Oscars 2019: 'The Ranch' Star Sam Elliott Loses for 'A Star Is Born' Role

After almost 50 years in Hollywood, The Ranch star Sam Elliott finally earned his first Oscar [...]

After almost 50 years in Hollywood, The Ranch star Sam Elliott finally earned his first Oscar nomination, but unfortunately went home empty handed Sunday night. He lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Green Book star Mahersahala Ali, who played pianist Don Shirley.

Elliott was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing Bobby Maine, the brother of Bradley Cooper's Jackson Maine in A Star Is Born. The other nominees were last year's winner Sam Rockwell, for playing President George W. Bush in Vice; Richard E. Grant for playing Jack Hock in Can You Ever Forgive Me?; and Adam Driver for playing Philip "Flip" Zimmerman in BlacKkKlansman.

Like many of the performers in A Star Is Born, Elliott was at one point considered a frontrunner for the award he was nominated for. However, during awards season, A Star Is Born began to lose steam. Elliott missed out on a Golden Globe nomination and lost at the Screen Actors Guild Awards to Ali.

Although awards season did not end as planned for A Star Is Born, Elliott told ABC Radio he enjoyed every minute of making the movie in an interview before the Oscars.

"I think the odds were in its favor when you got Lady Gaga starring and you got Bradley Cooper, who's clearly, as we know him now, a brilliant filmmaker," Elliott said.

The longtime character actor, best known for his unique, gruff voice and iconic white mustache, said he knew Cooper would be a great filmmaker the moment they met.

"You know, I'd never crossed paths with Bradley before we did this film together, but in my initial meeting with him…I left there [knowing] that this guy's really a smart man," Elliott explained. "And the way he talked, I suspected he was a brilliant filmmaker and he is — there's no question about it."

Elliott called awards season "an amazing ride," adding, "It's a slog, it's a lot of work, but to see the film recognized for what it is, and to see all that hard work on everybody's part pay off is a wonderful thing."

A Star Is Born was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper), Best Actress (Lady Gaga), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song ("Shallow"), Best Sound Mixing and Best Cinematography. It is the third remake of the 1937 William A. Wellman classic, which starred Frederic March and Janet Gaynor. It was remake in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason, and again in 1976 with Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand.

Aside from A Star Is Born, Elliott can be seen as Beau Bennett on The Ranch and as Phil on Grace and Frankie.

Photo credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SBIFF

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