5 Best Sam Elliott Movies That Are Not Westerns

Chances are, if you're thinking of Sam Elliot and his acting career, you're bound to think of him as a Western fixture. How could you not? In the 2020s alone, the man's become a staple of Taylor Sheridan programming like "Landman" and "1883." Long before that, titles like "Tombstone" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" provided pivotal milestones in Elliot's acting career. With that deep voice, so many silver screen performances plopping a cowboy hat on his head, and his authoritative acting persona, Elliot's become intertwined with that classic genre.

Of course, Sam Elliot has done far more in his career than just appear in Westerns. He's been in movies of all stripes, including a bevy of acclaimed titles that couldn't be further from the worlds of high noon showdowns and cattle-rustling. The five best Sam Elliot movies that aren't Westerns (arranged from "least best" to greatest based on Letterboxd average ratings) help one appreciate, above all else, how long Elliot's been delivering tremendous performances. His career spans multiple decades and so many great auteurs, a testament to how long he's been positively impacting the cinema world.

These five films reinforce Elliot's immense range as a performer, as well as his gift for supporting a larger film as a memorable part of its cast. In other words, these five movies prove that Sam Elliot doesn't need a Western to excel as a performer.

Directing "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" apparently scared filmmaker Jason Reitman, but that fear didn't result in a very good movie. That 2021 dud is one of several misfires Reitman's helmed in recent years. Reitman's filmography has become so littered with hollow odes to the past that it's hard to remember that, back in the late 2000s, Reitman was frequently hailed as the second coming of Preston Sturges for his original, adult-skewing features. Perhaps he needs to reunite with Sam Elliot, an actor who appeared in the ensemble casts of two of his first three significantly better movies.

One of those two films was "Up in the Air," which focused on aloof businessman Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), who prefers living via a rotating door of flights rather than developing emotional connections with others. Elliot plays pilot Maynard Finch in a motion picture that's secured a solid 3.6 rating on Letterboxd. The sharp casting, especially its use of George Clooney's suave movie star demeanor for more bittersweet means, heavily informs that positive reception. 

Elliot's lived-in work is one of many "Up in the Air" performances that's proven critical to its long-term artistic reputation. Bringing Elliot back can only help Reitman's creatively beleaguered modern projects.

Director Peter Bogdanovich's filmography has its artistic ups and downs, but his ability to launch longstanding acting careers was mighty impressive. His second feature film, "The Last Picture Show," catapulted Jeff Bridges to beloved leading man status. "Paper Moon," meanwhile, introduced the world to Tatum O'Neal. Then there's his 1985 work "Mask," which featured Sam Elliot as a leading man. While Elliot was a fixture of television throughout the 1970s, anchoring "Mask" with Cher solidified that this actor could excel headlining major theatrical features. From here on out, he'd be a staple of big screen movies across all genres.

Lightly based on a true story, "Mask" follows Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz), a teenager who goes through life with a severe facial condition. Though often ostracized from an unaccepting society, with help from his mother, Rusty (Cher) and her biker boyfriend Gar (Elliot), Dennis pursues academic triumphs and the little joys that make life worth living. "Mask" currently has a 3.6 rating on Letterboxd, with Cher and Elliot's performances getting the lion's share of the praise from the site's most euphoric reviews. Elliot's ability to be believable as a biker while also nailing his more tender emotional scenes was an early demonstration of his acting dexterity, despite his external personality seemingly pigeonholing him exclusively into Westerns.

Certain "Mask" Letterboxd reviews do point out that the film lapses into some excessively treacly material. Generally, though, these reviews point to a positive reputation for both "Mask" and Elliot's game-changing movie performance.

Like any actor who has constantly worked over 50+ years in the industry, Sam Elliot's career isn't just limited to his five best Western movies or that genre as a whole. However, several of his roles in non-Westerns have inevitably placed this man in realms or occupations that harken back to the Western's rural aesthetics. Case in point: "A Star is Born," which Sam Elliot agreed to be in after a bizarre encounter. This feature focuses on the romance between country singer Jackson "Jack" Maine (Bradley Cooper) and aspiring musician Ally Maine (Lady Gaga), with Elliot playing Jackson's weary older half-brother Bobby Maine.

It's no surprise that Cooper and the rest of the "A Star is Born" team would call upon a man so deeply associated with cowboys and Western ambiance to play a country singer's manager. That clever casting was one of several traits in this title hailed by Letterboxd users, which gave this incarnation of "A Star is Born" an average rating of 3.6. Scan these reviews even just for a few seconds and one will immediately stumble upon Letterboxd reviews praising Elliot as one of the greatest "A Star is Born" attributes. A scene where Bobby drives away and Elliot portrays the guy barely keeping tears down is an especially excellent display of his skills. Elliot and Lady Gaga both excelled here, but Elliot ties it all together with an emotional bow.

"Thank You for Smoking," the first film from Jason Reitman (and the inaugural time he and Sam Elliot collaborated), was another sharp example of taking the cowboy image cultivated by the "Big Lebowski" narrator and taking it in unexpected directions. This movie follows tobacco industry spokesman Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) trying to spread misinformation for his wealthy tobacco clients. An early figure Naylor must coerce to stop an anti-smoking crusade is Lorne Lutch (Elliot), a man here portrayed as the very first Marlboro Man, the cowboy mascot for the Marlboro cigarette company.

This actual cigarette marketing fixture was meant to connect the classical masculine ideals of cowboys with cigarettes and make these products "cool" by association. Elliot's cowboy persona makes it believable that he could play a former Marlboro Man. Meanwhile, Reitman's script portraying modern-day Lutch as a cancer-ridden sickly man intriguingly subverts the imposing image many have of Elliot. That thoughtful casting (akin to the thoughtfulness informing casting surprises that shook up entire franchises) embodies the creativity that's ensured "Thank You for Smoking" has a 3.6 average Letterboxd rating.

This title's sharply written comedy and its terrifically assembled ensemble cast (which includes Elliot flexing his acting muscles) are two core ingredients behind why "Thank You for Smoking" is still held in high regard. Reitman and Elliot really are a winning filmmaker/actor combo.

The very first voice audiences hear in the wacky Joel and Ethan Coen comedy "The Big Lebowski" belongs to Sam Elliot's The Stranger. "A way out west there was this fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski," The Stranger begins, reciting these words in Elliot's famous voice. It immediately draws viewers in and never lets them go. From there, the tale of Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) unfurls as he gets caught up in a tale of mistaken identity, chopped-off toes, lots of money, and trips to a local bowling alley. It's a stoner twist on Raymond Chandler that only the Coen Brothers could concoct.

"The Big Lebowski" is considered the best Sam Elliot movie of all time on IMDB, so it shouldn't be a shock that the film is also beloved on Letterboxd. This project, considered one of the best comedy movies of the 1990s, has an outstanding 4.1 average rating on Letterboxd. The title's legendary script, chock-full of inspired lines that have become part of everyday conversations, is a key reason for that response. Also helping are the unwaveringly dedicated performances from actors like Sam Elliot. They're all 110% in with the distinct and unusual ambiance the Coens cook up.

Thus, Elliot delivers plenty of all-time great lines in "The Big Lebowski," including his perfect delivery of The Stranger's "I didn't like the part where Donny died" observation as the movie winds down.