Rooster Cogburn (character) 1978 TV sequel starred Warren Oates in the featured role. The 2010 film stars Jeff Bridges as Cogburn. John Wayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Cogburn in the 1969 film. On January 24, 2011, Jeff Bridges was nominated for the same award for his portrayal of Cogburn. Reuben Cogburn was born on July 15, 1825. Cogburn was a veteran of the American Civil War who served under Confederate guerrilla leader William Quantrill, where he lost his eye. He was married first to an Illinois woman who left him to return to her first husband
True Grit (1969 film) but the producers turned him down when his agent demanded top-billing over both Wayne and Darby. Glen Campbell was then cast instead. Wayne began lobbying for the part of Rooster Cogburn after reading the novel by Charles Portis. Wayne called Marguerite Roberts' script "the best script he had ever read," and was instrumental in getting her script approved and credited to her name after Roberts had been blacklisted for alleged leftist affiliations years before. This came in spite of Wayne's own conservative ideals. He particularly liked the scene with Darby where Rooster tells Mattie about his life in Illinois (where