Mud has a Canadian in its cast.
Samuel Shepard Rogers III -LRB- born November 5 , 1943 -RRB- , known professionally as Sam Shepard , is an American playwright , actor , author , screenwriter , and director , whose body of work spans over half a century .. He is the author of forty-four plays as well as several books of short stories , essays , and memoirs .. Shepard received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child .. Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Buried Child. Buried Child. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of pilot Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff -LRB- 1983 -RRB- .. Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Chuck Yeager. Chuck Yeager. The Right Stuff. The Right Stuff ( film ). Shepard received the PEN / Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award as a master American dramatist in 2009 .. PEN / Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award. PEN / Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award. New York described him as `` the greatest American playwright of his generation . ''. New York. New York ( magazine ). Shepard 's plays are chiefly known for their bleak , poetic , often surrealist elements , black humor and rootless characters living on the outskirts of American society .. His style has evolved over the years , from the absurdism of his early Off-Off-Broadway work to the realism of Buried Child and Curse of the Starving Class -LRB- both 1978 -RRB- .. Buried Child. Buried Child. Off-Off-Broadway. Off-Off-Broadway. Curse of the Starving Class. Curse of the Starving Class