John Wayneonce toldClint Eastwood, “We ought to do a movie, kid,” so why did he turn down the chance to work with “The Duke” onTrue Grit?Clint Eastwood’s Westernscompletely redefined the genre during the 1960s, with the star often playing morally gray figures in a lawless vision of the Old West. Eastwood’s “Oaters” were violent and bleak, with the star often playing anti-heroes willing to lie, steal and shoot people in the back. One person who wasn’t a fan of these films was John Wayne, who disliked the bloodshed and darkness featured in Clint’s Westerns.
In contrast,John Wayne’s Westerns(almost) never featured strong violence or swearing, with Wayne playing upstanding and righteous heroes. Being two of the genre’s biggest icons, audiences longed to see Wayne and Eastwood work together; Wayne’s distaste for Clint’s brand of Western meant that never happened. Wayne was once open to it, however, as Eastwood stated inConversations with Clint: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983. Says Eastwood: “The first time I ever met [Wayne], he said, ‘We ought to do a movie, kid.’I said, ‘Yeah, it would be great.’ We never did come up with one."
Clint Eastwood Passed On Working With John Wayne In True Grit
Clint Eastwood Was Approached About Playing True Grit’s La Boeuf
One of Wayne’s late career triumphs wasTrue Grit, where he played the drunken, haggard U.S. Marshal “Rooster” Cogburn. Not only was it a major hit in 1969,True Gritalso resulted in Wayne receiving his only Academy Award for Best Actor;Wayne later reprised the role for 1975’s sequelRooster Cogburn. The original proved Wayne’s more old-fashioned style of Western could still connect with audiences, but it could have turned out quite different had Clint Eastwood accepted the role of Ranger La Boeuf.
It’s fascinating to imagine what True Grit would have looked like had both Wayne and Eastwood appeared together…
Taken again fromConversations with Clint, the star claimedTrue Grit’sproducer approached him about the part. Eastwood swiftly declined though; not because he didn’t want to work with Wayne, but because it “wasn’t much of a role” and he was “occupied” when he was offered the film. Indeed, it appears Clint was booked forPaint Your WagonwhenTrue Gritbegan filming. Reading between the lines,Eastwood may have also been concerned about playing more of a supporting role to Wayne,instead of being a true co-lead.
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It’s fascinating to imagine whatTrue Gritwould have looked like had both WayneandEastwood appeared together, but it all worked out for the best. Had Eastwood co-starred, he would have overshadowed the film’s central dynamic, which is between Wayne’s Cogburn and Kim Darby’s Mattie. Ultimately, country singer Glen Campbell took the La Boeuf role and did an excellent job with it.
John Wayne Later Passed On The Chance To Work With Clint Eastwood
Wayne’s Dislike Of A Certain Clint Western Killed Any Chance Of A Collaboration
It’s unknown if Wayne felt slighted about Eastwood passing onTrue Grit, or if he was even aware the star had been approached. Whatisknown is thatWayne cooled on Eastwood’s work in the genre significantly in the years that followedTrue Grit, as Clint found out when he sent the screen icon a Western screenplay they could both star in. Written by B-movie legend Larry Cohen,The Hostilesfollowed a young gambler who wins the estate of an older rancher. Naturally, this makes them foes, but when bandits enter the picture, the two are forced to work together to save the day.
Eastwood loved the script and saw it as a chance for him and Wayne to star in a meaningful project together. The only issue is thatWayne hatedThe Hostilesafter reading it and rejected the project.Wayne is reported to have tossed the script over the side of a boat when his son Michael tried to get him to read it a second time, exclaiming, “This piece of s*** again?!” Wayne fully passed on the film by penning Eastwood a letter where he also slammed his 1973 WesternHigh Plains Drifter. (viaThe Clint Eastwood Archive).
The script forThe Hostileswas eventually produced as a 2009 TV movie calledThe Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger, starring Dean Cain and James Tupper.
According to Eastwood, Wayne hated the wayHigh Plains Drifterportrayed the people who pioneered the Old West. For his part, Eastwood felt Wayne had misunderstood the film’s intentions and that it was meant as a fable, not a realistic look at the people who built the country.The Hostilesproved the final timeClint EastwoodandJohn Wayneconsidered working together.
Source: Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983,The Clint Eastwood Archive
