John Meston and refined the main characters who would populate his and Macdonnell's radio portrayal of Dodge. Jeff Spain soon became United States Marshal Matt Dillon, and veteran voice actor William Conrad was chosen by Meston, Macdonnell, and two other network audition judges to be the lawman and the series' central figure. Other seasoned actors filled the needed regular supporting roles, including Parley Baer as Marshal Dillon's trusty assistant Chester Proudfoot, Howard McNear as Dr. Charles "Doc" Adams, and Georgia Ellis, whose role in the series' early episodes would quickly evolve into the saloon "hostess" Kitty Russell. "Gunsmoke" was broadcast for the
Matt Dillon Movie Award for Best Villain. In 2002, he wrote and directed the film "City of Ghosts", starring himself, James Caan and Gérard Depardieu. In 2005, he starred in "Factotum", a film adaptation of an autobiographical work by Charles Bukowski. Two years later he received critical praise and earned Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for his role in "Crash", a film co-written and directed by Paul Haggis. In 2005, Dillon co-starred in Disney's "" and on March 11, 2006 hosted "Saturday Night Live", in which he impersonated Greg Anderson and Rod Serling in sketches. Dillon starred in