NEWSAndy Griffith Once Pinned Director Elia Kazan Against a Wall to Land 'A Face in the Crowd' Role
Linda Purl, Andy Griffith's former 'Matlock' costar, recently revealed a story Griffith told about pushing director Elia Kazan against a wall to land a role.
Oct. 2 2026, Published 4:44 p.m. ET
Andy Griffith is best known for his beloved role as Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, but one of his most revered roles before that was as Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes in A Face in the Crowd, a dangerous drifter who becomes a demagogic radio star.
Rhodes was a dark role, and according to Griffith’s costar in the first season of Matlock, Linda Purl, it took that darkness to land it.
'You're a Comic'
Linda Purl said Andy Griffith shared the story of his fateful encounter with Elia Kazan over lunch while they were preparing to work on 'Matlock.'
She and her producer were meeting with Griffith over lunch to talk about Matlock when he shared an anecdote about the film.
“Andy told one story to great detail and great hilarity over the entire lunch, how he was cast in that film,” Purl explained in an interview with Steve Kmetko on the podcast "Still Here Hollywood."
In 1955, Griffith was starring on Broadway in his breakout role as Will Stockdale in No Time for Sergeants.
“He somehow managed to read the [A Face in the Crowd] script and thought, ‘That’s my role. That’s for me,"" she said. "Elia Kazan was directing, and he couldn’t get in to be seen. It was like ‘no, no, you’re a comic. We don’t want you.’”
'He Was a Brilliant and Complex Person'
Andy Griffith's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was showered with tributes after his 2012 death.
Purl, who also starred on Happy Days, said Griffith would come to Kazan’s office day after day waiting to see him.
“One day, he knew that Kazan was in the office, and he barged into this office!” she spilled. “Kazan was impressed with the chutzpah of this handsome young hick to break into his office and make his case about why he should be cast.”
But, Purl said, Griffith realized it wasn’t going to work. “‘He was charmed, maybe, but he wasn’t going to give me the part,’” she recalled him saying. “‘So I took him by the shirt collar, I put him up against the wall, and I said, ‘You don’t understand, I am that man! And then I got the part.’”
Griffith, who passed away in 2012, is still remembered as one of the greatest performers.
“I think Andy saw himself plainly,” Purl stated. “He was a brilliant and complex person. And wasn’t he wonderful in that film?”
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'It's All Horribly Incestuous!'
Director Elia Kazan, seen with actress Deborah Kerr, initially refused to consider Andy Griffith for 'A Face in the Crowd.'
Purl also recalled a certain amount of absurdity when she realized the connections between her own role on Happy Days as Ron Howard’s girlfriend, as Howard had previously played Griffith’s son on The Andy Griffith Show.
“Does this mean I’m dating my brother? I don’t know!” she joked with a laugh. “It’s all horribly incestuous!”
'We Saw a Fraction of What He Was Capable of Doing as an Actor'
Linda Purl said that her experiences with Andy Griffith showed her what a tremendous actor he was.
She went on to sign Griffith's praises.
“You expect Andy Taylor or something like that, some kind of aw-shucks guy,” she expressed. “Not at all. He was whip smart. He had his finger on the pulse of humanity at a profound level. My sadness with Andy is I wish we had seen his Willie Loman, his King Lear because he had all of those inside of him. I think we saw a fraction of what he was capable of doing as an actor.”
