MOVIE NEWS – John Wayne and Gary Cooper crossed paths several times – and once, Cooper nearly got the role that made Wayne a legend. In the end, John Ford made the right decision.

Before John Wayne became the undisputed face of classic westerns, he had to overcome plenty of obstacles on his road to fame. Today his name is synonymous with the American cowboy, but in the early days, he was stuck in B-movies and no one in Hollywood thought he could carry a blockbuster.

In the 1930s, as Wayne tried to break out after a string of flops, he kept missing out on big western opportunities – and it was nearly always the same man standing in his way: Gary Cooper.

Wayne and Cooper crossed paths at many turning points. Two great westerns were nearly made without Wayne, since the studios always gave the advantage to Cooper in this silent competition.

Why did they call John Wayne “The Duke”? One of the greatest western heroes’ lives was linked to another film legend by a curious detail.

While their rivalry was never personal, it was intensely symbolic: Cooper represented the reserved, moral hero, while Wayne brought a tougher, more individualistic, and sometimes contradictory cowboy to life. For years, Cooper seemed to be winning – but fate had different plans for both.

The Western World Before and After John Wayne

The year was 1936, and Paramount was working on Buffalo Bill, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. This was meant to be a true classic western, featuring legends like Buffalo Bill, Calamity Jane, and Wild Bill Hickok.

John Wayne, after the failure of The Big Trail, saw Buffalo Bill as his shot at a comeback. He asked DeMille for a meeting to land the lead, but the director – remembering Wayne’s earlier flop – turned him down, saying he wasn’t ready for such a big project. The part went to Gary Cooper, who was already a favorite with critics and audiences alike.

Buffalo Bill was a huge success, and Wayne felt the sting of rejection – although he would later work with DeMille on The Greatest Show on Earth.

Stagecoach: The Birth of an Icon

Another interesting tale: Stagecoach – the movie that changed Wayne’s career forever – almost slipped through his fingers. Director John Ford always believed Wayne was the perfect Ringo Kid, but producer Walter Wanger wanted a bigger name, like Gary Cooper.

Wanger wanted Cooper and Marlene Dietrich as his stars, but Ford stood his ground: only Wayne, he insisted, had the charisma, physicality, and maturity for the part. Ford’s perseverance paid off, Stagecoach was a runaway hit, and Wayne’s name was cemented in movie history.

In a twist of fate, Wayne had the chance years later to star in High Noon but turned it down – so the role went to Cooper, creating another western legend.

This trading of iconic roles forever sealed the rivalry between two very different types of western heroes: one, the calm moral compass; the other, a charismatic, controversial gunslinger. But film history raised both men to the Olympus of the American western.

Source: Espinof