'A Star Is Born' 's Sam Elliott on His First Oscar Nomination at 74: It's 'About F-----g Time'

Sam Elliott isn’t hiding how happy he is about his long-awaited Oscar nomination.

The 74-year-old actor was honored with a Best Supporting Actor nomination for the 2019 Academy Awards this week for A Star Is Born — his first ever in his 50-year career. And his reaction shows how much it means to him.

“I think the thing off the top of my head might be, ‘It’s about f—-g time,’” Elliott joked to Deadline after his nomination. “Beyond that, it’s really about the work; it’s just about the creative process. It’s great to be recognized for that, that’s really all it’s about.”

Elliott got his first acting credit in 1969 when he was 25 and has been acting steadily ever since. Though he started in Westerns, the actor got his major big screen break in 1976 in Lifeguard. He’s since amassed over 100 acting credits, including the Bradley Cooper-directed A Star Is Born.

Elliott plays Cooper’s older brother in the drama, with Cooper largely adopting a voice that mimics Elliott’s deep and raspy tone. The actor told Deadline why he thinks the movie has resonated with so many people.

“I just think it has a number of universal themes that a lot of people can tap into,” he said. “The music’s one thing, that stands alone on some level, but it’s also an intricate part of the story. The love story, the love and loss.”

He continued, “Then beyond that, it’s the addiction theme. I don’t know anybody that hasn’t had some connection, either directly or indirectly, someone in their family, or someone they love, with alcoholism or addiction. It’s just one one of the things we live with today. I think the combination of all those factors is what people have responded to.”

A Star Is Born walked away with a total of 8 nominations, including lead acting nods for Cooper and Lady Gaga as well as a Best Picture nomination.

The 91st Academy Awards air live on ABC at 8 p.m. on Feb. 24.