John Wayne Predicted How A Scene In The Cowboys Would Affect Bruce Dern’s Profession

John Wayne appropriately predicted {that a} scene in The Cowboys could be detrimental to the profession of his co-star, Bruce Dern. Directed by Mark Rydell, The Cowboys was launched in 1972, making it one of many remaining Western films of John Wayne’s profession.

In The Cowboys, John Wayne performed a grumpy rancher, who, within the twilight years of his life, discovered himself having to rent a gaggle of younger, reckless cowboys to switch the farmhands who’ve abruptly left his ranch. Whereas serving as a mentor for the lads, Wayne’s Will Anderson and his new employed assist needed to combat off a gang of criminals seeking to steal his herd.

The gang in The Cowboys was led by Asa Watts, who was performed by Bruce Dern. Asa Watts was a memorable flip for the actor, and whereas it might make sense for a film with John Wayne to be a boon to his profession, that was not the case in any respect. Actually, John Wayne knew prematurely that one in every of Bruce Dern’s scenes in The Cowboys would generate important backlash.

John Wayne Advised Bruce Dern He Would Be Hated For His Position In The Cowboys

Towards the top of the film, Andersen and his hirelings get right into a combat with Watts’ gang over the herd, with Wayne’s character in the end rising victorious in a fist combat. However quite than settle for defeat, Watts makes a cowardly transfer and shoots Andersen when he is strolling away. His actions led to what’s now remembered as one in every of John Wayne’s solely onscreen deaths.

Unsurprisingly, many John Wayne followers expressed outraged on the scene. In any case, it wasn’t typically {that a} character performed by John Wayne – somebody seen as a larger-than-life American icon – misplaced a combat or died in a movie. And to The Cowboys’ credit score, it did not let Wayne lose to Dern, nevertheless it did enable him to satisfy an unceremonious finish, and one which appeared uncharacteristic of a John Wayne Western.

Apparently, John Wayne foresaw the fan response that Andersen’s dying in The Cowboys garnered. In an interview with the Cowboys & Indians journal, Dern recounted the dialog he had with Wayne earlier than the pair shot the scene.

He recalled Wayne telling him, “Oh, I wish to remind you of 1 factor. When this image comes out, and audiences see you kill me, they’ll hate you for this.” It did not take lengthy for Dern to appreciate that “The Duke” was proper; a substantial quantity of hate mail adopted the discharge of The Cowboys.

Reflecting on it, Dern indicated that regardless of the warning, he was already aware of the truth that his scene with Wayne was removed from completely different from what got here earlier than. Most of Wayne’s film deaths occurred earlier than he had established himself as a star. And as Dern appropriately identified, his dying scene in The Sands of Iwo Jima got here by the hands of an unknown enemy.

The distinction between that and The Cowboys that followers had a face and a reputation to attach with the demise of Wayne’s character. Bruce Dern was subsequently criticized closely for “killing” John Wayne, and it really went on for years. As of 2015, when the interview was given, he was nonetheless getting hate mail over it every so often.

How John Wayne’s Demise Scene Impacted Bruce Dern’s Profession

The hate directed at Bruce Dern prolonged past a vocal minority. Actually, the actor was capable of really feel the impression on his profession. Clearly, the scene did not smash it, as he nonetheless went on to seem in lots of profitable movies afterward, however it did affect the kinds of roles he acquired within the instant aftermath.

Thanks largely to the act of killing a John Wayne character onscreen, the Asa Watts function was seemingly deemed so despicable that it grew to become interlaced with Bruce Dern’s picture. Dern later mentioned, “Producers had me pegged for a villain,” and thus he had develop into typecast.

His feedback precisely replicate the kinds of roles Bruce Dern performed after shifting on from The Cowboys. For example, he performed the villain in Posse, a Kirk Douglas-led Western, and portrayed a terrorist in Black Sunday. And when not enjoying outright villains, he had a bent to painting characters meant to be seen as detestable jerks, particularly in Westerns.

Dern’s profession had been going for a couple of years previous to The Cowboys, and he admittedly already had loads of expertise enjoying villains. However that scene with John Wayne successfully cemented that standing for him. Dern has acknowledged this in interviews, telling The Oklahoman that “knocking off John Wayne” was a “large” second for him and his profession.

That mentioned, Dern finally accepted this, acknowledging that being a lead actor wasn’t for him. Dern mentioned that he was “glad” with the profession he had. Ultimately, he got here to embrace the villainous status that got here along with his function in The Cowboys.