Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard

1943-11-05 Fort Sheridan, Illinois, USA 96 Credits

Biography

Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any writer or director. Shepard received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying pilot...

Known For

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Complete Filmography

Tesla

Tesla

2020

In Memory Of

5.8

The story of the Promethean struggles of Nikola Tesla, as he attempts to transcend entrenched technology—including his own previous work—by pioneering...

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

2019

as The Writer

7.1
Acting

Part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream, this film captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan perfo...

California Typewriter

California Typewriter

2017

as Self

6.9
Acting

A story about people whose lives are connected by typewriters. A meditation on creativity and technology featuring Tom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepard,...

Never Here

Never Here

2017

as Paul Stark

5.0
Acting

An artist whose work involves capturing images of strangers begins to believe she herself is being observed.

Buried Child

Buried Child

2016

Writer

Writing

Sam Shepard's Pulitzer Prize-winning play in a production by The New Group, directed by Scott Elliott. Dodge (Ed Harris) and Halie (Amy Madigan) try t...

In Dubious Battle

In Dubious Battle

2016

as Mr. Anderson

5.8
Acting

In the California apple country, 900 migratory workers rise 'in dubious battle' against the landowners. The group takes on a life of its own—stronger ...

Midnight Special

Midnight Special

2016

as Calvin Meyer

6.2
Acting

A father and son go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers.

True West

True West

2016

Writer

Writing

A screenwriter gets conned out of selling a script to a Hollywood producer by his brother, who pitches his own idea for a movie. The damaged relations...

Ithaca

Ithaca

2015

as Willie Grogan

5.3
Acting

In a small town in California's San Joaquin Valley, 14-year-old Homer Macauley is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger an...

Cold in July

Cold in July

2014

as Russell

6.5
Acting

While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane puts a bullet in the brain of a low-life burglar. Although he’s ha...

August: Osage County

August: Osage County

2013

as Beverly Weston

6.9
Acting

An intense look at the lives of the strong-willed daughters of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to ...

The Assassination of President Kennedy

The Assassination of President Kennedy

2013

Acting Double

7.2

Produced by multiple EMMY® Award-winning executive producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman (HBO’s John Adams and The Pacific), and EMMY® Award-winning p...

Out of the Furnace

Out of the Furnace

2013

as Gerald 'Red' Baze

6.6
Acting

Two brothers live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, when a cruel twist of fate lands one in prison. His brother is then lured into one of the m...

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

2013

as Self

6.6
Acting

An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his rendit...

Mud

Mud

2013

as Tom

7.1
Acting

Two teenage boys find a fugitive hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River and help him reunite with his lover and escape an avenging family an...

Savannah

Savannah

2013

as Mr. Stubbs

6.0
Acting

Savannah is the true story of Ward Allen, a romantic and bombastic character who rejects his plantation heritage for the freedom of life on a river. W...

Shepard & Dark

Shepard & Dark

2012

as Self

5.9
Acting

An indelible portrait of the complex relationship between playwright and actor Sam Shepard and his close friend Johnny Dark as they prepare forty year...

Killing Them Softly

Killing Them Softly

2012

as Dillon

6.0
Acting

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse...

Darling Companion

Darling Companion

2012

as Sheriff Morris

5.0
Acting

The story of a woman who loves her dog more than her husband. And then her husband loses the dog.

Safe House

Safe House

2012

as Harlan Whitford

6.5
Acting

A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative esc...

Blackthorn

Blackthorn

2011

as James Blackthorn

6.6
Acting

In Bolivia, Butch Cassidy (now calling himself James Blackthorn) pines for one last sight of home, an adventure that aligns him with a young robber an...

Inhale

Inhale

2010

as James Harrison

6.0
Acting

A couple goes to dangerous lengths to find a lung donor for their daughter.

Fair Game

Fair Game

2010

as Sam Plame

6.5
Acting

A devoted wife and mother leads a secret life as a CIA agent until her husband’s article exposes a scandal, putting her identity and loved ones at ris...

Brothers

Brothers

2009

as Hank Cahill

7.3
Acting

When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to ...

Felon

Felon

2008

as Gordon

7.2
Acting

A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

2008

as Self

6.0
Acting

An intimate portrait of poet, painter, musician and singer Patti Smith that mirrors the essence of the artist herself.

The Accidental Husband

The Accidental Husband

2008

as Wilder

5.5
Acting

Emma, a radio host, is about to be married to Richard, her perfect match. But right before her wedding, she learns she's already married to Patrick, a...

The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose

The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose

2007

as Self

Acting

A look back on the weird and wasted career of the Holy Modal Rounders.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

2007

as Frank James

7.0
Acting

Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous o...

Ruffian

Ruffian

2007

as Frank Whiteley

8.7
Acting

Ruffian is an American made-for-television movie that tells the story of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Champion thoroughbred filly Ruffian who went und...

Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web

2006

as Narrator (voice)

6.2
Acting

Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Ch...

The Return

The Return

2006

as Ed Mills

6.0
Acting

Joanna Mills has a successful career but feels her personal life is spinning out of control. She has few friends, an estranged father, and a crazy ex-...

Walker Payne

Walker Payne

2006

as Syrus

4.3
Acting

A small-town father is forced to make difficult, heartbreaking decisions in order to save his two daughters.

Bandidas

Bandidas

2006

as Bill Buck

6.0
Acting

When a ruthless robber baron takes away everything they cherish, a rough-and-tumble, idealistic peasant and a sophisticated heiress embark on a quest ...

Don't Come Knocking

Don't Come Knocking

2005

as Howard

6.2
Acting

Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and y...

Don't Come Knocking

Don't Come Knocking

2005

Writer

6.2
Writing

Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and y...

Stealth

Stealth

2005

as George Cummings

5.4
Acting

Deeply ensconced in a top-secret military program, three pilots struggle to bring an artificial intelligence program under control ... before it initi...

Trudell

Trudell

2005

as Self - Playwright, Actor (Thunderheart)

5.4
Acting

A chronicle of legendary Native American poet/activist John Trudell's travels, spoken word performances and politics.

See You in My Dreams

See You in My Dreams

2004

Short Story, Writer

Writing

Joe, an overwrought rancher is striving from his harsh upbringing, trying make a better life for his family. When his business falters, Joe fears his ...

The Notebook

The Notebook

2004

as Frank Calhoun

7.9
Acting

An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life ...

Blind Horizon

Blind Horizon

2003

as Sheriff Jack Kolb

5.7
Acting

Left for dead in the remote Southwest, Frank is found clinging to life and in a state of amnesia. As he recovers, ominous memories begin to flash back...

This So-Called Disaster

This So-Called Disaster

2003

as Self

4.2
Acting

Director Michael Almereyda's documentary on the weeks just prior to Sam Shepard's stage production of his play "The Late Henry Moss."

Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick

Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick

2002

as Self

6.7
Acting

Rosy-Fingered Dawn is a film on Terrence Malick. It is about the making of BADLANDS, DAYS OF HEAVEN, THE THIN RED LINE and the personal involvement of...

True West

True West

2002

Writer

7.4
Writing

Filmed play about two very different brothers, one a criminal and the other a screen-writing family man who becomes appalled by his wayward brother's ...

Leo

Leo

2002

as Vic

6.2
Acting

A young mother is plagued by a tragic mistake and alienates her little boy. A brilliant writer is released from prison after serving a 15-year sentenc...

Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down

2001

as MG William F. Garrison

7.4
Acting

When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and ...

Shot in the Heart

Shot in the Heart

2001

as Frank Gilmore, Sr.

5.6
Acting

The story of a man coming to terms with the sins and secrets of his notorious brother and, in the process, exploring the legacy of violence in his own...

Swordfish

Swordfish

2001

as Senator Reisman

6.3
Acting

Rogue agent Gabriel Shear is determined to get his mitts on $9 billion stashed in a secret Drug Enforcement Administration account. He wants the cash ...

After the Harvest

After the Harvest

2001

as Caleb Gare

Acting

Caleb Gare (Sam Shepard) is a farmer obsessed with owning as much land as he can and controlling his entire family. This becomes more complicated when...

The Pledge

The Pledge

2001

as Eric Pollack

6.6
Acting

A police chief about to retire pledges to help a woman find her daughter's killer.

Kurosawa

Kurosawa

2000

as Narrator (voice)

6.7
Acting

Documentary on film maker Akira Kurosawa

All the Pretty Horses

All the Pretty Horses

2000

as J.C. Franklin

5.7
Acting

The year is 1949. A young Texan named John Grady finds himself without a home after his mother sells the ranch where he has spent his entire life. Lur...

One Kill

One Kill

2000

as Maj. Nelson Gray

6.3
Acting

A divorced female marine officer with two small children begins an affair with a senior officer.

Hamlet

Hamlet

2000

as Ghost

5.8
Acting

Modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder in New York City.

Snow Falling on Cedars

Snow Falling on Cedars

1999

as Arthur Chambers

6.1
Acting

In the 1950s, a Japanese-American fisherman is suspected of killing his neighbour at sea. For Ishmael, a local reporter, the trial strikes a deep emot...

Simpatico

Simpatico

1999

Theatre Play

4.9

As youths in Azusa, Vinnie, Carter, and Rosie pull off a racing scam, substituting winners for plodders and winning big bucks on long odds. When an of...

Dash and Lilly

Dash and Lilly

1999

as Dashiell Hammett

8.0
Acting

Biographical look at the bombastic love affair that writers Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman shared in 1940 and 50's Hollywood. Refusing to marry,...

Purgatory

Purgatory

1999

as Sheriff Forrest / Wild Bill Hickock

7.2
Acting

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and th...

Curtain Call

Curtain Call

1998

as Will Dodge

5.0
Acting

A bachelor afraid of marriage angers his long-time girlfriend by buying a splendid townhouse just for himself, only to find it haunted by the ghosts o...

The Only Thrill

The Only Thrill

1997

as Reece McHenry

4.9
Acting

A small-town store owner with a comatose wife shares a long-term relationship with his seamstress.

Lily Dale

Lily Dale

1996

as Pete Davenport

2.0
Acting

In 1910, 19-year-old Horace Robedaux, still bitter toward his stepfather, goes to Houston to be reunited with his mother, Corella, and his sister, Lil...

The Good Old Boys

The Good Old Boys

1995

as Tarnell

6.7
Acting

An aging cowboy must choose between his desire to remain free and the responsibilities of maintaining a family.

Dear Antonioni

Dear Antonioni

1995

as Self

Acting

A documentary portrait of Michangelo Antonioni based on Roland Barthes' essay.

Safe Passage

Safe Passage

1994

as Patrick

6.0
Acting

Recently estranged from her husband, and mother of seven sons, Mag Singer stands poised to pursue a whole new way of life. But when one of her childre...

Curse of the Starving Class

Curse of the Starving Class

1994

Writer

4.1
Writing

Curse of the Starving Class is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies. Drama about a dirt-poor 1950's-era farm fa...

Made in the USA

Made in the USA

1993

as Self

2.0
Acting

A Paul Joyce documentary on the American independent film scene.

The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief

1993

as Thomas Callahan

6.6
Acting

A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

Silent Tongue

Silent Tongue

1993

Director, Writer

4.6
Directing Writing

Mad with grief after the death of his Kiowa wife, Roe awaits death under a tree with her body beside him. She begins to haunt him because he won't bur...

Thunderheart

Thunderheart

1992

as Frank Coutelle

6.3
Acting

A young mixed-blood FBI agent is assigned to work with a cynical veteran investigator on a murder on a poverty-stricken Sioux reservation.

Defenseless

Defenseless

1991

as Det. Beutel

5.0
Acting

A Los Angeles lawyer defends her former college roommate, whose husband — her lover — has been slain.

Voyager

Voyager

1991

as Walter Faber

6.2
Acting

Walter Faber has survived a crash with an airplane. His next trip is by ship. On board this ship he meets the enchanting Sabeth and they have a passio...

Bright Angel

Bright Angel

1990

as Jack Russell

4.8
Acting

In Montana, naive teenager George longs to escape from his broken home before his dysfunctional parents push him over the edge. When George meets pret...

Steel Magnolias

Steel Magnolias

1989

as Spud Jones

7.2
Acting

A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friends...

Far North

Far North

1988

Director, Writer

6.3
Directing Writing

After generations of being apart, an accident brings a family back together and they begin to cope with their original issues.

MaMa's Pushcart

MaMa's Pushcart

1988

Acting

With virtually no financial resources, Ellen Stewart created the La Mama theater in New York in 1961, where writers and actors such as Sam Shepard, El...

Baby Boom

Baby Boom

1987

as Dr. Jeff Cooper

6.4
Acting

J.C. Wiatt is a talented and ambitious New York City career woman who is married to her job and working towards partner at her firm. She has a live-in...

Crimes of the Heart

Crimes of the Heart

1986

as Doc Porter

6.0
Acting

Three sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.

Fool for Love

Fool for Love

1985

as Eddie

5.8
Acting

A woman is waiting in a motel for her boyfriend, when an old flame turns up and tries to take her back to the life she is trying to leave behind.

Fool for Love

Fool for Love

1985

Theatre Play, Screenplay

5.8
Writing

A woman is waiting in a motel for her boyfriend, when an old flame turns up and tries to take her back to the life she is trying to leave behind.

Country

Country

1984

as Gil Ivy

6.4
Acting

Jewell and Gil are farmers. They seem to be working against the odds, producing no financial surplus. Gil has lost hope of ever becoming prosperous, b...

Paris, Texas

Paris, Texas

1984

Writer

8.1
Writing

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked ou...

True West

True West

1984

Writer

7.9
Writing

A screenwriter gets conned out of selling a script to a Hollywood producer by his brother, who pitches his own idea for a movie. This video recording ...

The Right Stuff

The Right Stuff

1983

as Chuck Yeager

7.4
Acting

As the Space Race ensues, seven pilots set off on a path to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history b...

Frances

Frances

1982

as Harry York

6.9
Acting

The true story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.

Tongues

Tongues

1982

Music, Writer

5.0
Writing

A performance piece written by Sam Shepard, enacted by Joseph Chaikin and directed by Shirley Clarke, a dying man reflects on his life while deliverin...

Raggedy Man

Raggedy Man

1981

as Bailey

5.3
Acting

Nita, a divorced mother of two boys, is stuck working as a telephone operator in a small Texas town in World War II. Her friendship with a sailor on l...

Savage/Love

Savage/Love

1981

Writer

Writing

A prelude to Tongues (1982) which languishes over love and its effect on people.

Resurrection

Resurrection

1980

as Cal

6.5
Acting

The story of a woman who survives the car accident which kills her husband, but discovers that she has the power to heal other people. She becomes an ...

Days of Heaven

Days of Heaven

1978

as The Farmer

7.5
Acting

In 1916, a Chicago steel worker accidentally kills his supervisor and flees to the Texas panhandle with his girlfriend and little sister to work harve...

Renaldo and Clara

Renaldo and Clara

1978

as Rodeo

8.3
Acting

Filmed in the autumn of 1975 prior to and during Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour – featuring appearances and performances by Ronee Blakley, T-B...

Renaldo and Clara

Renaldo and Clara

1978

Writer

8.3
Writing

Filmed in the autumn of 1975 prior to and during Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour – featuring appearances and performances by Ronee Blakley, T-B...

Oh! Calcutta!

Oh! Calcutta!

1972

Writer

2.7
Writing

Based on the controversial off-Broadway musical comedy revue, "Oh! Calcutta!" is a series of musical numbers about sex and sexual mores. Most of the s...

Brand X

Brand X

1970

4.0
Acting

In 1969, Taylor Mead complained to his friend artist Wynn Chamberlain that Andy Warhol had never paid him for any of the work he had done for him and ...

Zabriskie Point

Zabriskie Point

1970

Screenplay

7.1
Writing

Anthropology student Daria, who's helping a property developer build a village in the Los Angeles desert, and dropout Mark, who's wanted by the author...

Me and My Brother

Me and My Brother

1969

Writer

6.4
Writing

Julius Orlovsky, after spending years in a New York mental hospital, emerges catatonic and must rely on his brother Peter, who lives with poet Allen G...

Ages of the Moon

N/A

Theatre Play

A movie adaptation of the Sam Shepard play Ages Of The Moon.