Landman Star Sam Elliott Still Hopes To Make A Movie With This Legendary Sci-fi Director

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Sam Elliott has earned legendary status as an actor. Dating back to his movie debut in the forgotten Western "The Way West" alongside Kirk Douglas in 1967, he's been acting for nearly 60 years. In that time, he's worked alongside many other legends, most recently on the hit series "Landman," which stars Billy Bob Thornton and Demi Moore, among others. But there's one legend Elliott still hopes to work with.

During a 2019 interview with Vanity Fair, Elliott was asked if there were any jobs he turned down that he wished he had taken in hindsight. While he didn't have any, there were jobs he missed out on simply because he didn't land the role. That included auditioning for the one and only Steven Spielberg. Here's what he had to say about it at the time:

"I auditioned for films that I would have liked to have done. I would have loved to have worked for [Steven] Spielberg in my career."

The actor then clarified that his audition was for the role of Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." That role eventually went to Harrison Ford, but other actors tested for the part (Tom Selleck famously missed out on playing Indiana Jones, for example), and Elliott's name is also on that list.

"That's a whole different animal," Elliott said at the time. "That said, for Indiana Jones [my career] would have gone there instead of here. And I'm glad I'm here. But I still would like to work for Spielberg sometime."

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Sam Elliott doesn't appear to mourn his loss of Indiana Jones. He's been around long enough to know that scoring such a high-profile part like that would have taken his career in a wildly different direction. Maybe he never makes "Tombstone," "Road House," or "The Big Lebowski" if audiences thought of him as Indy. But wanting to work with Steven Spielberg in some capacity? That's an understandable desire for any working actor.

Spielberg has made some of the best sci-fi movies of all time, including "E.T.," "Jurassic Park," and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." He's made heralded classics such as "Schindler's List," "Jaws," and "Saving Private Ryan." Spielberg isn't just a nostalgia act either, as some of his recent work, such as "West Side Story" and "The Fabelmans," has also been met with widespread acclaim. Put simply, Spielberg is one of the greatest to ever do it.

Fortunately, there's still time for Spielberg and Elliott to collaborate with one another. Spielberg is getting ready to release his latest sci-fi flick "Disclosure Day." After that? It's a little up in the air, but Spielberg revealed at this year's SXSW that he's finally making a Western. It may be a little on the nose, but it's very easy to picture Elliott suiting up as a cowboy in a Western directed by Spielberg.

Without sounding too grim or putting bad thoughts in anyone's heads, neither of these legends are getting any younger. Still, they both seem perfectly happy to keep working for as long as they possibly can. Here's hoping they cross paths professionally before all's said and done.

"Landman" is streaming now on Paramount+.