Sam Rockwell on Cowboys and Aliens: “It’s like Unforgiven meets Close Encounters”

Sam Rockwell is one hell of a great actor. He has always been good at what he does, but it was his lead role in 2009’s MOON that finally got people paying attention. If you haven’t seen that engaging performance yet, go buy it now! He was an exciting addition the already-great cast of COWBOYS & ALIENS, which stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde (below).

Rockwell recently spoke to ShortList about the flick: “This is going to be a fun movie. I think we pulled it off. It’s a mix of genres. I think because of the title people think it’s a comedy, and it’s not; it’s like UNFORGIVEN meets CLOSE ENCOUNTERS [OF THE THIRD KIND].

“I don’t think it’s really been done before. The only thing I liken it to is a movie like FROM DUSK TIL DAWN — it seems all very ‘cops and robbers’ and all of a sudden there’s vampires. It’s like that, in that you have a very formulaic western and then all of a sudden there are monsters. It’s played very real.”

He also commented on working with Ford: “He’s amazing. He flew us in his helicopter. Han Solo flying us around. He’s a great pilot. Those air traffic control guys know exactly who they’re talking to. He’s as cool as a cucumber.”

COWBOYS & ALIENS is directed by Jon Favreau and based on Platinum Studios’ graphic novel of the same name. It hits theaters on July 29th from Universal and Dreamworks. Could it be a summer blockbuster?