Lou Diamond Phillips explains why 'not every actor is cut out' to star in Westerns
28.04.2023 - 01:07
/ foxnews.com
Lou Diamond Phillips has had an impressive career that spans decades, which includes being inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. The 61-year-old actor spoke to Fox News Digital about why not every actor is "cut out" to play roles in Western films. "It's interesting.
I mean, growing up in Texas, but also, being a big fan of Westerns my whole life, you're making a movie when you're making a Western," Phillips said. "I mean, it's not contemporary. You're not in streets.
You're in these clothes. You're in this entirely other world. "I will say not every actor is cut out to be in Westerns.
Many of them feel too contemporary, they're not able to project their personas into the bygone years. And then there's the writing and all the other stuff that's required." The Filipino-American actor has appeared in Western movies and television series, including "Longmire," the 1988 film, "Young Guns" and it's sequel two years later, "Young Guns II." He was also recently inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in the National Western Heritage Museum. "That certainly made my dad proud," Phillips shared with a smile. When it comes to his personal life, the actor doesn't embody the "cowboy" persona.
"People think I walk around in cowboy boots and [a] plaid shirt. I don't," Phillips joked. "I can play that, that's certainly in my wheelhouse as far as characters go, but it's not my lifestyle." He is probably best known for his role in the 1987 film "La Bamba," which helped jumpstart his acting career.
"I was an unknown kid from Texas. I was happy to have a job," Phillips explained when asked if he knew he was signing on to one of the most popular films of all time. "I could not believe that I had been cast as the lead in this Hollywood
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