This Iconic Stephen King Character Was Actually Based On Clint Eastwood

He's arguably Stephen King's greatest character and has appeared in eight novels, but The Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, is a hero that the renowned author revealed in his own book to be inspired by one of the most beloved movie stars in history.

Making his debut in 1982, Roland appeared in the first book of "The Dark Tower" series, "The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger." Kicking off what would become a massive battle between good and evil, the story marked the first encounter between Roland and his longtime foe and favorite in the Kingverse, Randall Flagg. Known for wearing a long black duster and guns that always find their target, Roland became a wandering hero similar to Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name. Of course, to look at any grizzled pistol-packing protagonist is to make an obvious comparison to the star who spent most of his career squinting at the camera and shooting down bad guys.

For King, though, he actually made a conscious effort to highlight what his readers were already thinking in both the third and final book of the series. The first nod to Eastwood was in one character's brief observation. The other was by King himself, when, after spending six years with Roland, Randall, and a host of different characters, he decided to throw himself into the mix and let The Gunslinger meet his maker.

In the third book in "The Dark Tower" series, "The Waste Lands," Jake Chambers walks through a street and stops by a poster displaying Clint Eastwood, calling out the similarities between the Hollywood legend and the last remaining gunslinger. "Eastwood was wearing a Mexican serape. A cigar was clamped in his teeth. He had thrown one side of the serape back over his shoulder to free his gun. His eyes were a pale, faded blue. Bombar­dier's eyes. It's not him, Jake thought, but it's almost him. It's the eyes, mostly ... the eyes are almost the same," comparing the steely glare between the two.

The next time the similarities are brought to the reader's attention is when The Gunslinger speaks with King directly in "The Song of Susannah," the sixth book in the series. Before they part ways, the author says to Roland, "As The Man With No Name–a fantasy version of Clint Eastwood–you were okay. A lot of fun to partner up with." This reference to the character that Eastwood was synonymous with confirms that King always had the screen icon in mind. That being said, when the time came for a live-action adaptation of "The Dark Tower" to be brought to the screen, the casting choice received backlash from fans, which King was quick to address and defend.

When rumors began to circulate about Idris Elba joining Nikolaj Arcel's take on King's epic saga, racist fans were massively vocal that the star and the hero with a dual set of six-shooters didn't line up. To try and put fans at ease, King took to X, speaking out about once Elba's casting was confirmed. "To me, the color of The Gunslinger doesn't matter," the author told fans. "What I care about is how fast he can draw ... and that he takes care of the ka-tet."

While Elba certainly did the best he could in the role alongside Matthew McConaughey's Randall Flagg, the final product didn't deliver for fans or even casual audiences. A box-office bomb upon release, King felt that the film's issues were in its attempt to condense an epic, bloody story into a PG-13 film, even if he was personally happy with the outcome.

There might still be hope, though, with Roland getting a second shot under the watchful eye of King's now regular routine collaborator, Mike Flanagan. Besides handling a TV show take on "Carrie" for Amazon, the director of "Doctor Sleep" and "Life of Chuck" is also trying his hand at "The Dark Tower" as a show for the streaming service. We can only hope that whoever picks up Roland's pistols can shoot straight and squint as hard as Clint when the time comes.