John Wayne’s clean-cut career credited to warning from a co-star’s mom
John Wayne may have strayed into gray territory, but one behind-the-scenes conversation he shared made sure he never played a true villain
John Wayne is best remembered as the all-American cowboy hero, but the man behind the image once considered taking his career in a different direction, until one person gave him a blunt warning.
Wayne had already secured his place in Hollywood thanks to director John Ford and a career-launching role in Stagecoach. From there, he carved out his niche in Westerns and war movies, consistently playing brave, principled men.
In 1941’s The Shepherd of the Hills, directed by Henry Hathaway, Wayne tried something new.
- Actor says he would have knocked Jack Nicholson out
- Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom facing final days as romance is over
In the film, Wayne played Matt, a bitter young man bent on killing the father he never knew, blaming him for his mother’s death.
His co-star, Harry Carey Jr., played Daniel, the man revealed to be Matt’s father and the story’s emotional anchor. It was a turning point for Wayne during his first real brush with a morally complex character.
While discussing the film on set, Wayne reportedly told fellow actors that he was considering taking on darker roles in the future. He said he didn’t want to be “typecast” as a white-hat cowboy forever.
That’s when Harry Carey Jr.’s mother, Olive Carey, pulled him aside.
“You big, stupid son of a b----,” she told him, according to the book Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, Wade Bond by Scott Allen Nollen. “Would you like to see Harry do all these things you were telling these people? People have accepted you. They’ve taken you into their homes and their hearts now, and they like you as a certain kind of man.”
DON'T MISS:
Elvis Presley turned down iconic film role that went to Glen Campbell [LATEST]
John Wayne was left emotional after what his Chisum co-star did on set [INSIGHT]
Clint Eastwoofd turned down movie role that John Wayne took [UPDATE]
Though he occasionally took on morally questionable roles, like Rooster Cogburn in True Grit or the hardened Thomas Dunson in Red River, he never fully crossed over into playing villains.
In The Searchers, he went darker than ever. His character, Ethan Edwards, set out not to rescue his kidnapped niece, but to kill her, believing death was better than living with Native Americans.
Still, he never became a traditional villain thanks to the unfiltered moment from Olive Carey.
Follow Daily Express US
Get all the latest news, entertainment, sport and lifestyle updates from our dedicated American team.
Sign up for our newsletters HERE.
