135 leading roles! No other actor will be able to catch up with this feat of a Western icon so quickly

With 135 leading roles, a Western legend still holds a record to this day. At first glance that may not seem like much, after all, Michael Caine also appeared in more than 160 films, while Samuel L. Jackson’s filmography includes no fewer than 205 titles. Undefeated at the top with 1,045 (!) acting entries is Bess Flowers, whose career spanned from the 1920s to the 1950s – although the sheer number of film roles has a specific reason: she was often only in the spotlight for a few seconds. see what earned her the title “The Queen of the Hollywood Extras.”

With Eric Roberts (Julia Roberts’ brother and Emma Roberts’ father), things are a little different. In most of the 725 films in which he appeared, the 67-year-old did more than just appear on screen – but alongside top individual films such as ‘The Dark Knight’, ‘Inherent Vice’ and ‘Babylon’ Rush of Ecstasy”. “His work consists mainly of quickly produced B-films, most of which feature him in supporting roles. A lot comes together in the space of almost five decades, especially because he sometimes makes several dozen film and series appearances in one year. Using a similar strategy, “Machete” star Danny Trejo gets 438 roles.

But one surpasses them all: John Wayne. He “only” appeared in about 175 films, but in 135 of them he was actually the lead actor! Early in his career, Wayne mainly worked his way through small and supporting roles, including in John Ford’s silent film “Hangman’s House” (1928), in which he was clearly visible on screen as an actor for the first time. spectator at a horse race:

Hardly anyone imagined how important meeting Ford again would be for Wayne. In 1930 he played his first leading role under the direction of Raoul Walsh in the western classic ‘The Great Trek’ and it was nine years before Ford first chose him for a major role in one of his films, ‘Ringo’ (1939). Not only was it one of the greatest masterpieces of the Western genre, it also marked the beginning of a long collaboration that would eventually span twelve films – including such milestones as “Until the Last Man” (1948), “Rio Grande” (1950) , The Black Hawk (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Other works that cemented Wayne’s reputation as a Western icon include the two Howard Hawks-directed films Panic on the Red River (1948) and Rio Bravo (1959).

By the way, Steven Spielberg – an avid fan of John Ford westerns – wanted to cast John Wayne in a war comedy. You can read why he not only rejected the film idea of ​​the ‘ET’ maker, but also reacted angrily in the following article: