Playing Chief of Staff
Sam’s performance in The Big Lebowski was another one of his career’s high points. It just so happened that writer/director Rod Lurie had just finished the script for The Contender and cast Jeff Bridges as the US president. Lurie enjoyed the on-screen chemistry he saw between Bridges and Elliott in The Big Lebowski, so he wanted to recreate it by casting Sam as the president’s Chief of Staff.
Photo by Gino Mifsud / Battleground Prod / Cinerenta / Kobal / Shutterstock.com
But because Sam was always in Westerns, Lurie’s decision to cast him in the movie sparked some controversy. The Contender (from 2000) was a modern-day political drama. It was by no means a Western. But Sam relished in the opportunity, which great for him to stretch his acting muscles. He knocked it out the ballpark and received nothing but praise.