| Birth Name: | Samuel Shepard Rogers III |
| Birth Date: | 5 November 1943 |
| Birth Place: | Fort Sheridan, Illinois, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Midway, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1962–2017 |
Sam Shepard was an American actor, screenwriter, playwright, director and author. The following is his screen filmography as an actor, screenwriter, and director. Shepard was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Chuck Yeager in the film The Right Stuff (1983). The following year, he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing Paris, Texas (1984). For his role in the television film Dash and Lilly (1999), he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Brand X | Unknown | ||
| 1978 | Renaldo and Clara | Rodeo | Also co-writer | |
| Days of Heaven | The Farmer | |||
| 1980 | Resurrection | Cal Carpenter | ||
| 1981 | Raggedy Man | Bailey | ||
| 1982 | Frances | Harry York | ||
| 1983 | The Right Stuff | Chuck Yeager | ||
| 1984 | Country | Gilbert "Gil" Ivy | ||
| 1985 | Fool for Love | Eddie | Also writer | |
| 1986 | Crimes of the Heart | Doc Porter | ||
| 1987 | Baby Boom | Jeff Cooper | ||
| 1989 | Steel Magnolias | Spud Jones | ||
| 1990 | Bright Angel | Jack | ||
| 1991 | Voyager | Walter Faber | Also narrator | |
| Defenseless | Detective Beutel | |||
| 1992 | Thunderheart | Frank Coutelle | ||
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | Thomas Callahan | ||
| 1994 | Safe Passage | Patrick Singer | ||
| 1995 | The Good Old Boys | Snort Yarnell | ||
| 1997 | The Only Thrill | Reece McHenry | ||
| 1998 | Curtain Call | Will Dodge | ||
| 1999 | Snow Falling on Cedars | Arthur Chambers | ||
| 2000 | Hamlet | Ghost | ||
| All the Pretty Horses | J.C. Franklin | |||
| 2001 | The Pledge | Eric Pollack | ||
| Swordfish | James Reisman | |||
| Black Hawk Down | William F. Garrison | |||
| 2002 | Leo | Vic | ||
| 2003 | Blind Horizon | Sheriff Jack Kolb | ||
| 2004 | The Notebook | Frank Calhoun | ||
| 2005 | Don't Come Knocking | Howard Spence | Also co-writer | |
| Stealth | George Cummings | |||
| 2006 | Bandidas | Bill Buck | ||
| Walker Payne | Syrus | |||
| The Return | Ed Mills | |||
| Charlotte's Web | Narrator | Voice | ||
| 2007 | The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | Frank James | ||
| 2008 | The Accidental Husband | Wilder Lloyd | ||
| Felon | Gordon Camrose | |||
| 2009 | Brothers | Hank Cahill | ||
| 2010 | Fair Game | Sam Plame | ||
| Inhale | James Harrison | |||
| 2011 | Blackthorn | Butch Cassidy | ||
| 2012 | Shepard & Dark | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2012 | Darling Companion | Sheriff Morris | ||
| Safe House | Harlan Whitford | |||
| Killing Them Softly | Dillon | |||
| Mud | Tom Blankenship | |||
| 2013 | Savannah | Mr. Stubbs | ||
| August: Osage County | Beverly Weston | |||
| Out of the Furnace | Gerald "Red" Baze | |||
| 2014 | Cold in July | Ben Russell | ||
| 2015 | Ithaca | Willie Grogan | ||
| 2016 | Midnight Special | Calvin Meyer | ||
| In Dubious Battle | Mr. Anderson | |||
| California Typewriter | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 2017 | Never Here | Paul Stark | ||
| 2019 | The Writer | Posthumous release |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Good Old Boys | Snort Yarnell | Television film | |
| 1996 | Lily Dale | Pete Davenport | Television film | |
| 1999 | Streets of Laredo | Pea Eye Parker | 3 episodes | |
| Purgatory | Sheriff Forrest / Wild Bill Hickok | Television film | ||
| Dash and Lilly | Dashiell Hammett | Television film | ||
| 2000 | One Kill | Major Nelson Gray | Television film | |
| Great Performances | Narrator | Voice, Episode: "Kurosawa" | ||
| 2001 | After the Harvest | Caleb Gare | Television film | |
| Shot in the Heart | Frank Gilmore Sr. | Television film | ||
| 2007 | Ruffian | Frank Whiteley | Television film | |
| 2010 | Tough Trade | (Role unknown) | Pilot | |
| 2014 | Klondike | Father Judge | 3 episodes | |
| 2015–2017 | Bloodline | Robert Rayburn | 7 episodes |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Me and My Brother | Co-writer | |
| 1970 | Zabriskie Point | Co-writer | |
| 1972 | Oh! Calcutta! | Sketch contributions | |
| 1978 | Renaldo and Clara | Co-writer | |
| 1981 | Savage/Love | Short film | |
| 1982 | Tongues | Short film | |
| 1984 | Paris, Texas | Co-writer | |
| 1985 | Fool for Love | ||
| 1988 | Far North | Also director | |
| 1994 | Silent Tongue | Also director | |
| 1994 | Curse of the Starving Class | ||
| 1999 | Simpatico | ||
| 2005 | Don't Come Knocking | Co-writer | |
| 2007 | Fool for Love | Short film |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | ITV Saturday Night Theatre | Episode: "Geography of a Horse Dreamer" | |
| 1984 | American Playhouse | Episode: "True West" | |
| 1986 | Den sultende klasses forbannelse | Norwegian adaptation of Curse of the Starving Class | |
| 1991 | Autèntic oest | Spanish adaptation of True West | |
| Loucos Por Amor | Portuguese adaptation of Fool for Love | ||
| 1995 | O Verdadeiro Oeste | Portuguese adaptation of True West | |
| 1996 | Pazzo d'amore | Italian adaptation of Fool for Love | |
| 2002 | True West | Adaptation of True West | |
| 2004 | See You in My Dreams | Adapted from Cruising Paradise and Motel Chronicles |