Sam Bottoms

Born Oct. 17, 1955, in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sam Bottoms was the youngest of four brothers -- all of whom ended up in the acting profession. He nabbed his first paid gig when he tagged along to watch his brother, Timothy, work on the set of Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971) and ended up being cast in the film as a mentally retarded teenage boy, appearing with his sibling in several scenes.

Bottoms's most memorable roles to date include Pfc. Lance Johnson in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) and his roles in the Clint Eastwood Westerns The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and Bronco Billy (1980).

His more recent work includes the critically acclaimed Sherrybaby (2006), in which he plays the father of a recovering drug addict, played by Golden Globe nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal. He died on Dec. 16, 2008, of brain cancer at the age of 53.

Filmography