John Wayne's Dirty Harry Ripoff Cast An Actor Straight From Clint Eastwood's Movie, But In A Very Different Role

Dirty Harry wannabe Brannigan cast John Vernon as a very different kind of character from the one he played in the Clint Eastwood thriller. John Wayne famously passed on the original Dirty Harry, as did Paul Newman and George C. Scott. Eventually, Clint Eastwood was cast, with the film firmly establishing him as the next big movie star. The movie proved to be a major, if controversial, success, while Clint returned for four more Dirty Harry movies. Wayne came to regret passing on the project too, and later opted to try out some rogue cop movies of his own.