Sam Rockwell loves going to the Oscars for the "free booze".

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell

The 48-year-old actor is currently starring as police officer Jason Dixon in new drama 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' - which was helmed by Martin McDonagh - and there has been an Oscar buzz around the film and Rockwell admitted it's "very thrilling" top think it could be nominated for some prizes.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, Rockwell said: "It's very thrilling. I'm hearing a lot of stuff - we'll see what happens.

"We really worked our hump off on this film, so it's very exciting - but really it's an excuse to celebrate that with free booze."

The film is set months after the murder of teenager Angela (Angela Newton) and there is still no culprit who has been apprehended so her mother Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) makes a bold move by painting three signs leading into the town with controversial messages directed at police chief William Willoughby (Woody Harrelson).

When Willoughby's second-in-command Officer Jason Dixon (Rockwell) gets involved, tensions only increase.

Although Rockwell has had a number of successful movies under his belt, he also said he could never give up acting but understands people need to "refill" and people in his industry need to do something "important" to them.

He said: "I guess that's why Daniel Day-Lewis goes and makes shoes or something. I could never do that. Or why Sean Penn goes to Haiti. I guess you have to refill a little bit - but I'm kind of a workhorse. It takes a toll. It took a toll on my friend Philip Seymour Hoffman. He never wanted to phone it in, on stage especially. He was a dear friend and I think he demanded an awful lot from himself."

Hoffman was found dead in his apartment back in 2014 from an accidental drugs overdose involving a cocktail of different substances.

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