Elliott hopes to revisit 'Avenger' role

NEW YORK, April 9 (UPI) -- Actor Sam Elliott says he would love to revisit the role he plays in the new TNT thriller "Avenger," maybe in another small-screen movie or limited series.

Set to premiere Sunday night, the two-hour movie casts the "Thank You for Smoking" and "Mask" star as a former Special Forces operative and pro bono lawyer who hires himself out to people who want the deaths of loved ones avenged.

"It was a lot of fun," the 61-year-old actor told UPI by phone. "I thought: 'Wow! The opportunity to go to South Africa, the opportunity to do a Frederick Forsyth novel with Wolfgang Petersen producing. There were a lot of positives.'"

Elliott, a husband and father, said he could understand why his character chooses to "operate outside the law in the pursuit of justice" after his family dies tragically.

"When you've got nothing to lose, you're a pretty dangerous character to deal with," he added.

Although he wouldn't want to do a weekly show based on the character, Elliott said, "I'd be up for a limited series."

"There are definitely more stories to be told, (but) I think as soon as you try and do it every week, that it's going to suffer."