John Wayne was one of the popular icons in Hollywood’s Golden Era! With a spectacular career spanning over five decades, he even became a symbol of rugged masculinity. While his versatile career perfectly showcased the talent he possessed professionally, he too has flaws. There was a time when he humiliated his female counterpart, Geraldine Page, when the duo was working on 1953’s movie, Hondo.
It was reported that the former wanted an unknown face with a fair experience for the movie, which Page fit in. She even did method acting for her role which eventually paid off with an Oscar nomination. However, behind the scenes, she had to face humiliation from her co-star for her very process.
John Wayne Mocked His Hondo Co-star, Geraldine Page
While making the film, Hondo, it was reported that lead actor, John Wayne constantly humiliated his female counterpart, Geraldine Page, for her method of acting. Not only that, he mocked her looks and made fun of her inexperience in the acting industry.
For the unversed, Page gained prior success on Broadway along with a few brief TV appearances. She also played an uncredited role in Gregory Ratoff’s Taxi.
While her portfolio was quite inexperienced when it came to working in Hollywood, her efforts honed her method acting skills which was something that irked Wayne and director, John Farrow.
Randy Roberts and James S. Olson, who wrote John Wayne: American revealed an incident when Farrow commented on the actress’s looks stating that her unattractiveness would be unable to captivate the audience. At the time, Page was only 30 years old meanwhile her co-star was in his late 40s.
They even revealed that the director even added a line to her dialogue, “I know I’m a homely woman, but I love you.” As per the authors, the True Grit actor’s wife remarked how Page’s co-stars were unable to consider how she would feel with the additional lines that they wanted her to state.
As per the book, the actor-director duo was unimpressed with the actress as soon as her hygiene regime started to appear.
Geraldine Page’s Manners Irked John Wayne
In the biography, the authors talked about how the actress’s manners continued to irk her colleagues. She used to eat mashed potatoes and gravy with her hands. Not just that, when it came to her hygiene, it surely didn’t leave a great impression.
She reportedly refused to bathe while she was on set with Wayne’s long-time personal secretary even commenting that she smelled ‘terrible.’ However, those mannerisms were her preparation for her role.
As a trained method actor, she wanted to relate with her character which is why she refused to bathe and ate with her hands. By trying to mold herself into a pioneer woman, she continued with her method of acting. However, that led her to get distant from her co-workers.
Leave a Reply