Before he began his acting career, Saxon was a wrestler ("Lord Spears") whose gimmick was entering the arena in a dress suit and quoting Shakespeare at every opportunity. His cauliflower ears marked him for "mug" roles; after making a few movies, he was able to afford plastic surgery and had an operation in hopes of landing different types of acting assignments. One of his first after the procedure was the part of a newspaper journalist seeking a better understanding of desperado Jesse James in 'The True Story of Jesse James' (1957).