Early work in
Once an Eagle (1976) '' (1976) Elliott began his career as a
character actor; his appearance, voice, and bearing were well-suited to
Westerns. In 1969, he earned his first television credit as Dan Kenyon in
Judd for the Defense in the episode "The Crystal Maze". That same year he appeared in the show
Lancer in the episode "Death Bait", playing Renslo. He went on to appear in two additional episodes of the series between 1970 and 1971. In the 1970–1971 television season, Elliott starred as Doug Robert for several episodes in the hit series
Mission: Impossible. In 1975, Elliott was cast in a lead role as
Charles Wood in the television film
I Will Fight No More Forever, a dramatization of Chief Joseph's resistance to the U.S. government's forcible removal of his Nez Perce Indian tribe to a reservation in Idaho. From 1976 to 1977, he played the lead character Sam Damon in the miniseries
Once an Eagle, an adaptation of the
Anton Myrer novel of the same name, opposite
Amy Irving,
Kim Hunter,
Clu Gulager, and
Melanie Griffith. He also had a starring role as Rick Carlson in the summer sleeper hit
Lifeguard (1976), which marked his feature film breakthrough. He portrayed a lifeguard in Southern California who reevaluates his life choices after being invited to a reunion.
Variety deemed the film "unsatisfying," adding: "Elliott, who has some beefcake value, projects a character who is mostly a passive reactor rather than a person in sure command of his fate." and starred with
Cheryl Ladd in
A Death in California (1985). In 1979, he co-starred with
Tom Selleck in the popular miniseries adaptation of
Louis L'Amour's
The Sacketts. Elliott and Selleck were a team again in 1982 in
The Shadow Riders, another Louis L'Amour adaption. Elliott had a supporting role in
Mask (1985) opposite
Cher. He played a hard-nosed, rough-around-the-edges but ultimately sympathetic father figure in the Christmas film
Prancer (1989). He has made guest appearances on shows including
Felony Squad,
Gunsmoke,
Lancer, and
Hawaii Five-O, and has been featured in many TV movies, including
Buffalo Girls (1995), in which he played
Wild Bill Hickok. In 1986, he starred in the TV movie
Gone to Texas, based on a biography of
Sam Houston. The role allowed him to play Houston as both fighter and a man who grew into a skillful political leader; the film depicted his disgrace as governor of Tennessee, his return to his
Cherokee Nation friends, and his pivotal role in the liberation of Texas from Mexico in 1836. Elliott appeared with
Patrick Swayze in as Wade Garrett, a bouncer, mentor and friend of Swayze's character. In 1991, Elliott and his wife Katharine Ross starred in the adaptation of the
Louis L'Amour novel
Conagher (1991). He portrayed
Brigadier General John Buford in the 1993 historical drama
Gettysburg, and the same year played
Virgil Earp in the Western
Tombstone (1993). He co-starred in
We Were Soldiers (2002), an adaptation of
We Were Soldiers Once… And Young, in which he portrayed
Command Sergeant Major Basil L. Plumley. He played General
Thaddeus Ross in the 2003 action film
Hulk.
Later career In 2005, he appeared in
Thank You for Smoking as a former
Marlboro Man advertisement cowboy who has developed lung cancer. In 2006 he provided the voice for the character Ben the Cow in the animated film
Barnyard. In 2007, Elliott joined the comic book adaptation
Ghost Rider. He played the character
Carter Slade. The same year, Elliott appeared in
The Golden Compass as the character Lee Scoresby. The film is based on
Northern Lights in
Philip Pullman's trilogy
His Dark Materials. Also appearing in the film are
Nicole Kidman,
Christopher Lee, and
Daniel Craig. In 2009, Elliott had a small role in
Up In The Air in which he portrayed the chief pilot of American Airlines. He appeared three times on
Parks and Recreation as Ron Dunn, the Eagleton equivalent of
Ron Swanson; Dunn is a hippie, compared to Swanson's staunch
survivalist and
Libertarian personality. He then provided the voice of Buster (a.k.a. Chupadogra) in the animated film
Marmaduke (2010). He had a supporting role in the thriller film
The Company You Keep and played a college football coach in 2014's drama film
Draft Day. at the 2017
Sundance Film Festival In 2015, Elliott appeared opposite
Lily Tomlin as a former love interest of a grandmother (Tomlin) attempting to help her pregnant granddaughter in
Paul Weitz's comedy
Grandma. In the same year he appeared in the romance ''
I'll See You in My Dreams, and had a role in the independent film Digging for Fire''. In 2015, he won the
Critics' Choice Television Award for best guest performer in a drama for his role in the
FX Network's show
Justified. He also had a recurring role as Phil Millstein in the second season of
Grace and Frankie. In film, he supplied the voice of Butch in the animated film
The Good Dinosaur (2015). In 2017, Elliott starred in
The Hero, as Lee Hayden, an aging Western icon with a golden voice, whose best performances are decades behind him. His work in the film received much critical acclaim with Joey Magidson, writing for
AwardsCircuit, proclaiming that "Elliott is perfect here.
The Hero encapsulates everything you love about him into one package." Later that year, Elliott starred in
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot. The following year, Elliott costarred in
A Star Is Born (2018), in which he plays Bobby Maine, the elder half-brother of
Bradley Cooper's lead character. Elliott received critical acclaim for his performance, winning the
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was also nominated for the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, as well as the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, his career-first nomination. Commenting on his Academy Award nomination, Elliott declared: "I think the thing off the top of my head might be, 'It's about fucking time!'" From 2019 to 2025, he played Wild West, new Mayor of Quahog, in 21 episodes of the animated series Family Guy. Wild West is a parody of Western film characters. In 2022, Elliott starred as Shea Brennan on the
Paramount+ miniseries
1883, a prequel to the
Yellowstone series. The show's story involves Brennan as he leads a group of immigrants from
Fort Worth, Texas into the untamed western areas of the plains, and its connection to the Dutton family and its migration to Montana. The show aired from late 2021 until February 2022. For his performance he received critical acclaim and won the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie. In 2025, Elliott starred in the second season of the
Paramount+ series
Landman, as T. L. Norris, the father of the
Billy Bob Thornton's lead character. ==Other ventures==