Sam Rockwell Reacts To ‘Three Billboards’ Criticism After Oscar Win

Los Angeles -- Sam Rockwell secured the best supporting actor win for his controversial role of a racist cop in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” on Sunday at the 90th Annual Academy Awards, and immediately took on criticism of the polarizing film.

“There’s obviously something very timely about it, what’s going on in this country,” Rockwell shared in the press interview room at Hollywood & Highland Center when asked to address complaints about the movie’s portrayal and treatment of African Americans. “It’s a complicated issue.”

Despite his character and fellow lead Frances McDormand’s Mildred evolving in the film, seemingly both agreeing to not kill a suspected rapist at its conclusion, Rockwell acknowledged the two are not fully innocent.

“I think, for me, the whole thing is that they have a lot of work to do, Mildred and Dixon,” he shared. “It’s not that they’re all of sudden redeemed at the end of the movie. They have a lot of work to do.”

While Rockwell said therapy would be a sensible next move for the two, he noted that at the end of a day, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” is just a work of fiction.

“It’s a movie and it’s a dark fairytale of some sorts,” he said.

That, however, didn’t stop Rockwell from sharing his belief that his character would have most likely gone to prison for his actions had he existed in the real world.

Long before having to battle criticism of the project, Rockwell worked on embodying his character, something he also discussed Sunday. For him, becoming Dixon included getting the help of several specialists and months of preparation. “Oh, it’s so boring,” he joked. “It’s like a big souffle or a stew.”

Quips aside, Rockwell said he reached out to a dialect coach to help him land a Missouri twang, met with a skin graft doctor who introduced him to patients, and accompanied cops in Southern Missouri and Los Angeles for ride-alongs. “I got to indulge in all this research,” said Rockwell.

“That’s if you have the luxury of time, which you don’t always have a part. Sometimes you get a part and you only have a week or a couple of days to prepare.”