Sam Elliott has a bold reaction to his first Oscar nomination

After a 50-year long career in Hollywood, Sam Elliott finally received his first Oscar nomination for his work as a supporting actor in “A Star Is Born.”

The 74-year-old actor has starred in films such as “The Big Lebowski” and “Up In The Air” and appeared in TV series, including “Parks and Recreation” and “The Ranch.” With all of this impressive work under his belt, Elliott wasn’t shy about the fact that his Oscar nomination has been a long time coming.

“‘It’s about f***ing time,’” he told Deadline jokingly in an interview.

Regardless of how long it has taken to be recognized by the Academy, Elliott’s grateful to put his creative efforts on display.

“[I]t’s really about the work; it’s just about the creative process,” he told Deadline. “It’s great to be recognized for that, that’s really all it’s about.”

Elliot’s first nomination came for his role in the 2018 “A Star Is Born” remake, which tells the story of a seasoned musician, Jackson Maine (played by Bradley Cooper), who discovers a young talent, Ally (played by Lady Gaga). Throughout the process of helping her launch her career, Maine and Ally fall in love but face creative differences and Maine’s alcohol addiction.

Elliott plays Maine’s protective but frustrated older brother, Bobby, and was more than happy to do so, especially given the universality of the story.

“I just think it has a number of universal themes that a lot of people can tap into,” he told Deadline. “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. 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.”

Despite his love for this film, Elliott told Jimmy Kimmel in a recent interview that he wasn’t exactly waiting by the phone to find out if he had finally gotten an Oscar nomination.

In fact, he didn’t even check for himself to see if he had been nominated. Instead, it was his wife, Katharine Ross (who played the iconic role of Elaine in “The Graduate”) who told him the good news.

When Elliot found out, he said he responded, “Well, cool,” in his famous low drawl.

Hear the story in this clip from his interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”:

Congratulations to the actor and tune in to see if Elliott will get his first Oscar win on Feb. 24!