Tim McGraw is a man of many talents. McGraw has enjoyed more than 30 years as a country music hitmaker, while also enjoying a successful acting career. McGraw has appeared in blockbuster movies like Friday Night Lights, Four Christmases, Country Strong and more.
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McGraw hopes to keep doing both for years to come. Still, he says there is one of those jobs that is definitely easier, at least for him, than the other one.
"Singing is my first love for sure," McGraw says. "I wouldn't have been able to get into acting without having some hit records first, I guess. But acting's hard. It's not easy. People think that it's easy, and it's not. When you're on set and the cameras start rolling and you're standing there with some legends that you're having to act with, it can tighten you up just a little bit."
In addition to his movies, McGraw also appeared in 1883, alongside his wife, Faith Hill. Grueling as it was, the 58-year-old would live to find another similar TV show.
"We were shooting 1883 for six months," McGraw recalls. "Sometimes six days a week, 14 hours a day on horseback and terrible weather conditions - either burning hot or freezing cold. It was a lot of hard work, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. But we had such a great time and it was a great experience for Faith and I together, and I would love to do another Western somewhere down the road."
How Tim McGraw Got Into Acting
McGraw's first film ever was Black Cloud, out in 2004. In hindsight, McGraw can laugh now about how he got talked into taking his first acting role.
"I wasn't looking do to movies. In fact, I kind of got cornered into the first one I did," McGraw tells Tracy Lawrence on his Road House podcast (via American Songwriter).
"I played Arizona, and Rick Schroder, one of the nicest guys in the world, came to my show," he continues. "He came to my dressing room and started talking to me, and he says, 'I'm doing my very first direction on this movie called Black Cloud, and I'd really like you to play the sheriff in it.'"
McGraw wanted to say no, but couldn't, and his acting career was born.
"I didn't really want to do the movie," McGraw admits. "I wasn't ready for it yet, but he was so nice I couldn't say no to him."
