New John Wayne biography discloses the real him behind the `Duke`

London: John Wayne's upcoming biography 'John Wayne: The Life And Legend' has revealed that he was a restless, melancholy, troubled actor struggling to live up to the screen persona he had created.

The biography, which is written by Scott Eyman, has disclosed even though he won an Oscar nomination for his part as the quintessential US Marine, he was guilt-ridden having avoided military service during the conflict, the Daily Express reported.

The biography has revealed that Wayne's inner turmoil drove him to extremes and he smoked up to six packs of cigarettes a day, consumed heroic quantities of booze and food, and made harsh demands of those around him.

He often woke at dawn and roused his family because he disliked being alone and unlike his persona of being a man of action and few words on screen, off camera he played chess and bridge, would quote Shakespeare and Dickens and had a penchant for Tolkien.

The biography has also revealed that the actor collected Eastern woodblock prints and native American kachina dolls.