An enraged John Wayne threatened to hit his True Grit co-star Robert Duvall Movies | entertainment
True Grit was a godsend for John Wayne, who lobbied for the lead role of U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn after reading Charles Portis’ novel of the same name. Duke finally won a Best Actor Oscar for the role in 1969, but the production wasn’t easy for him. Despite being a huge star, he was not in control of the casting. The famous Elvis Presley could not be secured for the supporting role of Texan La Boeuf, as the singer’s manager Colonel Tom Parker demanded top billing above Wayne himself. Meanwhile, there would be another actor who ended up leaving the Western legend pissed off once filming began.
The actor in question was Robert Duvall, who played Lucky Ned Pepper in True Grit, which is showing on Channel 5 today. The 92-year-old was 38-years-old at the time and was yet to become the leading man of his subsequent career in Hollywood.
He was known for his fiery temper just like his old roommate Gene Hackman, who lived in New York alongside Dustin Hoffman when they were young theatrical poor. The three enjoyed practical jokes, but Duvall and Hackman were known for having short flings that led to explosive bar fights.
Hoffman previously shared how Duvall ended up incorporating his real-life anger into his performance. The True Grit actor would pick on an audience member who would pretend to hate him and then yell “f*** you!” When he left the stage after a curtain call.
As a method actor, he became frustrated when Wayne and True Grit director Henry Hathaway’s plans didn’t match his character. As a result, on-set confrontations became a common occurrence.
He said in 2015: “The director and I didn’t get along — I don’t get along with a lot of directors.” On another occasion, he added, “Henry Hathaway…we’re not going to talk about him.”
Read more: John Wayne flop ‘gave nearly 100 people cancer’ including Duke
Despite winning Best Actor for True Grit, Wayne was unhappy with his performance as Rooster Cogburn and later called the award “rookie’s luck”.
However, Duvall admitted: “Wayne wasn’t as bad as some of the serious actors I’ve seen who trained at the Actors Studio and all that… Wayne was fun to be around. He was kind and outgoing.”
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