Throwing Once Upon A Time In The West to Clint Eastwood didn't go well for Sergio Leone

Perhaps more than anyone, Clint Eastwood owes his fame to Sergio Leone. He struggled to find major movie roles in the 1950s before landing a role in the TV western "Rawhide." The show made him famous, but he was still far from the superstar he would become.

After 'Rawhide' was canceled, he was offered the lead role in Leone's 'A Fistful of Dollars'. Eastwood jumped at the chance. He said (via Real Clear History):

"I got terribly tired of playing the conventional white hat... the hero who kisses old ladies and dogs and was nice to everyone. I decided it was time to be an anti-hero."

Eastwood's instincts were correct, and he slipped right into the role of the laconic stranger with a killer draw. Now in his thirties, his face was more weathered, lined and inhabited, a captivating face that looked great in Leone's massive close-up. Eastwood also insisted on removing lines from the script to make the character more enigmatic, saying it all with his steely gaze and signature squint.

“Fistful” became a major hit and propelled Eastwood to international fame. He performed variations on his "Man With No Name" persona in "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," further cementing his iconic Western status.

After the success of the three films, Leone wanted to move away from westerns and adapt Harry Grey's "The Hoods", a project that would later become "Once Upon a Time in America". Nevertheless, Paramount attempted it with a substantial budget and the prospect of working with Henry Fonda, Leone's favorite actor. He agreed and "Once Upon a Time in the West" was the result. Once again he turned to Eastwood for the role of avenging harmonica.