Sam Elliott Reads Lady Gaga Lyrics During Colbert Interview
on Oct 08, 2018 • Updated Apr 06, 2023
He is an iconic actor with an even more iconic voice – and thanks to his 2018 project, a remake of the classic film A Star Is Born, Sam Elliott traveled the country on a press tour.
He starred as Bobby, the brother and manager of Bradley Cooper’s Jack, a seasoned musician who discovers and falls in love with struggling musician Ally, played by pop star Lady Gaga.
The film opened on October 5, 2018 to incredible reviews and plenty of Oscar buzz for several actors in the film, as well as everyone behind the scenes – including songwriting, which was led by Jason Isbell, Dave Cobb, and Lukas Nelson. Lady Gaga and Cooper helped write a couple songs on the soundtrack as well. Cooper, Gaga, and Elliot all received Oscar nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. Gaga, along with songwriters Mark Ronson and Anthony Rossomando, took home an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Shallow.”
Elliott appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote the movie, and after talking about a few of his well-known voice roles, including Smokey the Bear, and commercials for US Beef, Dodge Ram Trucks, and Coors beer, the talk show host asked Elliott if he would be willing to put his voice to Lady Gaga’s lyrics.
“Would you be willing to give Lady Gaga lyrics the Sam Elliott treatment? Just open up the taps and let the smooth come out,” Colbert said, with screaming response from the ladies in the audience.
With little hesitation, Elliott tilted his head and in his signature southern drawl and low baritone voice, spoke the lyrics from her hit songs “Born This Way,” “Poker Face,” and “Bad Romance.”
“Don’t be a drag, just be a queen, whether you’re broke or evergreen,” he said, following up with the “Poker Face” lyrics, “I won’t tell you that I love you, kiss or hug you, ’cause I’m bluffin’ with my muffin.”
Elliott broke out into a chuckle anticipating the next lyrics he had to read, so Colbert gave him a boost of confidence, telling him to “bring it home!”
“Rah rah, ah ah ah. Ro ma, ro ma ma, Gaga, oh lala,” he said, with a cheeky eyebrow raise – making us all swoon!
After the way he said, “Oh la la,” Colbert’s crew definitely had to check the pulse on some of the women of the audience because there was no way at least one of them didn’t faint!
Watch him read Lady Gaga’s lyrics in the video below…you won’t regret it!
