Kristofferson was. His work was so closely intertwined in creation and reception that it was obvious how they fed each other. The characters in his songs and the ones he played in movies were all very much Kristofferson characters: refracted,

Kris Kristofferson told PEOPLE in a candid 1998 interview that he once thought he would be dead by age 30. He detailed how seeing his 'A Star Is Born' character die on-screen encouraged him to get sober.

Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and A-list Hollywood actor, has died.