Wilford Brimley
Wilford Brimley was actually a real-life cowboy and blacksmith that had been living on a ranch at the time he was "discovered." Directors were looking for a guy who couldn't just pull off being a cowboy, they were looking for the real deal. Since Brimley knew how to ride a horse and actually acted and looked like a cowboy, he got cast in a ton of Westerns.
It's Time to Get Serious
Brimley's good friend and fellow actor, Robert Duvall, talked him into taking acting more seriously. Thankfully, Brimley took that advice and ran with it. He got cast in 1969's True Grit, and a few years later he was cast as Horace in the CBS classic The Waltons.
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