Sam Elliott Says Power of the Dog Is a “Piece of S–t” in Scathing Review of Oscar-Nominated Film

The 1883 actor made that abundantly clear when discussing the director’s Netflix movie Power of the Dog on the Monday, Feb. 28 episode of WTF With Marc Maron podcast. In the last 10 minutes of the show, he called the film a “piece of s–t,” decrying its portrayal of cowboys in the early 1920s.

He seemed to specifically take issue with Benedict Cumberbatch’s character, Phil Burbank, being a closeted homosexual, which inspires his animosity towards his sister-in-law Rose (Kirsten Dunst) and nephew Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Elliott said that Campion could not possibly understand the motivations of a cowboy when she was born and raised in New Zealand.

“What the f–k does this woman from down there know about the American West?” he exclaimed, before discussing the film location, “And why in the f–k did she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana? And say this is the way it was? That f–king rubbed me the wrong way, pal.”

He was also disgusted by the costumes the characters wore, saying that the stars looked more like Chippendales dancers than cowboys. “That’s what all these f–king cowboys in that movie looked like,” Elliott said. “They’re running around in chaps and no shirts. There’s all these allusions of homosexuality throughout the f–king movie.”

Host Marc Maron replied, “I think that’s what the movie is about.”

Though Elliott himself has only played a cowboy, he explained that he’s familiar with the ranching lifestyle after working on the Paramount+ series in Texas. “I was hanging out with families—not men—but families,” the Sacramento-native said. “Big, long, extended, multiple-generation families that made their living and their lives were all about being cowboys. And boy, when I f–king saw that I thought, ‘What the f–k? Where are we in this world today?'”

Maron acknowledged Elliott’s disappointment, but added, “I don’t know that that’s the biggest issue at hand.”

“It’s not the biggest issue, but for me, it was the only issue,” Elliott insisted. “I mean, Cumberbatch never got out of his f–king chaps. He had two pairs of chaps, a woolly pair and a leather pair. And every f–king time he would walk in from somewhere—he never was on a horse, maybe once—he’d walk into the f–king house, storm up the f–king stairs, go lay in his bed in his chaps and play his banjo. It’s like, what the f–k?”

E! News reached out to Elliott’s reps for comment and didn’t hear back.

To be fair to Campion, it seems like Elliott isn’t a big fan of many Oscar nominees. When Maron asked if he liked House of Gucci, starring Elliott’s A Star Is Born co-star Lady Gaga, he grumbled, “I don’t know. But I love her.”