Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard’s 10 Best Movies

Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and Oscar nominated actor, passed away this week from complications from ALS at the age of 73.  Shepard was never a glamorous actor.  He rarely had starring roles; he preferred to work as part of an ensemble.  His most memorable role was his only Oscar nomination, playing test pilot Chuck Yeager in 1983’s The Right Stuff.  He was an actor who worked more and got progressively better roles as he aged, his next-to-last coming in the acclaimed Netflix series Bloodlines as the patriarch of the troubled Rayburn family.  He also was outstanding in the mini-series adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s sequel to Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo.  “Presence” is a quality you either intrinsically have as an actor or are constantly working to manufacture.  For Shepard, it was effortless.  RIP.

Sam Shepard in Black Hawk Down
Sam Shepard’s Best 10
1. Black Hawk Down (2001) Garrison
2. The Right Stuff (1983)
Chuck Yeager
3. Streets of Laredo (1995-CBS) Pea Eye
4. Bloodlines (2015-2017-Netflix) Robert Rayburn
5. Thunderheart (1992) Frank Coutelle
6. Fair Game (2010) Sam Plame
7. Mud (2012) Tom
8. Safe House (2012) Harlan Whitford
9. Out of the Furnace (2013) Gerald Baze
10. The Pelican Brief (1993) Thomas Callahan4.
Honorable Mention: Dash and Lilly (1999-HBO) Dashiell Hammett


Sam Shepard as Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff

Oscars, Golden Globes & Emmys

Oscar Wins (0): None

Oscar Nominations (1): The Right Stuff (1984)

Sam Shepard in Bloodlines

Golden Globe Wins (0): None

Golden Globe Nominations (1): Dash and Lilly (2000) 

Sam Shepard in Thunderheart

Emmy Wins (0): None

Emmy Nominations (1): Dash and Lilly (1999) 

My Favorite Shepard Scene:
“Breaking the Sound Barrier” from The Right Stuff (1983)

Next Film: Sam Shepard’s final role was in June 2017’s Never Here.
Never Here Poster

One thought on “Sam Shepard’s 10 Best Movies”

  1. Too bad. He took what he did seriously. But how could he not? If you’re a master playwright, a craftsman on his level, your’re going to be able to spot the quality work and the quality parts.


    73 is way too young. RIP.

    Liked by 1 person

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