![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/John-Wayne-Big-Jake-1971-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ Paramount Pictures)<\/p>\n
Mon 17 November 2025 16:15, UK <\/p>\n
Becoming a star is only one aspect of becoming a hero of Hollywood. In truth, it is the maintaining of that stardom that sets apart the players and the legends. Few actors in the history of Hollywood cinema can be said to be quite as iconic as John Wayne<\/a>, the face of the western genre throughout the 1950s and 1960s. <\/p>\n 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\u2019s The Searchers and 1962\u2019s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, among other classics.<\/p>\n Since those decades, and as the societal norms have changed, the figure of Wayne has been routinely torn down. Having outlandish and, frankly, racist views will do that. But, before he was tarnished in that way, Wayne was the epitome of American cinema. Oozing class and potent patriotic vigour, Wayne found great success by essentially playing a rough, tough caricature of his own real-life persona. <\/p>\n Aware of such an identity on screen, Wayne told film critic Roger Ebert back in a 1969 interview<\/a> that he was delighted to take on the Henry Hathaway movie True Grit, stating: \u201cIt\u2019s sure as hell my first decent role in 20 years\u2026and my first chance to play a character role instead of John Wayne. Ordinarily, they just stand me there and run everybody up against me\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though he thrived in the mid-20th century, becoming one of the most beloved actors of all time, the actor wasn\u2019t afraid of making enemies, calling out multiple actors and filmmakers with whom he disagreed.\u00a0Whether this was on set or in the papers, or even behind closed doors as part of an apparent effort to rid Hollywood of left-leaning performers, Wayne was never backwards in coming forward against his adversaries. <\/p>\n In fact, for much of his professional life, Wayne operated as the cantankerous uncle you no longer enjoy spending time with. He may have delivered an affable charm on occasion, but his growing disdain for the world around him makes the time spent together far from enjoyable. <\/p>\n Wayne\u2019s growing distrust of the changing of American culture was exemplified in his critique of some of the more adventurous parts of cinema. But while many would think his disdain was reserved only for those who made what he deemed \u201cperverse\u201d movies, he also held a certain amount of contempt for the actors and filmmakers with whom he shared similar social circles.<\/p>\n Such is detailed in the book John Wayne: My Father, written by the actor\u2019s daughter, Aissa Wayne. \u201cWhen it came to his contemporaries in film, I only heard him speak once with any real venom,\u201d she wrote, before revealing that the actor in question was none other than the two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman.<\/p>\n \u201cGene Hackman could never appear on-screen without my father skewering his performance,\u201d Aissa added: \u201cI wish I could tell you why he so harshly criticised Hackman, but he never went into detail\u201d. Hackan rose to industry prominence in the same decade as Wayne\u2019s Hollywood stature dwindled, starring in 1971\u2019s The French Connection<\/a>, 1974\u2019s The Conversation and Young Frankenstein of the same year.\u00a0<\/p>\n For whatever reason, Wayne wasn\u2019t fond of Hackman at all, with Aissa further recalling: \u201cBack then, however, my father called Hackman \u2018the worst actor in town. He\u2019s awful\u2019\u201d. Despite his clear hatred of Hackman, his daughter is sure that if her father was around today, he might like his films, stating: \u201cAlthough it\u2019s pure speculation, had my father lived to see more of his work, I think his view of Mr Hackman would have changed\u201d. <\/p>\n Still, despite Wayne\u2019s dislike of Hackman, the latter never took his criticism to heart, calling the former \u201cone of the best actors ever\u201d. In an interview<\/a> from back in 1992, Hackman, who was hot off the back of the release of the Clint Eastwood \u2018Best Picture\u2019 winner Unforgiven, added: \u201cI 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\u201d. <\/p>\n Hackman wasn\u2019t in bad company. Among some of Wayne\u2019s most hated actors were incredible performers such as Marlon Brando, who upset Wayne with his infamous refusal of an Oscar. Clint Eastwood was another performer whose dalliances on screen rubbed Wayne the wrong way. Frank Sinatra endured a tirelessly bitter feud with \u2018The Duke\u2019 while Clark Gable was more simply labelled an \u201cidiot\u201d by the famed actor. <\/p>\n Sometimes, being one of the most beloved actors of all time isn\u2019t enough. The changing of the guard was an event that shook Wayne to his core, and his lack of understanding of the new ways of cinema seemed to scare the fearless hero. <\/p>\n![\"True](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/True-Grit-John-Wayne-Robert-Duvall-1969-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>John Wayne and Robert Duvall in \u2018True Grit\u2019. (Credits: Paramount Pictures)<\/p>\n