We never get tired of reading about Jonathan Goldsmith, the now 73-year-old actor who portrays the “Most Interesting Man in the World” in those Dos Equis beer ads.

The latest reporter to chime in with what is actually one of the best pieces yet is Ad Age‘s E.J. Schultz. The impact Goldsmith’s Fernando Lamas-inspired character has made on U.S. sales of the double-X brew is truly remarkable. One of the best things about this particular article are the details about the actor’s early days. After being thrown off a horse on the set of Gunsmoke, Goldsmith eventually found his stride in 1960s-70s TV shows, leading to an encounter with The Most Iconic Movie Star in the World:

He was maimed by the best, as in the 1976 movie The Shootist, with John Wayne firing at his head. Mr. Goldsmith was pelted repeatedly with so many blood capsules that the director spurred him on with, “Everybody who got shot in the head by Wayne made it big-time,” Mr. Goldsmith recalled. Laughing about it now, he added, “40 years later, here comes Dos Equis.”

There’s also some revealing info about Goldsmith’s original audition, which—typically for commercial ones—presented him with almost no scripted lines. He winged it, and the rest is sudsy history.

To read the full Ad Age article, click here.