John Wayne was a huge name in Hollywood, and he left a big mark on how movies were made. Back in the 1950s, he strongly disliked communism and worked hard to keep it out of the film world. This changed how people saw movies, making them feel a bit like tools to spread ideas. Wayne was like America’s superhero on screen, but off-screen, he wasn’t always nice. He said mean things about people and could be grumpy on set, which makes it easy to see why some don’t want to follow his example today.
One thing Wayne didn’t really change was acting itself. He wasn’t great at showing lots of feelings in his roles—he even called himself more of a moving prop than a real actor. He didn’t like people who tried fancy acting styles and even picked fights with stars like Marlon Brando over it. That’s probably why today’s top actors don’t talk about his movies much when they share what inspires them.
Daniel Day-Lewis, a famous actor from England who won three Oscars, once shared his thoughts about movies and the stars he admired. He’s known for amazing roles in films like My Left Foot and There Will Be Blood. When he was younger, he loved watching Clint Eastwood’s movies all night long. Eastwood starred in cool cowboy films in the 1960s and later became a great director—his recent movie Juror 2 was a big hit. Day-Lewis said he’d leave those screenings at 5 a.m., pretending to walk and talk like Eastwood’s tough characters.
Day-Lewis also really liked Gary Cooper, an actor who made tons of movies until he passed away in 1961. One film, High Noon from 1952, was his favorite. He loved how honest and simple it felt, especially Cooper’s role as a brave sheriff named Will Kane who stood alone against bad guys. Day-Lewis said, “I love Gary Cooper in that film—the idea of the last man standing.” That movie was special because it didn’t follow the usual tough-guy hero rules, which brings us to what he thought about John Wayne.
Even though John Wayne was a big deal in old Hollywood, Day-Lewis wasn’t a fan. Wayne made over 165 movies in 56 years, had a grumbly voice, and walked in a slow, steady way that everyone knew. Day-Lewis simply said, “I do not like John Wayne: I find it hard to watch him.” One of Wayne’s films, The Searchers from 1956, is still called one of the best movies ever, and lots of films copy it today. But people are starting to see Wayne differently now—not just for his acting, but because he could be a pretty unkind person. Day-Lewis didn’t say exactly why he didn’t like him, just that he “never took to him.”
