Oscar nominee Sam Elliott recalls 'most difficult day' on 'A Star Is Born': 'It was a little unsettling'

To hear Sam Elliott tell it, his first day on the set of A Star Is Born was much like anyone’s first day on a new job.

“My first day was my most difficult day,” Elliott told Yahoo Entertainment during a recent Role Recall interview, explaining he walked right into the scene in which his hardened tour manager Bobby has it out with the hard-drinking rock star Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper), who also happens to be his younger brother.

“I had come off of the television series, The Ranch, that I’m doing with Netflix, on a Friday and then I started on Monday,” he said. “Didn’t know anybody. … Didn’t know Bradley other than that one encounter that we’d had, and a few texts that we had shared. Never had been around [Lady] Gaga other than a table read.

“It was a little unsettling to go in there and do this fight scene and play this kind of high-pitched scene out. But it turned [out] to be what it is.”

“What it is” is the critically acclaimed box office hit that landed the 50-year screen vet his very first Oscar nomination — one of eight nods for the film, also including Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper) and Best Actress (Gaga).

“I don’t short sell it by any means,” Elliott said of the nomination. “The recognition is a wonderful thing for hard work that everyone involved in the film did. It’s not just me being recognized. A lot of people being recognized.

“This film clearly resonated with a huge audience worldwide. And it’s real gift to be part of something like that.”

Watch our full Role Recall interview with Sam Elliott:

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