.
After portraying General Ross in Hulk he wanted to reprise the role in the reboot The Incredible Hulk , but the part was given to William Hurt.
Used his own Winchester 1894 rifle in Thank You for Smoking .
Fifth husband of Katharine Ross.
To date, he is the first (and only) actor to be nominated for an Emmy for guest-performing on "Robot Chicken" .
In The Big Lebowski , his strange cowboy character admonishes The Dude (played by Jeff Bridges ) for using "cusswords." When recalling anecdotes for the book "Im a Lebowski, Youre a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski, and What Have You" from that film, Elliott used by far the most profanities of any cast member.
Shares birthday with "Smokey Bear," and Sam Elliott has been the voice of "Smokey Bear" since 2008.
Had three films that premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival: Digging for Fire , Grandma , and Ill See You in My Dreams .
Inducted into the International Mustache Hall of Fame in 2015 (inaugural class) in the category Film & Television.
Samuel Pack Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to Glynn Mamie (Sparks), a physical training instructor, and Henry Nelson Elliott, who worked for the Department of the Interior. His parents were both born in Texas. Sam is mainly of English and Scottish descent.
Though often described as making his film debut in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , Elliott actually appeared while a college student as an extra in The Way West , filmed near his hometown in Oregon.
I want to be a Sam Elliott.
The opportunity, number one, to work with Ang Lee is an amazing thing for me.
