Add Cuba Gooding Jr. and Michael Fassbender to the list of actors in gunslinging Western genre films, starting with Brad Pitt<\/b>
\nIt’s been more than a half a century since gun-slinging, hi-de-ho Westerns dominated the box office, when names like John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Clint Eastwood headlined movies about the Old West. But nowadays, scenes of tumbleweeds crawling across deserted streets are few and far between. Westerns aren’t yet totally extinct with the Coen Brothers’ \u00ab\u00a0Ballad of Buster Scuggs\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0The Sisters Brothers,\u00a0\u00bb starring John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix.
In honor of 21st century takes on a classic genre, TheWrap takes a look at 10 stars you may be surprised dawned the proverbial ten-gallon hat.
Brad Pitt
In between Pitt’s performances in \u00ab\u00a0Interview with a Vampire\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0Seven\u00a0\u00bb was 1994’s Western drama \u00ab\u00a0Legends of the Fall.\u00a0\u00bb The film saw Pitt play a World War I soldier who returns home to his family’s ranch in Montana. In 2007, Pitt would return to the Western with \u00ab\u00a0The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,\u00a0\u00bb playing the titular James plotting his next big heist.
Hailee Steinfeld
While more recently known for her music career, the \u00ab\u00a0Pitch Perfect\u00a0\u00bb series and playing a wise-beyond-her-years high schooler in 2016’s \u00ab\u00a0Edge of Seventeen,\u00a0\u00bb Steinfeld has appeared in several westerns, including, most famously, her Oscar nominated role in 2010’s \u00ab\u00a0True Grit,\u00a0\u00bb 2014’s \u00ab\u00a0The Homesman\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0The Keeping Room,\u00a0\u00bb out that same year.
Sam Rockwell
No, his Oscar-winning role in \u00ab\u00a0Three Billboards\u00a0\u00bb does not count as a Western, but his turns in 2011’s \u00ab\u00a0Cowboys & Aliens\u00a0\u00bb as a saloon owner and 2017’s \u00ab\u00a0Woman Walks Ahead\u00a0\u00bb does.
Michael Fassbender
No stranger to the period piece (\u00ab\u00a012 Years a Slave\u00a0\u00bb), Fassbender has appeared in key roles in two Westerns: 2010’s \u00ab\u00a0Jonah Hex\u00a0\u00bb and the British\/New Zealand import \u00ab\u00a0Slow West,\u00a0\u00bb in which he played an Irish bounty hunter prowling the Wild West.
Luke Wilson
Wilson may be the most prolific Western star you never knew starred in a Western. He’s taken roles in \u00ab\u00a03:10 to Yuma\u00a0\u00bb and 2016’s \u00ab\u00a0Outlaws and Angels,\u00a0\u00bb as well as the satirical Netflix Western \u00ab\u00a0The Ridiculous Six.\u00a0\u00bb
Billy Crystal
Crystal has been enshrined in the rom-com hall of fame with \u00ab\u00a0When Harry Met Sally,\u00a0\u00bb but right after the major 1980s hit came \u00ab\u00a0City Slickers\u00a0\u00bb 1 and 2. And yes, it’s a Western series, albeit a comedy one. Crystal plays an ad executive going through a midlife crisis, leading him to take a trip with his friends from New Mexico to Colorado.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Gyllenhaal’s very first role was in the Crystal-driven \u00ab\u00a0City Slickers\u00a0\u00bb at the age of 11. The bit role saw Gyllenhaal as Crystal’s son. Gyllenhaal also stars in the aforementioned \u00ab\u00a0The Sisters Brothers.\u00a0\u00bb Add the Oscar-winning \u00ab\u00a0Brokeback Mountain\u00a0\u00bb if you dare and Gyllenhaal is a Western regular.
Cuba Gooding Jr.,
In 1994 Gooding starred opposite Paul Hogan in \u00ab\u00a0Lightning Jack\u00a0\u00bb as an outlaw-in-training. Gooding returned to the genre as a voice actor for 2004’s \u00ab\u00a0Home on the Range.\u00a0\u00bb
Ewan McGregor
McGregor went from a Western in space (the \u00ab\u00a0Star Wars\u00a0\u00bb prequels) to two, more earthly projects. McGregor appeared in small roles in both 2014’s \u00ab\u00a0A Million Ways to Die in the West\u00a0\u00bb and 2016’s \u00ab\u00a0Jane Got a Gun.\u00a0\u00bb
Pierce Brosnan
For Western diehards, you may remember Brosnan taking time away from his role as James Bond for 1999’s biopic \u00ab\u00a0Grey Owl,\u00a0\u00bb in which he portrayed a British man who moves to America to be a Native American trapper. He also appeared in 2007’s Civil-War era Western \u00ab\u00a0Seraphim Falls.\u00a0\u00bb
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