Will Sampson

Known for ActingBorn 1933-09-26Died 1987-06-03Okmulgee, Oklahoma, USA

Will Sampson (September 27, 1933 – June 3, 1987) was a Native-American businessman, entrepreneur, rodeo performer, actor and painter/artist. He was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma and was an imposing 6' 7" (2.01 m) tall and also wore size 18 4E shoes. Sampson's most notable roles were as "Chief Bromden" in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and as "Taylor the Medicine Man" in the horror film Poltergeist II. He had a recurring role on the TV series Vega$, as Harlon Twoleaf and starred in the movies Fish Hawk, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Orca. Mr. Sampson appeared in the production of Black Elk Speaks with the American Indian Theater Company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where David Carradine and other Native-American actors like Wes Studi and Randolph Mantooth starred in stage productions. Mr. Sampson competed in rodeos, his speciality riding bucking broncos, for about twenty years. He was on the rodeo circuit when the producers of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas, were looking for a large Native American man to play the role of Chief Bromden a 6’8”, 300 lb, Native-American/European-American man. A rodeo announcer told them about Sampson, and after lengthy efforts to find him, they hired him on the strength of an interview. He had never acted before. Mr. Sampson was also an artist. His large painting depicting the Ribbon Dance of his Muscogee people is in the collection of the Creek Council House Museum in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. His artwork is currently displayed online by The Kvskvnv (“kuskuna”) Association.Read more

Movies & web series

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

The Great Spirit Within the Hole

Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josey Wales

The Hunted Lady

The Yellow Rose

The Outlaw Josey Wales

Relentless

From Here to Eternity

Roanoak

Born to the Wind

Wildside

Fish Hawk

Insignificance

The Mystic Warrior

Orca

Poltergeist II: The Other Side

Tall Tales & Legends

Standing Tall

The White Buffalo

Crazy Mama

Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson

Firewalker

The Gunfighters

Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story

From Here to Eternity

That's Insignificance

Johnny Appleseed

Roanoak