You probably know him as the towering lawman with the badge, the guy who stared down outlaws in Dodge City for twenty years. But there is a version of James Arness that most people never saw—the one who wasn't a hero, but a "depth finder."
Back in 1944, during the invasion of Anzio in Italy, the Army had a problem. They didn't know how deep the water was for the landing craft. So, they looked at the tallest guy in the unit. That was Arness, a 6-foot-7-inch kid from Minneapolis. They basically used him as a human ruler. He was the first one off the boat, waist-deep in the freezing Mediterranean, wondering if the next step would be a drop-off or a landmine.
It's a weird image, right? Before he was a Hollywood icon, he was literally a measuring stick for the U.S. military.
Why James Arness almost never became Matt Dillon
Most fans think he was born to play a cowboy. Honestly? He didn't even want the job. When CBS first approached him about Gunsmoke, he was worried that television would kill his movie career. He wanted to be the next big thing on the silver screen, not a face in a box in someone’s living room.
It took John Wayne to talk him into it. Wayne was actually the first choice for Matt Dillon, but he didn't want the grind of a weekly show. He told the producers, "I’ve got a guy under contract who’d be perfect." That guy was Arness. Wayne even filmed a special introduction for the very first episode to tell the audience that this new guy was the real deal.
That’s how James Arness became a household name. He didn't just play the role; he lived it for two decades. 635 episodes. It remains one of the longest runs for any actor playing a single character in American history.
The silent struggle on set
If you watch those old episodes closely, you might notice something. Arness has a slight hitch in his gait. It wasn't a "character choice" like Chester’s limp. It was real.
Ten days after that Anzio landing, Arness was shredded by German machine-gun fire. His right leg and foot were shattered. He spent a year in the hospital and underwent multiple surgeries, but he never fully recovered. For the rest of his life, he was in chronic pain.
Think about that. Every time you see Matt Dillon mounting a horse or chasing a suspect through the dirt, the actor was likely hurting. On long days, the production crew actually had to shoot his scenes early in the morning because by the afternoon, his leg would swell so much he could barely walk.
He never complained. He just got on with it.
The Thing most people forget
Long before the spurs and the Stetson, Arness played one of the most famous monsters in cinema history. He was "The Thing" in the 1951 classic The Thing from Another World.
He hated it.
📖 Related: Why Bad Bunny With Curly Hair Is Actually a Cultural Statement
He spent hours in makeup being turned into a giant, blood-drinking vegetable from outer space. Because he was so tall, he was the only one who could give the creature that terrifying, looming presence. But Arness felt the role was beneath him. He didn't even want his name in the credits initially because he was embarrassed to be playing a silent, hulking plant.
The irony is that Howard Hawks—the legendary director—saw something in him during that shoot. He saw a man who could command a room without saying a word. That’s the exact quality that made Matt Dillon work.
The brother nobody talked about
Here is a fun bit of trivia: James Arness had a famous brother, but you’d never know it by their names. His brother was Peter Graves, the star of Mission: Impossible and the guy who famously asked if you'd ever been to a Greek gymnasium in Airplane!.
They used different last names to avoid confusion. Arness was the family's original name (spelled Aurness), and Peter took a maternal family name, Graves.
👉 See also: Halle Berry and Van Hunt Age Difference: Why the Numbers Don't Actually Matter
They were close, but they almost never worked together. There was a weird sort of "gentleman's agreement" that they wouldn't capitalize on their relationship. Peter once said he’d been offered roles on Gunsmoke to play Matt Dillon’s "worthless brother," but they always turned it down. They wanted to stand on their own feet.
Life after the badge
When Gunsmoke finally ended in 1975, Arness didn't just retire to a ranch. He stayed in the saddle. He moved on to How the West Was Won, playing Zeb Macahan.
While Matt Dillon was a man of the law, Zeb was a mountain man. He was grittier, more weathered. In Europe, especially in places like Norway and France, Zeb Macahan became even more popular than Matt Dillon ever was.
Off-camera, Arness was a private guy. He wasn't the type to be seen at Hollywood parties. He loved surfing—yes, the 6'7" cowboy was a surfer—and spent his downtime at his ranch or in the ocean. He was a "beach bum" at heart who just happened to be the biggest star on television.
What we can learn from Big Jim
James Arness wasn't just an actor; he was a lesson in consistency. He showed up. He did the work. He dealt with physical pain that would have sidelined most people.
If you're looking for a way to apply the Arness "vibe" to your own life, start here:
- Play the long game. He didn't jump from trend to trend. He stayed with one character and built a legacy.
- Push through the "depth finder" moments. Sometimes you’re the first one off the boat into the unknown. Just keep walking.
- Value your privacy. You don't have to tell the world everything to be successful.
He passed away in 2011 at the age of 88, but his shadow still looms over every Western made since. He was the literal and figurative giant of the genre.
Next steps to explore his legacy:
Check out the 1987 TV movie Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. It was the first time he put the badge back on after a twelve-year break, and you can see how much the character had aged and evolved along with the man. Also, look for his autobiography, James Arness: An Autobiography, for his own take on the Anzio beachhead.