You might think that John Wayne would’ve been happy to pass the torch to Clint Eastwood as the newest western star in town, but the classic actor was not pleased to have competition, even if he was getting older.
Wayne dominated Hollywood as America’s ultimate western actor. He was the physical embodiment of traditional values, patriotism, and masculinity, and people loved to watch him command the screen, often directed by John Ford. The man was a controversial figure – beloved by many despite the fact he perpetuated many harmful racial and sexist stereotypes in his films, as well as openly declaring himself a believer of white supremacy.
Meanwhile, Eastwood emerged in the 1960s as the new face of the western genre, starring in Sergio Leone’s gritty Dollars trilogy to great acclaim. While Eastwood’s politics also lean towards conservatism, he marked a completely different symbol of cinematic and societal progression, with his movies straying further away from the often problematic myths of American greatness championed by Wayne’s films.
Eastwood became a cinematic ‘it’ man, highly in-demand and guaranteed to lead a movie to greatness, and during these early years of his career, Wayne and Eastwood didn’t completely despise each other. In fact, they were open to working on a film together, although this never happened, with the pair soon feuding.
Before their hostile relationship was firmly cemented, however, Eastwood was almost set to play a role in one of Wayne’s most iconic films. “The first time I ever met him, he said, ‘We ought to do a movie, kid.’ I said, ‘Yeah, it would be great.’ We never did come up with one,” the actor said (via Conversations with Clint).
“Originally, the producer at Universal who did True Grit, he had the idea of me playing the part that Glen Campbell did, but it wasn’t much of a role, and I was occupied,” Eastwood revealed. The movie won Wayne an Oscar and proved to be quite the success, with Campbell earning acclaim for his role as Ranger La Boeuf, a Texas Ranger. We’re sure that Eastwood would’ve done a great job had he secured the part, but he simply wasn’t interested enough to actually take it on. Around this time, Eastwood appeared in movies like Hang ‘Em High, Coogan’s Bluff, and Paint Your Wagon, clearly occupied with projects he found more fulfilling.
The pair’s relationship turned sour when Eastwood appeared in 1973’s High Plains Drifter, with the actor revealing (via John Wayne: The Life and Legend) “John Wayne once wrote me a letter saying he didn’t like High Plains Drifter. He said it wasn’t really about the people who pioneered the West. I realised that there’s two different generations, and he wouldn’t understand what I was doing.”
Wayne was also not a fan of the fact that Eastwood played the titular character in Dirty Harry after he turned down the opportunity, going on to regret his decision and make various films, like McQ, as an attempt to try his hand at the bad cop genre instead. It seems as though Wayne was bitter that Eastwood was becoming a bigger Hollywood star, although they might not have fallen out if they’d actually stuck to their original plan and shared the screen together.