Sam Elliott 's rugged good looks and sonorous voice helped make him a movie star, and there are seven films that defined his career on the big screen. Across seven decades thus far, Elliott has established himself as a go-to actor for western roles, but he is a unique performer who has been able to branch out into other genres too.

Getting his start in the late 1960s on TV, Elliott spent the bulk of his first decade in Hollywood making appearances on shows like Mission: Impossible and Gunsmoke . His talents in the western genre were apparent from day one, but his TV credits helped him stretch his range as well. However, movie stardom evaded him.

Across his earliest movie roles, it was clear that Hollywood wasn't sure what to do with Elliott. He bounded from one disparate part to t

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