# In 1973, James Stewart finally played the role he’d spent 15 years waiting for. That’s when he knew it was time to “give it up”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1973-james-stewart-finally-played-the-role-hed-spent-15-years-waiting-for-thats-when-he-knew-it-was-time-to-give-it-up/
- Published: 2026-11-12T18:45:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T20:09:33+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/james-stewart-played-role-spent-25-years-waiting-for-knew-time-to-give-it-up/

## Key points

- *Hawkins* fulfilled Stewart’s long-held wish to play a lawyer.
- The television schedule proved too demanding.
- He gradually stepped away from acting.

## Summary

In 1973, James Stewart took the lead in *Hawkins*, a television drama about a defence lawyer, fulfilling a wish he had held since *Anatomy of a Murder* in 1959. The experience also made him realise that the pace and demands of television acting were too much for him, prompting him to step back from the profession.

Stewart made eight *Hawkins* films for television over two years, and won a Golden Globe for the series. He said the fast schedules left him little time to learn lines, which became harder as he got older; after struggling to see cue cards when he forgot them, he reduced his acting work. He later appeared in a handful of films and television productions, ending his screen career with a voice role in *An American Tail: Fievel Goes West* in 1991.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.