For a good acting career I do not disagree with you. But what I was asking for is who is our generation’s John Wayne. Wayne was for better or worse a niche character. Wayne was also never a villain. I could point to several actors who would fit the same bills today such as Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, and as Talos pointed out, Jennifer Aniston (more on that in a later post). So while a diverse acting career is a plus for a great actor, it definitely doesn’t fit John Wayne.
~Shooter Out
Interesting stuff all round 
This thread makes me want to watch a John Wayne movie.
Probably Rio Bravo since it has Dean Martin (who always reminds me of my dad) and Angie Dickinson (hubba hubba) 
This thread has also got me pondering the tangent idea of “Popeye versus Chameleon” actors. Some examples of my choices below:
Popeyes (Actors who are what they are)
(1) Bruce Willis
(2) Jason Statham
(3) Adam Sandler
Chameleons (Actors who disappear into their role)
(1) Gary Oldman
(2) Meryl Streep
(3) Phillip Seymour Hoffman
/shrug. Just a mental exercise. Your mileage may vary.
OB
P.S. The western movie sadly is being overlooked now. I guess more money in rom-coms 
Thanks! I agree with Thot: I don’t think we have such an icon representing a particular strain of American masculinity. Young Kurt Russell was badass for awhile there, though.
Ah! Morgan Freeman! I love watching him in Through The Wormhole. He has a sort of Carl Sagan quality about him in that show, though I’m not sure if he is just a paid narrator or if he really and truly understands all the scientific subjects being discussed. In any event, I usually see him as playing more cerebral roles than John Wayne or even a secondary character like in Batman. I love his work to from Robin Hood to Deep Impact to Glory to Driving Miss Daisy to The Shawshank Redemption. I count him in 67 films without the films he only narrates. He has won a Best Support Actor Oscar for Million Dollar Baby and he won the Cecil B DeMille award this year (2012). He also has a Golden Globe award for his performance in Driving Miss Daisy. Morgan Freeman began his acting career in 1964 - close enough. Overall I just don’t see him carrying films int he way John Wayne did, though.
I also love Robert Duvall. I always seem to picture him in the role he played in Days Of Thunder for some reason. He started his big screen career in 1962 with To Kill A Mockingbird - what a film to start with! Duvall went on to appear is at least 82 films including John Wayne’s True Grit, MASH, Bullitt, THX 1138, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Deep Impact, and Gone In 60 Seconds. Duvall has an Oscar for Best Lead Actor for the 1983 film Tender Mercies - I’m ashamed to say I’ve never heard of it! Duvall also have two personal Golden Globes, one for Tender Mercies and one for his supporting role in Apocalypse Now. I’m sure someone could make one heck of a strong case for Duvall, but I feel that with a solid portion of his work in supporting roles that he wouldn’t qualify as our generation’s John Wayne.
For whatever reason whenever I think of Dustin Hoffman I think of him in a role I don’t care for. That being said I love his work in Rain Man, Toostie, Hook, and Meet The Fockers. None of which are true John Wayne type roles. Hoffman has two Oscars for Best Lead Actor: one for Rain Man and one for Kramer vs. Kramer. He has the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award and won the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1997. Hoffman has appeared in at least 52 films. I’m not really seeing any action films to speak of in his filmography and like Duvall Hoffman has a large portion of his work in supporting roles as well. I just don’t think he’d be a good John Wayne for our generation/
I was shocked to see Robert Redford only has 38 films that he has appeared in since 1961. Redford has definitely made some hay with his appearances. He won a Best Leading Actor in 1972 for The Sting and was given an honorary Oscar in 2002 for his Sundance inspiration. Redford wont he Cecil B DeMille award in 1994. I would say that his roles qualify him but he has been more like a kindler, more cerebral version of Clint Eastwood and that Clint is more like John Wayne than Redford.
Paul Newman won me over with Slap Shot and I was always a fan after that - all the way up to Cars. I’m sad that I’ll never see a new performance of the late Mr. Newman. Since the mid 50’s Newman appeared in 56 films. Newman won an Oscar for Best Leading Role in 1987 for The Color Of Money and he won the Cecil B DeMille award in 1984. I’ll have to disqualify Mr. Newman since his career began in the 50’s, but it was definitely a good career.
~Shooter Out
Interesting insights Mr. Talos! While I agree with you that Jennifer Aniston plays the same character - and I happen to guiltily like her performances - I don’t think she could be argued as our generation’s John Wayne. Now Angelina Jolie, there is an argument that someone could make. Yes - take that as a challenge.
I had thought someone had previously brought up Arnold Schwarzenegger but I was wrong. Arnie has had the career I would have expected out of our generation’s John Wayne with action, military and scifi but is definitely lacking in the romance category unless you count Junior or Kindergarten Cop. I also think he doesn’t have enough acting under his belt in comparison to other career actors thanks to his political career. He has only about 35 films since 1969 and no relevant major awards.
Captain James Bruce Lee Kirk would have been cool. Today Jr and I watched the 2009 Star Trek on FX with the behind the scenes looks during the commercials. Turns out that Chris Pine based his Kirk performance off of Han Solo, Indiana Jones and Topgun’s Maverick. So it turns out Kirk’s inspiration was Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise.
~Shooter Out