(Credits: Far Out / Dick Thomas Johnson)
Fri 23 January 2026 1:00, UK
Tommy Lee Jones is not someone to be messed with, and while a character is a character, when you get so good at playing authoritative roles, it makes you wonder what he’s going to be like in person.
Actors like Jones can swing one of two ways, appearing just like the terrifying characters they portray, or the complete opposite. It seems like Jones remains a rather elusive figure, a private man who you don’t want to get on the wrong side of, his sternness part of his intelligence and dedication to his craft.
Jones isn’t going to twiddle his thumbs putting in half an effort for a role. If he has been cast in a film, he’s going to bring his all, his on-screen presence both commanding and unforgettable. Appearing in the likes of No Country for Old Men, JFK, Men in Black, and The Fugitive, Jones is associated with gritty, masculine roles, so it’s no surprise that one of his favourite actors was the ultimate epitome of machismo.
Discussing some of his most beloved movies and actors, Jones once revealed his love for John Wayne, a controversial American icon who defined the golden days of cinema, when the western was one of the most popular genres to grace the silver screen.
Joan Didion once wrote, “When John Wayne rode through my childhood, and very probably through yours, he determined forever the shape of certain of our dreams.” This is likely true for Jones, who surely grew up watching ‘The Duke’, as he was affectionately known, swaggering across the screen, a classic symbol of traditionalism and strong American values.
Of course, we look back at him these days with slightly more apprehension, with many of his films possessing problematic depictions of masculinity and race. Wayne, in real life, spouted many horrible opinions, claiming his belief in white supremacy during an infamous Playboy interview back in 1971.
In the same interview, he condemned the stunning Midnight Cowboy as “a story about two f*gs,” while he stated that Black people should be “educated to a point of responsibility.” You can sing the praises of ‘The Duke’ if you really want, but you can’t forget what he represented.
Picking out Angel and the Badman – a 1947 western – as one of his favourite movies, Jones once revealed, “I love the honesty of John Wayne’s work. It’s about water. It’s about violence. It’s about peace. It’s about how these things might interface. I think it’s the most sophisticated film ‘The Duke’ ever made, and I like everything ‘The Duke’ ever made.”
Wayne certainly did appear in many classics, including The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Quiet Man, Stagecoach, and True Grit, becoming particularly known for his collaborations with John Ford, and as an icon of the western genre, he remains an indelible figure of Old Hollywood, whose domination of the silver screen eventually gave way to grittier, more subversive approaches to westerns and depictions of masculinity.
Still, Jones is a huge fan, and with his own history of starring in quite a few westerns, it’s not hard to see why he holds Wayne so close to his heart – even if, off-screen, he was despicable.
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