Bruce Dern struggled to find acting jobs after co-starring opposite John Wayne in The Cowboys. His troubles began even before filming on the 1972 Western began.

Duke had just given an incredibly controversial Playboy interview, sharing his views on civil rights and the treatment of Native Americans.

In fact, Laura Dern recalls that, at the time, some of her friends’ parents ended up cancelling playdates with her because of her father’s involvement in the movie.

However, what happened on set had a more profound impact on his career.

Speaking previously with Cowboys and Indians, Dern was asked if he was intimated by Wayne on set at all. He replied: “I might have been. But right at the start, he says to me, ‘I want you to do us a favour.’ He was including himself, [director] Mark Rydell, and the scriptwriters. He said, ‘From now on, consider me to be somebody you can publicly kick the s*** out of 24 hours a day on the set. Because I want these little kids [playing the cowboys of the title] to be absolutely terrified of you.’

“He gave me carte blanche to just treat him like a turd. So I was on him, talking back to him and stuff, for the few days I was there. And he would do things like call out: ‘Hey, Mr Dern, would you get over here?’ I thought, Hey, John Wayne gives you a ‘mister’ status. My first day, he’s calling me mister. How about that? That’s pretty cool.” However, the satisfaction of this perk would be short-lived.

Half a century later, Dern has said he still receives hate mail after his character Asa Watts killed Wayne’s Wil Andersen in The Cowboys. But he knew it was coming and so did Duke. Asked if he still runs into fans who are upset about it, the actor said: “No question. But I knew that would happen. I knew on the day when I had to shoot him, when we did that scene, that he had never even had a bullet squib put on him before in his career. You know, he got shot in Sands of Iwo Jima. I think he got killed by some sniper. But this was the first time he actually had a squib put on him, where it was going to be close to his skin and everything else. [Laughs.] I remember he leaned into me at about 8:15 am that morning, reeking of Wild Turkey 101.”

Dern continued: “[Wayne] said, ‘Is it gonna hurt?’ And I said, ‘Duke, they’re gonna blow your [bleeping] chest off. Get a metal protector to put underneath those squibs so the squibs aren’t next to your skin.’ ‘Oh, how do I do that?’ I said, ‘How do you do it? Order the effects man, like you order everybody else, to go ahead and do that for you.’

“Then, after he got all fitted up, he told me: ‘Oh, I want to remind you of one thing. When this picture comes out, and audiences see you kill me — they’re gonna hate you for this.’ I said, ‘Maybe. But at [UC] Berkeley, I’ll be a [bleeping] hero!’ He laughed at that. And then put his arm around my neck, turned me to the crew — there’s about 90 people there where we shot the thing, getting ready to do the scene — and he said, ‘That’s why this [bleep] is in my film. Because he understands that bad guys can be funny. If they weren’t, why would we be talking about them 150 years later?’”

It looks like Sony has heard your concerns and pulled out all the stops for the PS Plus Extra line-up in January.

After a disappointing Essentials line-up consisting of PS5 games Need for Speed Unbound, Core Keeper and Epic Mickey, Sony has stepped it up a notch for the PlayStation Plus Extra tier.

According to a new leak, survival horror masterpiece Resident Evil Village will headline PlayStation Plus Extra when the games make their debut on January 20.

Resident Evil Village is also coming to Xbox Game Pass in January, so it’s no surprise to see it on PlayStation Plus.

Likewise, sequel Resident Evil Requiem launches towards the end of February, which gives fans plenty of time to catch up before the next entry in the series.

The highly-rated Resident Evil game is joined by the superb Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which is a Yakuza spinoff set in Hawaii.

“Two larger-than-life heroes brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister,” reads the official description.

“Ichiban Kasuga, an unstoppable underdog who’s no stranger to crawling up from rock bottom, and Kazuma Kiryu, a broken man facing down his last days.”

Again, the timing couldn’t be better because Like A Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name is leaving PS Plus Extra on January 20.

According to Dealabs, other games coming to PS Plus Extra include Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, The Exit 8 and Art of Rally.

Over on Premium, classic Bandai Namco racing game Ridge Racer is expected to join the line-up on January 20.

The PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium games will be officially unveiled by Sony at 4.30pm GMT UK time on January 14. That’s 8.30am PDT / 11.30am EDT for US subs, and 5.30pm CET for European fans.

The games will be available to download and play on the morning of January 20, which gives you just enough time to finish the outgoing games.

This includes the aforementioned Like A Dragon, as well as Sayonara Wild Hearts, Monopoly Plus and SD Gundam Battle Alliance.

Call of Duty: Mobile players can look forward to an exciting new season filled with fresh content to kick off the New Year. Dubbed Frozen Abyss, the new season introduces a winter-themed Battle Pass with lots of rewards to earn.

It features a brand-new SMG and a free Mythic Operator, among plenty of more content. Gamers can earn it all by completing challenges and events throughout the season. The best news is that the fresh content arrives in just days.

Call of Duty: Mobile is the complimentary mobile adaptation of the blockbuster shooter, delivering rapid multiplayer action along with a comprehensive Battle Royale mode.

Players can engage in classic maps and modes from across the series, with well-known weapons and characters tailored for mobile devices.

We’ve got a comprehensive guide on everything you need to know about what’s coming to Call of Duty Mobile.

Call of Duty: Mobile Season 1 2026 release date and time

The inaugural season of 2026 goes live on Wednesday, January 14, with the update being launched simultaneously worldwide. Expected maintenance beforehand should be minimal, allowing gamers to dive into the action as soon as it releases, reports the Mirror.

Here’s a full list of all release dates and times: