As a young actor, Dennis Weaver earned his first big break when he was cast as Chester Goode on the hit Western series, Gunsmoke.

Weaver had previously worked with Charles Marquis Warren. Warren, a producer and director, served as the director of the 1955 film Seven Angry Men. Weaver portrayed young John Brown Jr. in the movie, which was based on the life of the real-life abolitionist John Brown.

Years later, Warren would move to television to spearhead Gunsmoke’s transition from radio to television. According to an interview with The Monitor, Weaver was able to use his friendship with Warren to secure an audition for the series.

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“Do you know I was the first one cast for Gunsmoke?” the actor asked during an interview with The Monitor. “I went to the studio the next day. The test script they gave me was awful. The character of Chester was so loony that, standing outside in the hall reading a scene between Matt Dillon and Chester, I stuck my head back in and asked, ‘Are you sure you mean Chester? Don’t you mean Chester?””

Despite his faith in Warren, Weaver had his own misgivings regarding the series. “I didn’t think I was right for the part,” said the actor. Warren, who understood Weaver’s strengths as an actor, was confident that the actor would make the perfect Chester Goode. In retrospect, audiences understood he was correct in that assumption, even if it took Weaver a bit of time to come around to the idea. “It’s important to have that kind of support,” said the actor.