1979 – His Career In Westerns Officially Begins
Sam Elliott has been known as a character actor. However, it wasn’t until in 1979 that his roles in Western-genre films/shows would get started. He starred alongside Tom Selleck in the TV movie The Sacketts. This was an adaptation from one of the books written by Louis L’amour.
In a second opportunity, Elliott would participate with Selleck in another adaptation of L’amour works. This time, it would be The Shadow Riders, another successful Western made-for-TV movie. Elliott’s character actor reputation was beginning to grow. He was really good at playing these parts.