- During the making of The Last Picture Show (1971), he often tagged along to watch filming with his elder brother Timothy Bottoms and one day the director Peter Bogdanovich decided to test screen Sam and eventually cast him as Billy.
- He appeared in three films that were nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture: The Last Picture Show (1971), Apocalypse Now (1979) and Seabiscuit (2003).
- Began acting at the Santa Barbara (California) Youth Theatre at age 10.
- Father is sculptor James "Bud" Bottoms.
- His daughter Io Bottoms is also an actor.
- Had two daughters from his first wife Susan Arnold, Io and Clara.
- He was cremated and his ashes given to his widow.
- He has appeared in three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Last Picture Show (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and Apocalypse Now (1979).
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