The actor Sam Rockwell will always regret never working with: “He was the guy”
Sam Rockwell is the latest in a long line of actors whose chameleonic abilities make them perfect for a wide variety of parts, a style of performance that is sadly becoming less common.
As a veteran of the stage and screen, Rockwell has appeared in projects of all types of genres, and his level of screen time doesn’t seem to matter; although he won the Academy Award for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his memorable turn in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, he also gave a tour-de-force performance as Bob Fosse in the ten-part miniseries Fosse/Verdon. There’s not another actor who can bring such a unique presence to whatever they are involved in, regardless of how it turns out quality-wise.
His willingness to take small parts, and at times even cameos, is what has distinguished him from stars of the same generation, and while being an A-lister means that the actor in question has to ensure both critical and commercial success for every project they appear in, most of which come with significant expectations, Rockwell has had the freedom to pursue more personal interests and niche experiences.
There are not many actors for whom the same could be said, with the one exception being the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman, who, like Rockwell, could knock any role he wanted out of the park, regardless of whether it was a brief cameo or a major lead performance. The latter never had the opportunity to co-star with him, and said that it’s one of the biggest regrets of his career.
“I had two opportunities, maybe three, and they were squandered, and I regret that,” Rockwell told People magazine, adding, “There’s a couple I could have worked with Nick Nolte, could have worked with Kurt Russell, really been kicking myself. Richard Jenkins. They’re still out there, there’s time, but Phil, we were very close, we were good friends, and he directed me, and he was just one of the guys. He was the guy.”
Rockwell’s approach to his career is interesting because he seems to pursue acting opportunities over anything else; whereas some may have scoffed at his decision to star in a flop like Argylle, it still gave him an opportunity to work with Samuel L Jackson, Bryan Cranston, and the late great Catherine O’Hara.
Similarly, his unusual cameo within the most recent season of The White Lotus earned him co-stars like Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Scott Glenn, and Carrie Coon, so his regret about Hoffman’s passing serves as a reminder of what a shock the latter’s death was during what was a fruitful period within his career.
Hoffman had just completed work on the excellent John le Carre adaptation A Most Wanted Man, which was released after his death, and was also in the midst of shooting the two-part finale of The Hunger Games franchise, leading the finale instalment to have to write around his off-screen death in order to bring a satisfying end to the character.
The versatile actor’s upcoming projects suggest he’ll continue to seek out the best co-stars, slated to work with Steve Buscemi, John Malkovich, and Mark Ruffalo in Wild Horse Nine, the latest from director Martin McDonagh, and as valiant as his efforts have been, it’s an unfortunate reality that tragedy can be difficult to anticipate.
