Hudson was discovered by talent agent Henry Wilson in 1947. Wilson promptly changed the would-be actor’s name from the bland Roy Harold Shearer to the more rugged Rock Hudson, inspired by the Rock of Gibraltar and the Hudson River (via Britannica).
Despite his passion and good looks, Hudson had a lot of work to do before he was ready to be a star. Before his first role in 1948 he had his teeth capped and took lessons in acting, singing, dancing, fencing, and riding. Despite all this training he still couldn’t remember his lines. His one scene in his first film, “Fighter Squadron,” took 38 takes to film (via IMDb).
It took Hudson a few more years to find his stride, but by 1952 he landed his first leading role, in “Scarlet Angel,” followed by his first collaboration with director Douglas Sirk, in “Has Anybody Seen My Gal.” His star power was cemented two years later in the Sirk film “Magnificent Obsession.” Two years after that Hudson received his only Oscar nomination, for his role in “Giant,” in which he starred opposite Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.
