Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache

Horseshoe moustache

A horseshoe moustache is a full moustache with vertical extensions grown on the corners of the lips and down the sides of the mouth to the jawline, resembling an upside-down U or a horseshoe...

, and deep, resonant voice (with a Western twang/drawl) match the iconic image of a cowboy

Cowboy

A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

 or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.
Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, to a physical training instructor mother and a father who worked for the Department of the Interior. He moved from California to Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 with his family during his teenage years, where he graduated from David Douglas High School

David Douglas High School

David Douglas High School is a public high school in Portland, Oregon, United States.-History:The school is named after 19th-century Scottish botanist David Douglas, namesake of such Pacific Northwest species as the Douglas-fir...

 in Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

.