Movie star John Wayne took his career very seriously. He starred in a wide variety of westerns and war movies, but not all of them were winners. Wayne wasn’t afraid to admit when a movie role wasn’t right for him. However, he always took it personally when a bad guy passed his desk. He once went so far as to threaten to fire his agent when he read a script he found offensive. However, he won big at the Academy Awards.

John Wayne wanted to play strong roles in movies

Wayne made his first box office disaster with 1930’s The Big Trail, which was directed by Raoul Walsh. He didn’t get his chance to break out until 1939’s Stagecoach, which was his first notable collaboration with his mentor, John Ford. The movie star had to get involved in many bad B-movie roles that he considered “embarrassing” to be a part of.

The western movie star wanted to play tough roles that didn’t go into “bad” or “mean” territory. He drew moral lines that he refused to cross on the big screen. For example, Wayne demanded that The Shootist be reshot after seeing his character, JB Books, shoot a bad guy in the back, which he considered cowardly.

John Wayne threatened to fire his agent for sending him the script for ‘All the King’s Men’

According to an interview with Playboy, Wayne especially hated the script for the 1949 film All the King’s Men. He once explained that he turned down 1952’s High Noon because he was “un-American”. However, it wasn’t the only movie that offended him on that level. Wayne referred to the films’ writers, Carl Foreman and Robert Rossen, as communists who brought his message to his shows.

“In Rossen’s version of All the King’s Men, which he sent me to read for a part, all the characters who had any responsibility were guilty of some offense against society,” Wayne said. “Making Huey Long into a badass, wonderful pirate was great; but, according to this image, everyone was like *** except this wimpy intern doctor who was trying to find a place in the world.”

Wayne continued, “I sent the script to Charlie Feldman, my agent, and said, ‘If you ever send me a script like this again, I’ll fire you.'”

‘All the King’s Men’ won 3 Oscars

Wayne had to see the movie he turned down to get to the Academy Awards. At the same ceremony, he earned a nomination for his performance in 1950’s Sands of Iwo Jima. However, he lost to Broderick Crawford in All the King’s Men, who told Playboy, “Ironically, he won the Academy Award.”

All the King’s Men won two additional Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Mercedes McCambridge. Additionally, it earned nominations for Best Director, Best Writing, Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. Wayne certainly wanted to win an Oscar to his credit, as he had the potential to further change his career and lend him credibility. However, he didn’t want to do it while sacrificing his morale.