IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Sam Rockwell recalls how childhood 'chaos' made him a successful actor

“The only way to become a better actor is to do the great roles. So you gotta see what you’re made of and go for it,” Rockwell told Willie Geist.

Acting is in Sam Rockwell's blood.

Thanks to his parents, Rockwell knew that he wanted to be an actor at a young age. When he was five years old, his parents separated and he went to live with his father in San Francisco. He spent every summer with his mom in New York, and when he was around 10, his mother, Penny Hess, asked him to do a play with her.

Since then, Rockwell has always loved the theater.

“There’s something about being in a dark theater when it’s nice outside with a cup of coffee and a lack of Vitamin D,” he laughed on the latest episode of “Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist.” “There’s something great about it.”

Sam Rockwell appears on "Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist" and talks about his role in "American Buffalo."
Sam Rockwell appears on "Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist" and talks about his role in "American Buffalo."NBC

Once he graduated from high school, Rockwell decided to try his hand at an acting career. He honed his craft by training with William Esper at his acting studio and moved to New York to be in the business full-time.

But after watching his parents struggle for years, he knew that making it big wasn't going to be easy. His mom used to go on auditions while working in a restaurant and singing telegrams.

Rockwell found himself mirroring his parents' path and doing small jobs just to make ends meet.

"I worked in restaurants and stuff. So, yeah, I saw that firsthand," he said of the grind. "And my dad had to get a real job. He couldn’t make a living as an actor."

Rockwell would look forward to those acting checks that he would get in between jobs.

"That would pay the rent for the summer sometimes and sometimes pay for acting school," he said. "That was like winning the lottery. You get a residual check from something, you know; 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' or something."

Things didn't really start looking up for Rockwell until he appeared in 2002's "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." Although he was "making a living" for himself before that, he said that playing Chuck Barris was really when people started to notice him.

 "It’s nice to get recognized. It’s nice to feel that sometimes," he said.

Now, Rockwell is bringing down the house as Teach in a revival of David Mamet's play "American Buffalo," where he stars alongside Darren Criss and Laurence Fishbourne.

He told Geist that what he loves about the role is how challenging it is.

Sam Rockwell opens up about his acting career on "Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist."
Sam Rockwell opens up about his acting career on "Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist."NBC

"The only way to become a better actor is to do the great roles. So you gotta see what you’re made of and go for it," he said.

Looking back, Rockwell says that it's "weird" that he's become so successful.

"There was a little chaos in my childhood, but it also informed why I’m here, I think. And you know, theater is controlled chaos," he said.

"It’s like you’re riding a surfboard, I guess, waiting for a wave... you just have to go with it," Rockwell continued. "I think the best plays kinda take you for the ride. And if you think you’re controlling it, you’re mistaken. It’s taken you." 

Related: