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Sam Rockwell wants to take a break from playing racists

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 08: Sam Rockwell attends the New York Premiere for FX's  "Fosse/Verdon" on April 08, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/WireImage,)
Sam Rockwell doesn't want to play racists for a while (Credit: Nicholas Hunt/WireImage,)

Sam Rockwell would like to take a break from playing racists.

The actor was speaking during The Hollywood Reporter’s drama actor roundtable with Richard Madden, Hugh Grant, Diego Luna, Billy Porter and Stephan James when he made the comment.

Rockwell was asked if there are any roles he would like to take a break from to which he replied,”Yeah, I could take a break from racists. A long break.”

“And I played a lot of rednecks,” he continued. “‘Country’ is probably a better way to put it.

“It's funny, I'm a city kid, and they're always trying to throw me on a horse or get a lasso or something. That's not my thing.”

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The actor famously won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the racist Officer Dixon in the 2017 movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Rockwell won an Oscar for his role as the racist Officer Dixon in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Credit: Fox Searchlight)
Rockwell won an Oscar for his role as the racist Officer Dixon in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Credit: Fox Searchlight)

This year he appeared in The Best of Enemies, a period drama based on true events, in which he played the real-life Claiborne Paul “C.P.” Ellis, who was the head of the Durham chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.

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Last year he played a racist Colonel trying to steal the land of Native Americans in the Jessica Chastain-led historical biopic Woman Walks Ahead and in the past he’s played a racist convict in The Green Mile.

Sam Rockwell plays a Ku Klux Klan head in The Best of Enemies (Credit: STX)
Sam Rockwell plays a Ku Klux Klan head in The Best of Enemies (Credit: STX)

He will next be seen playing a Nazi called Captain Klenzendorf i Taika Waititi’s World War II satire Jojo Rabbit so it’s no wonder he might want a break from playing bigoted characters.

He can currently be seen on US TV as the iconic choreographer and director Bob Fosse in the FX series Fosse/Verdon which has yet to get a UK release date.

In the same interview, Grant spoke of being only known for romantic comedies having appeared in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Music & Lyrics, Love Actually and 12 Weeks Notice (to name a few).

“Yes, but not one you can complain about,” the actor said. “I was being paid tons of money. I was very lucky.

“And most of those romantic comedies I can look squarely in the face — one or two are shockers, but on the whole I can look them in the face and people like them.”