John Wayne's co-star in The Cowboys still receives hate messages for what he did to Duke | Movie

Bruce Dern struggled to find acting work after starring alongside John Wayne in The Cowboys. His troubles began before filming even began on the 1972 western.

Duke had just given an incredibly controversial interview to Playboy, sharing his views on civil rights and the treatment of Native Americans.

In fact, Laura Dern remembers that at the time, some of her friends’ parents ended up canceling play dates with her due to her father’s involvement in the film.

But what happened on set affected his career even more.

Previously speaking with Cowboys and IndiansDern was asked if he was intimidated by Wayne on set. He replied, “I could have been.” But from the beginning, he said to me: “I want you to do us a favor.” It included himself, (director) Mark Rydell and the writers. He said, “From now on, think of me as someone you can publicly kick the shit out of 24 hours a day on set.” » Because I want these little kids (who play the cowboys of the title) to be absolutely terrified of you.

“He gave me carte blanche to treat him like a turd. So I was on him, talking back to him and all that, for the few days I was there. And he would do things like yell, “Hey, Mr. Dern, would you like to come here?” I thought: Hey, John Wayne is giving you “sir” status. My first day he calls me sir. And this? It’s pretty cool. However, the satisfaction of this advantage would be short-lived.

Half a century later, Dern said he still receives hate messages after his character Asa Watts killed Wayne’s Wil Andersen in The Cowboys. But he knew it was going to happen and so did Duke. When asked if he still encounters fans who are upset about it, the actor replied, “No question. But I knew it would happen. I knew the day I had to film him, when we shot that scene, that he had never been hit with an exploding bullet before in his career. You know, he got shot in The Sands of Iwo Jima. I think he was killed by a sniper. But it was the first time they put a squib on him, where it was going to be close to his skin and everything else. (Laughs.) I remember him leaning over to me around 8:15 that morning, reeking of Wild Turkey 101.”

Dern continued: “(Wayne) said, ‘Is this going to hurt?’ And I said, ‘Duke, they’re going to blow your (bleeping) chest out. Get a metal protector to place under those firecrackers so they’re not near your skin. “Oh, how can I do that?” » I said, “How do you do it?” Order the man of effects, as you order everyone else, to go ahead and do this for you.

“Then, after getting properly equipped, he said to me: ‘Oh, I want to remind you of something. When this picture comes out and the public sees that you’re killing me, they’re going to hate you for it. I said, “Maybe.” But at (UC) Berkeley, I’ll be a (bleep) hero!’ He laughed about it. And then he put his arm around my neck, he turned me towards the crew – there were about 90 people there where we shot the thing, getting ready to do the scene – and he said, “C That’s why this (bleep) is in my movie. Because he understands that bad guys can be funny. If it wasn’t, why would we be talking about it 150 years later?’ »