"To avoid fame as an actor is foolish"- When Sam Rockwell gave his take on success as an actor

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A still of Sam Rockwell (Image via Getty)

Sam Rockwell has been an iconic actor over the past decades, winning many accolades on the way, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The 56-year-old has always made great film choices and has been widely acclaimed for his performances in multiple movies like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) and Jojo Rabbit (2019).

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He has also been an actor with a brilliant mindset and has often expressed opinions that uniquely resonate with his fans. One such moment came for the actor in a 2015 interview with The Talks, where he opened up about fame as an actor.

Differing from many other actors who do not like the more messy side of fame, Sam Rockwell explained how he embraces it and he said in the interview that it was "foolish" to try avoiding fame as an actor. He said in the interview addressing this:

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"To avoid fame as an actor is foolish. It’s inevitable that if you’re going to be an actor, you’re going to be famous on some level if you’re going to be a successful actor. It’s naïve to think you can avoid all that. You can pick your route, you know, you don’t have to do your laundry in front of the paparazzi."
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He continued:

"There are people who are more low-key like Daniel Day-Lewis or Viggo Mortensen. I don’t need to be showing my personal life to the press. You really just want to work with good people and do good work with good writers and good actors. That’s the main thing. If it involves more exposure than other things, it’s okay. It just depends on the scenario."
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In the same interview, he also spoke about acting and how he often tried to actively challenge himself as an actor.


"Life is about struggle. You’re not supposed to be happy all the time"- Sam Rockwell on challenging himself as an actor

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Sam Rockwell is one of the actors who have almost always managed to impress in every role. With an impressive filmography, the actor has also taken on many, many challenging roles. This comes from his ideology in acting. Rockwell spoke in this same interview about how he did not want to feel stagnant and was always looking for new challenges.

Addressing this, Sam Rockwell had said:

"I want to continue to challenge myself. I think it’s about continually challenging yourself....Life is about struggle. You’re not supposed to be happy all the time. It’s about challenging yourself and pushing yourself, you know? You become content. That’s not happiness."
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He added:

"Yeah, it’s part of the journey of life that you keep your mind active. You’re looking for adventure. You’re looking to feel that spontaneous moment. I think you’re trying to experience that through your work. There’s a euphoric moment sometimes when you’re acting. It’s just being there for the first time."
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It is quite evident from his work that Sam Rockwell has never stopped challenging himself. His more recent works, like See How They Run and Argylle, are quite different from his earlier works.

He is also soon set to appear in The Bad Guys 2 in a voice role, alongside Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die, and Stuntnuts: The Movie, all of which are in production right now.

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Edited by Sourav Chakraborty
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