During Rex Linn’s lengthy career, the widely respected actor has starred in Western movies like Wyatt Earp, Appaloosa, Django Unchained, and A Million Ways to Die in the West. He is also a big fan of the popular film genre whose expertise on the subject comes across in any interview it comes up in.
While speaking exclusively to Men’s Journal, Linn was asked to name the most underrated Western movie ever made. In response, the actor and expert chose a classic 1972 Robert Redford film and explained why he thinks it deserves more praise and notoriety among fans of the genre.
Why Rex Linn Chose ‘Jeremiah Johnson’ as the ‘Most Underrated Western Movie of All Time’
Men’s Journal: I have seen you in several Westerns. I’ve seen you speak about the genre during interviews that made it seem very obvious that you are passionate about the subject. I’m really curious, based on your expert opinion, what is the most underrated Western movie of all time if you had to pick one?
Rex Linn: The keyword that you used in that question is underrated, because so many of the great Westerns are not underrated, but let me think here. It may be a weird choice because it doesn’t fall neatly into the Western genre, but I’m going to say Jeremiah Johnson.
Now, you might think it’s not underrated. But if you talk to people about the great Western movies, they’ll name films like The Searchers, Unforgiven, or others of that caliber. If you ask people, as I have many times, “And what about Jeremiah Johnson?” They’ll say something like, “Yeah, that was good. Who was it? Oh, Robert Redford was in it?”
I’m going to say Jeremiah Johnson, but I’m going to be mad at you later in the day because I’m going to be thinking of about 10 more that will pop up. Again, some people will hear this and go, “Why would he say Jeremiah Johnson? That’s not underrated.” But it kind of is. What do you think? Which Western would you pick as the most underrated?
Men’s Journal: It is tough, but the one that I would go with is Young Guns. I just absolutely love that movie, and I could watch it over and over again. Similar to what you said, it is a movie that many people love, especially if they grew up around the time that it came out, as I did. But I never see it in discussions of the great Westerns. I understand that to a certain degree since it doesn’t live up to the level of the all-time greats like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly or Tombstone, and because it is so stylized and of its era. But I think it’s a highly effective and entertaining movie that really makes you care about its characters and what they are doing. So, I think it is highly underrated and needs to be given more credit than it gets.
Rex Linn: I agree with that. I enjoy Young Guns. I thought it was great. That would have been a good pick too, by the way. I’m a little jealous of your pick right now. That would have been a good pick. And I saw the look on your face when I said, “Jeremiah Johnson.” (Laughs) Your face was kind of like, “That’s a famous Western. I don’t know why you would think it was underrated.”
But the next time you talk to people about Westerns, ask them, “What’d you think about Jeremiah Johnson?” Shockingly, a lot of times people will go, “Yeah, that was good.” But if you ask someone to name five Westerns, Jeremiah Johnson is never going to be brought up.
Men’s Journal: I can totally see that for sure.
Rex Linn: But I love that movie, especially those little iconic moments like when Redford looks up at that bird man, and he goes, “Take me a week’s ridin’, and he’ll be there in… hell, he’s there already.” I mean, that was just a great moment in the film, and then he spits a little bit and gets up. There are tons of moments in that movie that are fantastic. I’ll tell you, a Western that’s not underrated that we just saw again recently, and I could watch it probably 10 times, is The Outlaw Josey Wales. I could just watch it over and over. Unforgiven too, as a matter of fact.
Men’s Journal: Unforgiven is an infinitely watchable masterpiece for sure.
Rex Linn on the Brilliance of ‘The Long Riders’
Rex Linn: I know another Western that’s underrated that people rarely ever say in the top 20, but everybody loved it. And I’ve got buddies that are in it, The Long Riders. Wouldn’t you agree that that’s underrated?
Men’s Journal: Yes, I would. Indeed. That’s a really good Western.
It has the Carradines, the Keeches, the Quaids and the Guests. That is unheard of. That was unprecedented. I don’t know of another Western, or any film for that matter, that features four sets of brothers in it. Maybe there is that I don’t know about. But either way, that is a really good Western that you don’t hear people who love Westerns talk about enough. I highly recommend it to everybody. As a matter of fact, I might watch it tonight just for fun.
Men’s Journal: Similar to what you’re saying about a movie with fans that still doesn’t get spoken about enough, I would argue that Silverado is underrated.
Rex Linn: That is one of the best. I don’t know that it’s underrated, but you’re right. In the scheme of the question, it is underrated because it often doesn’t get talked about as one of the greats. But I loved Silverado. The great story about that was with Kevin Costner. Kevin was in The Big Chill, but Lawrence Kasdan had to edit him out except for his hand being in the casket.
But Larry said to Kevin, “Just stick with me. You’re going to have a lead role in another one of my films down the road.” It’s like, “Whatever.” But of course, Larry did it by casting him in Silverado.
Men’s Journal: I think Silverado is one of the greatest Westerns ever. I love many of the characters, and it has such a star-studded cast, including Kevin Costner, who is so entertaining in the movie, and Danny Glover, who gives an amazing performance.
Rex Linn Compares ‘Wyatt Earp’ and ‘Tombstone’
Men’s Journal: You starred in a different Lawrence Kasdan Western, Wyatt Earp. How do you feel about that movie today?
Rex Linn: I’m really proud of Larry’s 1994 movie, Wyatt Earp. Larry Kasdan wanted to make a film about the man, not about the shootout at the O.K. Corral, but about Wyatt Earp the man. That’s what he made. And he wanted to make everything realistic. For example, it took us nine days to film the shootout at the O.K. Corral because he wanted it to be realistic. It was around 30 shots in 30 seconds and that’s what we filmed.
Unfortunately for us, Tombstone came out six months earlier than Wyatt Earp, and it was for the target audience, which was 18-year-old males. They didn’t make that movie realistic. I mean, the shootout at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone felt like it was 10 minutes or something. Most depictions of the shootout are like that and don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that.
But we got a lot of complaints from people who wanted to see it be less realistic. People would say, “You did a good job on Wyatt Earp. We like that movie. But it’s too long, and there wasn’t enough of the shootout at the O.K. Corral in it.” And I’d be like, “The movie is not called The O.K. Corral. It’s called Wyatt Earp because Larry wanted to make a movie about the man and that’s what it was.” I love Wyatt Earp, and I’m really proud of being in it.
Men’s Journal: Tombstone came out at the perfect time in my childhood. I remember being thrilled while watching it with my parents and brothers. I have to admit that when Wyatt Earp came out, I was one of those people who saw it as a slower version of a movie I already loved. However, when I watched it again as an adult, I developed a new appreciation for what makes Wyatt Earp a great movie. Have you had other people talk to you about going on a similar journey with the movie?
Rex Linn: Absolutely. Wyatt Earp has aged really well, especially if you don’t just compare it to Tombstone. So, I’ve had a lot of people call me and go, “You know, we were just watching Wyatt Earp again. And we didn’t remember it being this good.” I mean that. I have literally had people say that to me 20 years later. If you take Wyatt Earp and forget about Tombstone and just look at it by itself, it’s a great film.
And I want to say that Tombstone was great. I worked with Val Kilmer in two movies, and Val was a generous actor. But I want to tell you something: Dennis Quaid should have won an Academy Award for portraying Doc Holliday in Wyatt Earp. His performance as Doc Holliday was brilliant. I don’t know how he didn’t get nominated at least.
He put his heart and soul into that. He lost 40 pounds, and that was 40 pounds that he couldn’t really afford to lose. He hired a trainer. It took us five months to film that movie. He was in character every minute of every day, whether he was working or not. I’m telling you, if you watch that film again, you watch his performance, it’s very realistic and very, very good. I’m not saying it because I was in it, but I love the film.
I love Tombstone too. I thought it was fun. It’s a good, fun movie to watch. There is nothing wrong with that film at all. I’ve talked to Kurt about comparing the two movies because Kurt Russell’s a good friend of mine. We have discussed the two different styles of films.
Rex Linn on the Making of ‘The Hunted’
Men’s Journal: I wanted to ask you about another movie that you have a supporting role in that I feel like people need to talk about more. To me, it’s not a Western per se, but it’s very Western coded. What are your memories of making The Hunted?
Rex Linn: Oh man. I was a nervous wreck because, first of all, just to work with Benicio del Toro was exciting for me because I’m a big fan of his. But the other problem was I knew at some point I was going to have to talk to William Friedkin about The Exorcist. I mean, I’m a horror freak. I love horror films, but I’m really particular about them, and 99% of them don’t scare me. I mean, one recent good one was Obsession. I went to see it and loved the movie. Did you see it?
Men’s Journal: I love Obsession!
Rex Linn: I do too because she scared me. I mean, she bothered me in the movie theater. So I was so happy to be scared. I hope I get to meet her someday. It was refreshing to be disturbed. I just loved it.
The scariest movie I have ever seen was The Exorcist, and nothing has come close to that since then. So, I knew that I was going to have to say something to William Friedkin since he directed it and I was working with him. I also knew that he had the reputation of not being cool. He was known for being really strict and kind of crazy, or whatever you want to say about him.
The scene I was in during The Hunted was filmed in Silver Falls State Park in Oregon. Benicio couldn’t have been better to work with, and he had just come off of starring in Traffic and getting huge accolades, including an Academy Award for that. He was really supportive and sweet. But I have to tell the story of talking to William Friedkin about The Exorcist.
I saw Mr. Friedkin sitting in his chair as he was smoking a cigar, and he had on the same thing he wore just about every day. He would wear a Los Angeles Dodgers hat, a different everyday linen shirt, and sweatpants most of the time. He was sitting over by himself. He wasn’t looking at the script, and the script supervisor wasn’t around as they were changing locations down a mountainside.
I just walked over to him, and I said, “Hey, Mr. Friedkin.” He said, “It’s Billy.” I responded, “OK, Billy. Can I? I just have to talk to you about something.” This story isn’t to say anything negative about him. God rest his soul. After I said that to him, he didn’t even say anything. He just looked at me, and it felt like he was saying, “Why did you come over here, idiot?” He didn’t say a word. He just looked at me that way.
But I kept going. I said, “I just want to tell you that The Exorcist is my favorite, one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s in my top 5 all-time favorites. It’s at number 1 as being the scariest movie ever made, and I just have one question.” He was sitting there and put that cigar in his mouth, and he’s just looking at me. Again, he didn’t say, “OK, what is it?” He just kept looking at me, and I was so intimidated.
So, I said, “Was making The Exorcist a good experience for you?” He then repeated my question. “Was making The Exorcist a good experience for me? Well, it took 2 years to make basically. We had all kinds of tragedies happen. I was dealing with all kinds of…” And he just went through this list that I’m not going to go through, but he just went through this whole list of things that clearly indicated that it was a real tough movie to work on. One of the things he said, which I’m not going to say here, made my mouth drop open.
After all that, he goes, “So let’s see, was it a good experience for me? It turned out pretty good.” That’s what he said. I said, “Pretty good?” And he just said to me, “That’s about all I have to say on that.” I got that moment with William Friedkin, and working with Benicio was great.
The other thing I think of with The Hunted was that there we were shooting a scene where Benicio kills me, and it was just not working because Billy wanted me to look in the camera lens when I was about to get killed. As actors, we’re trained not to do that. Obviously, you can’t look in the lens. So, Mr. Friedkin said to me, and I can’t use his language, but, he said, “Look, I know you guys are trained not to look in the lens, but when you hit the ground, I want you to back up in this mud, drop your gun and look directly in that lens because that’s going to be Benicio’s point of view. I mean, you look directly in that lens.” I said, “Okay.”
Well, I hit the ground during the first take, and I’m backing up, and they say, cut. Now, there was a tree right in the space where we were filming. I was hanging up there, upside down first, and then they chased me around it, and there was mud down there. We only had a camera operator, a focus puller, the woman to fix mud, the first AD, and a makeup person. That was it. Everybody else was about 400 yards away, but we couldn’t see them.
After the first take, they say, “Resetting.” We did it a 2nd time, then we did it a 3rd time, and then we heard these words over the radio: “Billy’s coming down.” I looked at Benicio, and he looked at me, and he goes, “I don’t know who he’s coming down for, but if it’s you, just be patient. It’ll pass.” I didn’t know what he was talking about.
Then, Mr. Friedkin just walked up to me, and he said, “Do you need to take a break?” I responded, “I’m sorry, what?” He repeated himself, “Do you need to take a break?” I said, “No, sir. No, I’m good.” Then he went, “Well, it looks like you need to rest because I’ve asked you to look in that camera lens when you hit the ground. And you haven’t done it in three takes.”
I’ll tell you, as it was coming out of my body, I was wishing to myself, “God, would you just stop me from saying it?” But it just came out, and I just said, “No, I think I did. I, I think I did.” He simply responded, “Follow me.” We turned around, and then I heard the ADs right behind me say, “Rex and Billy are coming up.” He walked me up to video village, where there were four monitors right there. He goes, “I want to roll B camera and then roll A Camera.”
Well, in the B camera, I didn’t look. I wasn’t even close to looking at that lens. After they showed that, he didn’t say anything. He just said, “Okay, show me A camera both takes 1 and 2.” He showed me both of them, and I saw that I never ever looked at the lens. I didn’t even look at the matte around the lens once, not even once. He turned around, looked at me, and he goes, “What’s your take on that?” I said, “My take is that I did not look at the camera lens.” He got up, and he goes, “Is there another way that I can explain this to make it clear?” I said, “No, sir.”
I walked back down to the set, and Benicio was looking at me. He was like, “Thumbs up?” I went, “Yeah, thumbs up.” The next take, I hit that ground in that mud, and I’ll tell you it was so bad. I looked directly in that lens and never looked anywhere else. I forgot to start looking for my gun. I just started backing up in the mud. I was just looking right in the lens.
We did two more takes, and then we heard, “Billy’s coming down.” Man, so Billy comes down, and he said to me, “Did you look in the lens?” I said, “I looked in the lens both times. I never looked anywhere else, Billy. I mean it.” He didn’t have a smile on his face or anything. He was just looking at me. There were about 5 seconds that went by, which is an eternity. Then finally, he said, “I know, I’m just messing with you. We got everything in there.” And he goes, “All right, let’s go to the next setup.” Then he just walked off. I looked at Benicio, and he goes, “Way to go, bud.”
