Sam Elliott reveals tally of health issues he got from working on Taylor Sheridan's 1883


The Landman actor opened up about his experience on the Yellowstone spin-off, and what made him return to the Sheridanverse for another series


Sam Elliott attends the Season 2 premiere of "Landman" at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on November 11, 2025 in New York City© FilmMagic
Beatriz Colon
Beatriz ColonNew York Writer - New York
November 19, 2025
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It appears Taylor Sheridan was adamant about having Sam Elliott join him on another show of his.

The A Star is Born actor, 81, has returned to the Sheridanverse for the second go for the second season of Landman, four years after he first starred in the Yellowstone prequel 1883, led by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

Now, he is giving insight into what made him come back, despite the range of health issues he had to deal with between filming the two shows.

Sam Elliott (L) and Taylor Sheridan attend the after party for the world premiere of "1883" at SW Steakhouse at Wynn Las Vegas on December 11, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada© Getty Images
Sam and Taylor celebrating 1883 in 2021

Speaking with Deadline alongside his Landman co-star Billy Bob Thornton, Sam first gushed: "1883 was one of the greatest gifts I've ever been handed. Know what I mean? Taylor's a gifted man. He's got a lot of really talented people around him."

Then, giving insight into his initial hesitation over coming back to another Western-esque show, and the fact that he hadn't worked since 1883, save for voicing a few episodes of Family Guy, Sam explained: "I didn't work, after 1883. I hadn't done anything. Is that by choice? Yeah, sure. I mean, I got offers to do stuff, and they're not always great offers. They're easy to turn down."

"But I got offered stuff that my agents would like to have seen me do," he went on, before revealing: "I had a number of physical things I was dealing with, some of them directly because of my experience on 1883, and some I had before that reared back up on me after shooting."

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"That show beat the [expletive] out of me," he confessed, and further shared: "I had a fall. I've got two torn tendons in my hip that are aren't going to heal up."

Sam Elliott and Billy Bob Thornton attend the Season 2 premiere of "Landman" at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on November 11, 2025 in New York City© FilmMagic
With Billy Bob at the Landman premiere

Moreover, he said: "I can't hear anything anymore, because of all the [expletive] gunfire. We were using these full loads, all the way through the show. I've been around that [expletive] all my life."

Ali Larter, Billy Bob Thornton and Demi Moore attend the "Landman" Season Two UK Premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on November 16, 2025 in London, England© WireImage
Landman also stars Ali Larter and Demi Moore

So, as for what made him come back, he said: "Billy Bob, and another chance. I talked to Taylor, and he asked me what I've been doing. I said, nothing, man. I just, nothing being home and enjoying it, being with my family, being with my girls and having a good time. And dealing with all this other [physical] stuff. And he said, well, I'm going to put your ass back to work."

Sam has been married to The Graduate actress Katharine Ross since 1984, and the couple share a daughter, Cleo Rose Elliott, born three months after their wedding.

Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross;Cleo Rose Elliott arrives at the Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures' "A Star Is Born"  at The Shrine Auditorium on September 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California© WireImage
The actor with his wife and daughter in 2018

"I said, great," he added of when Taylor called him up. "I didn't know what he was talking about. And then he finally reached out to my agent and they started working on this deal, but I still haven't seen any material. I'm one of those guys, I got to see it. I got to see something. 

"I kept asking Taylor about it, even knowing that he's turned out great material. He finally sent me the first couple of episodes. There were the two scenes you watched, me sitting there looking at the sun, and just talking. Then it was, when do we start?"

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