Original Woods actor mocks Black Ops Cold War’s ‘onion’ line
James C. Burns, the actor who had played Woods for a decade before replaced, has been making fun of a strange line from Cold War’s campaign.
In the mission ‘Echoes of a Cold War,’ Mason and Woods are stealthily traversing a snowy mountainside. When they approach some enemies, the conversation goes like this:
- Woods: “We do this quiet, Mason.”
- Mason: “Yeah, you’re the expert in quiet.”
- Woods: “I’m a goddamn onion, Mason. You should know that.”
We believe Woods is trying to say he has layers, but we’re not sure. This line has led to many memes and jokes.
James C. Burns, who was replaced by Damon Victor Allen for Black Ops Cold War, joined in on the fun. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Burns read famous Woods lines, replacing some of the words with ‘onion.’
For example, instead of the classic line, “See that Hind? We’re gonna take it,” he says: “See that onion? We’re gonna peel it.” Burns can hardly say some of the lines for laughing.
A Reddit user edited the best bits from Burns’ video over the top of footage from the games. You can watch it here:
Burns replaced
Burns expressed disappointment at not being offered the role of Frank Woods in Cold War. In another video on his YouTube channel, he responded to fans questioning why he’s no longer playing the character.
Burns doesn’t know why he wasn’t asked back, especially when the game is a direct sequel rather than a reboot.
“I don’t understand either, especially when they have a guy imitating me,” he said. “It’s one thing to bring a new character in, right, and have him create a whole new Woods. But they didn’t. They brought a guy in who’s kind of stealing my… imitating my thing.”
“I would have f***ing cru – not that this guy’s not going to do a good job. I’m sure he is. He’s a professional actor. I’m sure he’ll do fine. But… ah! I would have f***ing crushed this thing. That’s my frustration. I wish I had a shot at it. Because, man, I think I would have really…
“I would have done a great job. I’m so bummed I didn’t get a chance at it. That’s all.”