Honestly, I've always wondered why joe don baker didn't blow up even more, considering how awesome he was in stuff like Walking Tall and those James Bond movies. I think the main reason is that he just wasn't really the "glamorous" type Hollywood usually goes for. He always had this tough guy vibe, and he killed it at playing shady dudes and detectives, but he didn't have that typical leading man look or maybe even the attitude studios wanted in the '70s and '80s.

Plus, a lot of his best movies were kinda gritty crime or action films, not big romantic blockbusters. Studios often want their main guys to be these really marketable heartthrobs, you know? Joe Don seemed super comfortable just being a great character actor, and honestly, some people like flying a bit under the radar. I bet he liked having a more low-key life, since I've read he was kind of private and didn't care much about the fame stuff. So, yeah, he was big, but more in a "hey, you know THAT guy!" way than a Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford way. And I actually think that's pretty cool.