Trivia

Used his own Winchester 1894 rifle in Thank You for Smoking (2005).

Shares birthday with "Smokey Bear," and Sam Elliott has been the voice of "Smokey Bear" since 2008.

Inducted into the International Mustache Hall of Fame in 2015 (inaugural class) in the category Film & Television.

To date, he is the first (and only) actor to be nominated for an Emmy for guest-performing on Robot Chicken (2001).

Samuel Pack Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to Glynn Mamie (Sparks), a physical training instructor who taught at a high school, and Henry Nelson Elliott, who worked for the Department of the Interior as a predator control specialist. His parents were both born in Texas. Sam is mainly of English and Scottish descent.

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).

9/17/84: Daughter with Katharine Ross, Cleo Rose Elliott, born.

After portraying General Ross in Hulk (2003) he wanted to reprise the role in the reboot The Incredible Hulk (2008), but the part was given to William Hurt.

In The Big Lebowski (1998), his strange cowboy character admonishes The Dude (played by Jeff Bridges) for using "cusswords." When recalling anecdotes for the book "I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski, and What Have You" from that film, Elliott used by far the most profanities of any cast member.

1976: Listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1976" in John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 28.

As of 2019, he has appeared in 3 films that were Oscar nominated for Best Picture: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Up in the Air (2009), and A Star Is Born (2018).

His great-great-great-uncle, Edward F. Mitchusson, was a doctor who died at the Alamo in 1836. Edward was the brother of Sam's paternal great-great-grandfather, Jacob Robert Mitchusson.

Began singing in the choir when he was four years old at the Congregational Church in Sacramento.

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 (2007). He chose to first read the books by Philip Pullman, then read the film's script.

His character in Hulk (2003), Gen. Ross, wore a combat patch for the 1st Cavalry Division. In We Were Soldiers (2002), he played Sgt. Maj. Plumley of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, part of the 1st Cav Div.

Attended high school with the guys who formed the Kingsmen (1963's "Louie Louie").

His bare-buns scene in The Legacy (1978) earned the highest rating (3 stars) from "The Bare Facts" -- a printed guide to nudity in movies.

He is an alumnus of Clark College in Vancouver, Washington.

Had three films that premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival: Digging for Fire (2015), Grandma (2015), and I'll See You in My Dreams (2015).

In his autobiography 'All Those Moments', Rutger Hauer describes how executive producer Edward S. Feldman settled on Elliott for the role of John Ryder in The Hitcher (1986). Hauer states that "Apparently, Elliott was so scary when he came in to audition that Edward S. Feldman was afraid to go out to his car afterward." Elliott had a scheduling conflict and had to back out of the role.

Sam served in the California Air National Guards 146th Airlift Wing. While he was enlisted in the reserve branch, he was never actually deployed. And it's something that he's had to come to terms with over the years.