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Richard Boone said that Paladin was the role that made him ''respectable''
Paladin made an honest man out of Richard Boone.
No matter the sort of characters they're known for playing, every actor wants to be respected in the business. More often than not, an actor with a bad reputation is an unemployed actor, but those who earn the respect of their costars and superiors will never be short on jobs.
Richard Boone considered himself to be a respected actor, but it took some time, and a few different roles to earn that respect. Ultimately, Boone felt that one particular role, that of Paladin in Have Gun - Will Travel, was the role that transformed into a respectable actor. Before this, Boone had a storied career full of fantastic roles, but they didn't have the impact he'd imagined, as he explained in an interview with The San Francisco Examiner.
"I played in eleven movie Westerns and was kicked or shot or hanged and nobody noticed me," said Boone. "Then I played the biggest villain of all time, Pontius Pilate, in The Robe. Nobody cared. So you can guess how grateful I am to Paladin, who made me respectable."
Not only did Boone make a name for himself as a respectable actor, but he also furthered his credentials by establishing himself as a director.
"I like directing, but I can't honestly say I'll ever say goodbye to acting," he said in an interview with The Times. "It's my life's work and I feel very fortunate to be doing what I love most."
It's difficult to determine exactly what Boone credits the transformation with. Perhaps it was Paladin's strong and reserved nature that endeared him to Boone, or perhaps it was the sheer popularity of the series as a whole that made Boone feel he had reached the success he'd long searched for. Whatever the reason, Boone put that respectability to good use in his career, both as an actor and creator.
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