‘Landmark’ star Sam Elliott shares similarities between himself and his character: 'I’ve had a hard life'

Sam Elliott, the acclaimed actor renowned for films like ‘Ghost Rider,’ ‘Road House,’ ‘We Were Soldiers,’ and many more, relates to his character more than he ever thought. The 81-year-old plays T.L.Norris in the western drama, ‘Landman,’ and the similarities between the two go deep into the bones.

Sam Elliott talks about similarities with his famed character in ‘Landmark’

Elliott highlighted that the character struggles with physical decline due to age, coping with the aging body. “The truth of it is, [that scene] is very true to where I am at this point in my life physically,” Elliott said in an interview with Variety, before adding, “Not mentally, but physically. I’ve had a hard life. I’ve been an athlete all my life, and I’ve been a laborer all my life, and I’m paying for it now.”


In this particular moment, Elliott was referring to the heartbreaking scene where his character was stuck in the swimming pool, realising that he could not pull himself out anymore until his son helped him out. His character, TL, claims that he cannot stand with his hips and knees. The conversation turns emotional after TL addresses that the declining body feels like a curse in his mind, as he gets to sit and process the information that his body is failing him.

Sam Elliott shares his experience of working with Billy Bob Thornton

Expressing how he feels about working with Billy Bob Thornton, the actor who plays his son, Tommy, the legendary actor shared that he gets to learn new things. “Even though he’s playing my son, he’s still got something to offer,” he said, adding that Thornton has been in the entertainment game for a long time. Furthermore, he appreciated the 70-year-old for being a ‘not-bad director or writer.’