Fewer actors in the history of Hollywood cinema can be said to be quite as iconic as John Wayne, the face of the western genre throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Collaborating with such early pioneers of the craft as John Ford and Howard Hawks, Wayne became known for his rugged characters daring to patrol the American frontier, delivering iconic performances in 1956’s The Searchers and 1962’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among other classics.
Oozing class and potent patriotic vigour, Wayne found great
success by essentially playing a rough, tough caricature of his own
real-life persona. Aware of such an identity on screen, Wayne told film
critic Roger Ebert back in a 1969 interview that he was delighted to take on
the Henry Hathaway movie True Grit, stating: “It’s sure as hell my first
decent role in 20 years…and my first chance to play a character role instead
of John Wayne. Ordinarily, they just stand me there and run everybody up
against me”.
Though he thrived in the mid-20th century, becoming one of the
most beloved actors of all time, the actor wasn’t afraid of making enemies,
calling out multiple actors and filmmakers who he disagreed with.
Such is detailed in the book John Wayne: My Father, written by
the actor’s daughter, Aissa Wayne. “When it came to his contemporaries in
film, I only heard him speak once with any real venom,” she wrote, before
revealing that the actor in question was none other than the two-time Oscar
winner Gene Hackman.
“Gene Hackman could never appear on-screen without my father
skewering his performance,” Aissa added: “I wish I could tell you why he so
harshly criticized Hackman, but he never went into detail”. Hackan rose to
industry prominence in the same decade as Wayne’s Hollywood stature
dwindled, starring in 1971’s The French Connection, 1974’s The Conversation
and Young Frankenstein of the same year.
For whatever reason,
Wayne wasn’t fond of Hackman at all, with Aissa further recalling: “Back
then, however, my father called Hackman ‘the worst actor in town. He’s
awful’”. Despite his clear hatred of Hackman, his daughter is sure that if
her father was around today, he might like his films, stating: “Although
it’s pure speculation, had my father lived to see more of his work, I think
his view of Mr Hackman would have changed”.
Still, despite
Wayne’s dislike of Hackman, the latter never took his criticism to heart,
calling the former “one of the best actors ever”. In an interview from back
in 1992, Hackman, who was hot off the back of the release of the Clint
Eastwood ‘Best Picture’ winner Unforgiven, added: “I could never be the man
he was, because his politics and mine would be incompatible, but you must
admire how really good he was as an actor, in command of the scene and with
such great charisma”.
