Sam Rockwell Explains the Challenge of Playing a Childlike Character Like Dixon in ‘Three Billboards’

The incredibly prolific actor Sam Rockwell sat down with Sam Jones of Off Camera to talk about the seriousness of acting, his changed approach to his craft and the difficulty of playing childlike characters like his role Jason Dixon in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Rockwell won an Academy Award for his sublime portrayal of Dixon.

It’s hard to be an innocent or it or it to play that kind of Forrest Gump or like Tim Robbins is in ‘Bull Durham’. That that’s not an easy thing to do right. Or what Tom Hanks did in ‘Big’ I think to be childlike is I think an extremely hard thing to do.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.