Country star and New Hollywood icon, Kris Kristofferson was one of Sam Peckinpah’s favorite actors. It was also directed by Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, Alan Rudolph…
News : American actor and singer, Kriss Kristofferson broke through in Nahsville from the mid-1960s. His hit Me and Bobby McGee becomes a country music standard. He made his film debut in 1971 in The Last Movie by Dennis Hopper and quickly became a leading performer of New Hollywood. This charismatic virile bearded man is best highlighted by Sam Peckinpah who makes him the headliner of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), where he formed an astonishing duo with James Coburn. The filmmaker of stylized violence reunites with Kristofferson for Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) and especially The convoy (1978).
In the 1970s, the actor was also directed by Paul Mazursky (The things of love1972), Martin Scorsese (Alice is no longer here1974) and Frank Pierson (A star is born1976 version), where he succeeds Fredric March and James Mason, facing Barbra Streisand taking up the torch from Janet Gaynor and Judy Garland. The film earned him the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical. The peak of this period, however, constitutes Heaven’s Gate (1980) by Michael Cimino.
This historical fresco in which his partners are Isabelle Huppert and Christopher Walken is a narrative and visual masterpiece but also a terrible industrial accident. Kris Kristofferson’s film career suffers. Filming continues but good offers are rare. In the period that follows, we can only remember that Wanda’s Café (1985) d’Alan Rudolph et Lone Star (1996) by John Sayles. May he was nominated for an Oscar for best original score for Songwritter (Rudolph, 1995).
In the 2000s, he was only asked for supporting roles, but in expensive productions, such as Planet of the Apes (2001) by Tim Burton and Blade 2 (2002) by Guillermo del Toro. We also see it in Fast Food Nation (2006) by Richard Linklater and He is the narrator of I’m not There (2007) by Todd Haynes. The actor still frequents the studios until 2018, despite an illness which is gnawing at him. Kriss Kristofferson died on September 28, 2024 at the age of 88.
