‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’: the exact moment John Wayne feel like a fraud
Plenty of actors have experienced a crisis of confidence at least once during their careers, but considering his comfortable position as one of the biggest, most popular, and highly-paid stars of his era, John Wayne didn’t stand out as someone who’d ever doubt his own abilities.
Of course, ‘The Duke’ was fully aware that he wasn’t the most talented thespian in Hollywood from a purely performative standpoint, but he didn’t care. Instead, he built his brand on playing the type of characters he knew audiences wanted to see him play, rarely deviating from that template and reaping the rewards that come with having a persona etched indelibly into the rocky outcrop of Americana.
For the majority of his decades spent lording it over the industry as one of its marquee A-listers and bankable box office draws, Wayne very rarely took on anything other than a leading role. A gratuitous cameo appearance was borderline unthinkable, and when he did take on a surprise gig as an inconsequential background player, he didn’t think he should have been there.
George Stevens’ 1965 biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told was a massive undertaking for the filmmaker and the studio, with the production carrying a hefty budget and an even bigger cast. Max Von Sydow, Claude Rains, Charlton Heston, and Martin Landau were just four of the recognisable names comprising the main ensemble, but the film went all out to fill even the smallest of roles.
‘The Duke’ and Sidney Poitier were the two most famous faces drafted in to do hardly anything, with Wayne getting dolled up as a Roman soldier for the scene leading up to the crucifixion of von Sydow’s Jesus, where he only gets one line of dialogue before disappearing just as quickly as he’d shown up. He owed the studio a financial favour, and being there solely to fulfil a monetary obligation ensured it wasn’t the most memorable experience.
“I felt like a fraud,” he told Michael Munn. “But since United Artists were willing to pay me and then keep my salary to help pay off my debt to them, I thought, what the hell.” It was the smallest role he’d played in a long time, and Wayne was entirely accurate when he summed up his overall contributions to The Greatest Story Ever Told: “I really was nothing more than an expensive extra. We were all fucking extras. I only did two days’ work.”
Despite the sum of its parts from a creative, directorial, budgetary, and star power perspective, the movie was a huge bust. The Greatest Story Ever Told bombed at the box office after falling short of recouping its production costs, and while it was nominated for five Academy Awards, none of them were in the major categories. On the plus side, thanks to his participation extending no further than glorified extra, none of the blame for its poor performance could be laid at Wayne’s door.
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