Great Director #18: Clint Eastwood

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Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood directing Kevin Costner in A Perfect World (1993)

Born: 1930
Rank: 18
Score: 721.50
Awards: 2 Oscars / 2 DGA / 3 Golden Globes / NYFC / LAFC / 2 NSFC / CFC
Nominations: 4 Oscars / 3 DGA / 2 BAFTAs / 6 Golden Globes / 3 BFCA
Feature Films: 29
Best: Unforgiven
Worst: The Gauntlet

Top 5 Films:

1. Unforgiven 1992
2. Mystic River 2003
3. A Perfect World 1993
4. Million Dollar Baby 2004
5. The Outlaw Josey Wales 1976

Top 10 Director Finishes (Nighthawk Awards):

1976 5th The Outlaw Josey Wales

1988 9th Bird
1990 6th White Hunter, Black Heart
1992 1st Unforgiven
1993 5th A Perfect World
1997 10th Absolute Power
2003 2nd Mystic River
2004 4th Million Dollar Baby
2008 9th Gran Torino

In 1988, Clint Eastwood was 58 years old. He was one of the best known movie stars in the world and the mayor of

Carmel, California. He was also a director. He had directed 12 films and while only one of them was below par (The

Gauntlet), he had also made only one very good film (Play Misty for Me his debut film) and one great film (The
Outlaw Josey Wales). He had never been nominated for an Oscar as either a director or as an actor. His career laurels

consisted of a Golden Globe for World Film Favorite and several Peoples Choice Awards. His directorial career

wasnt bad but wasnt great no more than any other director at an age when D.W. Griffith, Erich von Stroheim,

Preston Sturges and James Whale had all stopped directing and an age that F.W. Murnau, Francois Truffaut,

Krzyzstof Kieslowski never reached. No one would have considered him for a list of the top 100 directors. Yet, here he

is in the top 20. It not only is almost entirely thanks to the last 20 years, but most of it comes from just the last seven

years.

Up until 1988, Eastwood mostly made Westerns and cop films, but then he set out to make a biopic of Charley Parker

and found himself rewarded with the Golden Globe for Best Director. He went back to his comfort level with The

Rookie (his only film aside from The Gauntlet that is lower than ***), but then made White Hunter, Black Heart, a

great film that got no award attention but put him back on peoples radars as a director. Then came Unforgiven, a

film that deservedly won Best Picture and should have won him Best Actor to go with it. Somehow his next film went

completely unnoticed by all awards groups and for the next decade, with the exception of the sublimely under-rated

Absolute Power, he made solid films that didnt get ever get better than a *** film. But then came the next stage.

When William Goldman made the idiotic argument in 2004 that Scorsese didnt deserve the Oscar for The Aviator

because he had made better work in the past, it ignored the fact that Goldman was pushing Million Dollar Baby, an

excellent film, yet one that wasnt even as good as the previous film by the same director (Mystic River). But that back

to back firmly established Eastwood back on the Oscar map and the double whammy of Flags of My Fathers and

Letters from Iwo Jima (with the Picture and Director noms for the latter) mean that any future Eastwood film will get

serious awards consideration, so we can all look forward to Invictus, the Nelson Mandela film that comes out later

this year. After all, Eastwood has made two films with Morgan Freeman before and both won Best Picture and last

time they both walked away with Oscar gold.

A Perfect World - #5 film of 1993

How did this film get so ignored by the awards groups? The star was Kevin Costner, who was one of the biggest actors

in the world and just three years before had won multiple Oscars for Dances with Wolves. The director and other star

was Clint Eastwood who the year before had the same success on Oscar night (Oscars for Picture and Director,

nomination for Actor). The female star was Laura Dern who had been Oscar nominated two years before (for

Rambling Rose) and earlier in the summer had been in the biggest box office hit in history (Jurassic Park). It was

dark, brilliant, had an amazing script, great editing. And it was a financial flop and got completely ignored. So people

never got to see Kevin Costners career best performance. And Clint Eastwoods masterful follow-up to Unforgiven.

So why is that? It cant be the quality of the film. While it is not quite as well edited or photographed as Unforgiven,

those were Oscar worthy efforts and the technical aspects on this film are quite good. The direction is extremely

good, as Eastwood finds a way to move away from true violence while being more subtle about the kind of violence

that lurks underneath. The script is brilliant, the best Original Screenplay of 1993, far better than the simplistic

approach to AIDS of Philadelphia or the bizarre character shifts in The Piano. And the acting is first rate. Eastwood

took a step away from the dark turn of Unforgiven and gave himself a more understanding character. And it may be
hip now to deride Kevin Costner but he has done some masterful performances and this is one of them, miles away

from his comic turn as Crash Davis or his Gary Cooper-esque performance in Field of Dreams.

But perhaps Costner is the reason the film was not a success. The four years I was in high school (1988-1992)

attending the same high school that Kevin Costner had graduated from a generation before, he was the biggest star on

the planet. He proved that he could be a box office success at comedy (Bull Durham) or action (Robin Hood), that he

could star in Oscar nominated sports fantasy films (Field of Dreams) or serious political films (JFK) and also that he

could take a Western and not only win Best Director, but make it a huge box office hit (Dances with Wolves). But

then overload set in right around the same time I went to college and he was in The Bodyguard, which was not a good

film and then he went a very serious route in a morally questionable character in this and people didnt want to see it.

They didnt want to look at a morally gray world; they had done that the year before with Unforgiven and they wanted

something a little more black and white. And its a shame, because a lot of people have missed out on a very fine film

with great performances and a marvelous script.

Director (35 titles)
2012 J. Edgar (pre-production)

2010 Hereafter - Dincolo de viata

2009 Neinfrant

2008 Gran Torino

2008 Schimbul

2006 Scrisori din Iwo Jima

2006 Flags of Our Fathers

2004 O Fata de Milioane

2003 The Blues (TV series documentary) Piano Blues (2003)

2003 Mystic River

2002 Blood Work

2000 Space Cowboys

1999 True Crime

1997 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

1997 Absolute Power

1995 Podurile din Madison County

1993 A Perfect World

1992 Necrutatorul

1990 The Rookie

1990 White Hunter Black Heart

1988 Bird

1986 Heartbreak Ridge

1985 Amazing Stories (TV series) Vanessa in the Garden (1985)

1985 Pale Rider

1983 Sudden Impact

1982 Honkytonk Man

1982 Firefox

1980 Bronco Billy

1977 The Gauntlet

1976 Razbunarea lui Josey Wales

1975 The Eiger Sanction

1973 Breezy

1973 High Plains Drifter

1971 Play Misty for Me

1971 The Beguiled: The Storyteller (documentary short)

Actor (66 titles)
2008 Gran Torino
Walt Kowalski

2004 O Fata de Milioane

Frankie Dunn

2002 Blood Work

Terry McCaleb

2000 Space Cowboys

Frank Corvin

1999 True Crime

Steve Everett

1997 Absolute Power

Luther Whitney

1995 Podurile din Madison County

Robert Kincaid

1993 A Perfect World

Chief Red Garnett

1993 In the Line of Fire

Frank Horrigan

1992 Necrutatorul
Bill Munny

1990 The Rookie

Nick Pulovski

1990 White Hunter Black Heart

John Wilson

1989 Pink Cadillac

Tommy Nowak

1988 The Dead Pool

Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan

1986 Heartbreak Ridge

Sergeant Thomas Highway

1985 Pale Rider

Preacher

1984 City Heat

Lieutenant Speer

1984 Tightrope
Wes Block

1983 Sudden Impact

Harry Callahan
1982 Honkytonk Man
Red Stovall

1982 Firefox
Mitchell Gant

1980 Any Which Way You Can

Philo Beddoe

1980 Bronco Billy

Bronco Billy

1979 Evadare din Alcatraz

Frank Morris

1978 Every Which Way But Loose

Philo Beddoe

1977 The Gauntlet

Ben Shockley

1976/I The Enforcer

Harry Callahan

1976 Razbunarea lui Josey Wales

Josey Wales

1975 The Eiger Sanction

Dr. Jonathan Hemlock

1974 Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

Thunderbolt

1973 Magnum Force

Insp. 'Dirty' Harry Callahan

1973 Breezy
Man at Marina (uncredited)

1973 High Plains Drifter

The Stranger

1972 Joe Kidd

Joe Kidd

1971 Dirty Harry

Police Inspector Harry Callahan

1971 Play Misty for Me

Dave

1971 The Beguiled

John McBurney

1970 Camarazii lui Kelly

Pvt. Kelly

1970 Two Mules for Sister Sara

Hogan
1969 Paint Your Wagon
Pardner

1968 Where Eagles Dare

Lt. Morris Schaffer

1968 Coogan's Bluff

Coogan

1968 Hang 'Em High

Marshal Jed Cooper

1967 Le streghe
Charlie (segment "Sera come le altre, Una")

1966 Bunul, raul si urtul

Blondie

1965 Pentru Cativa Dolari in Plus

Monco

1959-1965 Rawhide (TV series)

Rowdy Yates
Crossing at White Feather (1965) Rowdy Yates
The Testing Post (1965) Rowdy Yates
Brush War at Buford (1965) Rowdy Yates
Duel at Daybreak (1965) Rowdy Yates
The Pursuit (1965) Rowdy Yates
See all 217 episodes

1964 Pentru un pumn de dolari

Joe

1959 Maverick (TV series) Red Hardigan Duel at Sundown (1959) Red Hardigan

1958 Lafayette Escadrille

George Moseley

1958 Ambush at Cimarron Pass

Keith Williams

1958 Navy Log (TV series) Burns The Lonely Watch (1958) Burns

1957 The Enemy Below

Seaman (uncredited)

1957 Escapade in Japan

Dumbo Pilot (uncredited)

1957 West Point (TV series) White Fury (1957)

1956 Death Valley Days (TV series) John Lucas The Last Letter (1956) John Lucas

1956 The First Traveling Saleslady

Lt. Jack Rice, Roughrider

1956 Away All Boats

Marine (Medic) (uncredited)
1956 Star in the Dust
Tom - Ranch Hand (uncredited)

1956 Highway Patrol (TV series) Joe Keeley Motorcycle A (1956) Joe Keeley

1956 Never Say Goodbye

Will (uncredited)

1955 Tarantula
Jet Squadron Leader (uncredited)

1955 Lady Godiva of Coventry

First Saxon (uncredited)

1955 Francis in the Navy

Jonesey

1955 Allen in Movieland (TV movie)

Orderly

1955 Revenge of the Creature

Jennings - Lab Technician (uncredited)
Biography for
Clint Eastwood More at IMDbPro
Date of Birth
31 May 1930, San Francisco, California, USA
Birth Name
Clinton Eastwood Jr.
Height
6' 2" (1.88 m)
Mini Biography
Perhaps the icon of macho movie stars, and a living legend, Clint Eastwood has become a standard in
international cinema. He was born eleven pounds and six ounces on May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to
Clint Sr., a steelworker, and Ruth, a factory worker. The family moved around Northern California before
settling in Oregon when Clint was a teenager. Despite having athletic and musical talents, he shunned
playing on sports teams or in the school band. After graduating high school in 1948, he moved to Seattle
and worked as a lifeguard before being drafted into the military in 1950. After completing his service, he
moved to Los Angeles where he found work digging swimming pools.

Clint started trying out for bit parts in movies, and was signed as a contract player for Universal. He found
work as an actor with brief appearances in such B-films as Tarantula (1955) and Revenge of the Creature
(1955), which led to credited supporting roles in Francis in the Navy (1955), The First Traveling Saleslady
(1956), Lafayette Escadrille (1958) and Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958). He got his breakthrough at the
end of the decade with the TV series "Rawhide" (1959), where he was a cast member for six years. As
Rowdy Yates, he made the show his own and became a household name around the country.

But Eastwood found even bigger and better things with Pentru un pumn de dolari (1964) ("A Fistful of
Dollars"), and Pentru Cativa Dolari in Plus (1965) ("For a Few Dollars More"). But it was the second
sequel to "A Fistful of Dollars" where he found one of his trademark roles: Bunul, raul si urtul (1966)
("The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"). The movie was a big hit and he became an instant international
star. Eastwood got some excellent roles thereafter: Where Eagles Dare (1968) found him second fiddle to
Richard Burton but to the tune of 800,000 dollars in this classic World War II movie. He also starred in
Coogan's Bluff (1968), the western Hang 'Em High (1968) and the musical Paint Your Wagon (1969).
Eastwood went in an experimental direction again with Camarazii lui Kelly (1970) and Two Mules for
Sister Sara (1970), both of which combined tough-guy action with offbeat humor.

1971 proved to be one of his best years in film. He directed his first movie, the thriller Play Misty for Me
(1971), in which he played a man being stalked by a crazed female admirer whose obsession with him
turns from seductive to violent. That same year, he played the hard edge police inspector in Dirty Harry
(1971) that gave Eastwood one of his signature roles and invented the loose-cannon cop genre that has
been imitated even to this day. Eastwood also found work in American revisionist westerns like High
Plains Drifter (1973), which he also directed. He had constant quality films over the next few years,
teaming up with Jeff Bridges in the buddy action flick Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), and starring the
"Dirty Harry" sequels Magnum Force (1973) and The Enforcer (1976/I), and the quintessential western
Razbunarea lui Josey Wales (1976), the action flick The Gauntlet (1977), and the hugely successful
comedy Every Which Way But Loose (1978) with Clyde the orangutan.

Eastwood found even more solid work with the fact-based thriller Evadare din Alcatraz (1979). The sequel
to "Every Which Way but Loose", Any Which Way You Can (1980), was also a blockbuster despite
negative reviews from critics. It was the fourth 'Dirty Harry' sequel, Sudden Impact (1983) (the highest
grossing film of the series) that made him a viable star for the eighties. Clint also starred in Firefox (1982),
Tightrope (1984), Pale Rider (1985), and Heartbreak Ridge (1986), which were all big hits but did not
become classics. His fifth and final "Dirty Harry" movie, The Dead Pool (1988), was a minor commercial
hit but severely panned by critics. Shortly after his career declined with the outright bomb comedy Pink
Cadillac (1989) and the disappointing cop adventure The Rookie (1990). It was fairly obvious Eastwood's
star was declining as it never had before.

But Eastwood surprised yet again. First with his western, Necrutatorul (1992), which garnered him an
Oscar for best director and producer of the best picture, and nomination for best actor. Then he took on
the secret service in In the Line of Fire (1993), another huge hit. Next up was Podurile din Madison
County (1995), a popular love story with Meryl Streep. Over the next few years, the quality of his films
was up and down. He directed and starred in the well-received Absolute Power (1997) and Space
Cowboys (2000), and the badly received True Crime (1999) and Blood Work (2002).

However, Eastwood rose to prominence once again, starring opposite Hilary Swank and Morgan
Freeman in what is arguably the best film of his career: the boxing drama O Fata de Milioane (2004). A
critical and commercial triumph, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as earning
Eastwood a nomination for Best Actor and a win for Best Director. After this he took a four-year acting
hiatus before starring in Gran Torino (2008). This film grossed $30 million during its opening weekend in
2009, making him the oldest leading man to reach #1 at the box office, and another one of his biggest
hits.

After starring in iconic movies for five consecutive decades, Clint Eastwood has proved himself to be the
longest-running movie star. Going out on top, he recently said he will likely never act again, though he will
continue to direct films.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Scott- msa0510@mail.ecu.edu
Spouse
Dina Eastwood (31 March 1996 - present) 1 child
Maggie Johnson (19 December 1953 - 14 May 1984) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark
His characters have a new "trademark expression" in each movie. The same character (e.g., Dirty Harry)
will have a different one in each movie.
At the end of movies he directs, during the credits the camera will move around the location it was filmed
in. then freezeframe for the rest of the credits.
Frequently uses shadow lighting in his films.
The lead characters in his movie are often outsiders with a dark past they prefer not to remember
His movies usually begin and end with the death of a character.
His films often deal with the gap between the truth and the mythologized version of the truth (White
Hunter Black Heart, Unforgiven, Flags of our Fathers)
Often plays characters who are consumed by regrets over past mistakes and are given one chance to
redeem themselves (Unforgiven, In the Lineof Fire, Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino)
Recurring pattern of his characters is having an unloaded gun or one that misfires.
Calm, raspy voice
Known on-set as a director for filming very few takes and having an easy shooting schedule. Tim Robbins
once said that when working on Mystic River, Eastwood would usually ask for only one take, or two "if you
were lucky", and that a day of filming would consist of starting "no earlier than 9 a.m. and you leave,
usually, after lunch."

Trivia
Is a partial owner of the Pebble Beach Golf Country Club in Monterey Peninsula, California.
Owns the inn Mission Ranch, Carmel, California, USA.
Received an honorary Csar Award in Paris, France, for his body of work. [1998]
Ranked #2 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [10/97]
He wore the same poncho, without ever having washed it, in all three of his "Man with No Name"
Westerns.
Gained popularity with his first three major films, Pentru un pumn de dolari (1964), Pentru Cativa Dolari in
Plus (1965) and Bunul, raul si urtul (1966). Soon afterwards Jolly Films (which produced Pentru un
pumn de dolari (1964)) came out with a film called "The Magnificent Stranger", which was actually two
episodes of "Rawhide" (1959) edited together. Eastwood sued and the film was withdrawn.
Elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It has often been claimed that he ran for office as a
Republican. In fact, although he was registered as a Republican in California, the position of mayor is
non-partisan. [1986]
Was apparently such an organized director that he finished Absolute Power (1997) days ahead of
schedule.
When Don Siegel fell ill during production of Dirty Harry (1971), Eastwood stepped in as director during
the attempted-suicide/jumper sequence.
Got his role in "Rawhide" (1959) while visiting a friend at the CBS lot when a studio exec spotted him
because he "looked like a cowboy."
Drafted and served in the US Army, assigned to Special Services. He was a swimming instructor. [1950-
1954]
Lived with Sondra Locke for 14 years, although the couple never married.
It's interesting, given his penchant towards directing or starring in westerns, that his name, Clint
Eastwood, is an anagram for 'old west action.'
His name is used as the title of the hit Gorillaz song and video "Clint Eastwood". [2001]
Mentioned in the theme song of the 1980s TV hit "The Fall Guy" (1981).
For many years he was the owner of the nation's largest known hardwood tree, a bluegum eucalyptus,
until a larger version of the tree was discovered in 2002.
Sworn in as Parks Commissioner for the state of California at Big Basin Redwood Park, Santa Cruz.
Holding up his new commissioner's badge, he told the crowd, "You're all under arrest.". [6/8/02]
Recipient of John F. Kennedy Center Honors. [2000]
Received the Career Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. [2000]
Is of a mixed heritage that includes Dutch, Scottish, Irish and English blood.
Redubbed his own dialogue for the American releases of Pentru un pumn de dolari (1964) ("A Fistful Of
Dollars"), Pentru Cativa Dolari in Plus (1965) ("For A Few Dollars More"), and Bunul, raul si urtul (1966)
("The Good, The Bad and The Ugly").
When he directs, he insists that his actors wear as little makeup as possible and he likes to print first
takes. As a result, his films consistently finish on schedule and on budget.
When directing, he simply says "okay" instead of "action" and "cut." (source: "Sunday Morning Shootout").
Weighed 11 lbs 6 oz at birth.
He was a contract player at Universal International. He and another young actor named Burt Reynolds
were released from their contracts and left the studio on the same day. They were both fired by the same
director. Eastwood was fired when the director didn't want to use him in a movie because "his Adam's
Apple was too big." Reynolds, who was serving as a stunt man, was fired after he shoved the director into
a water tank during an argument over how to do a stunt fall.
Mentioned on T.G. Sheppard's hit single "Make My Day," which in the first half of 1984 reached #12 on
Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and also reached #62 on that magazine's Hot 100 singles survey.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945- 1985". Pages 294-302.
New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
He was going to play the villain "Two-Face" on the "Batman" (1966) TV series, but the show was
canceled before the project began. He would later be considered to play Batman as an older man before
Warner Brothers decided to proceed with Batman - Inceputuri (2005).
He was voted the 16th "Greatest Movie Star of All Time" by Entertainment Weekly. Eastwood was only
two rankings behind his own all-time favorite film actor, James Cagney.
Grandfather of Clinton Eastwood-Gaddie (b. 21 February 1984, son of Kimber Eastwood and Anthony
Gaddie) and Graylen Eastwood (b. 28 March 1994, daughter of Kyle Eastwood and Laura Gomez).
Has 7 children by 5 different women: Kimber Eastwood (born 17 June 1964) with Roxanne Tunis, Kyle
Eastwood (born 19 May 1968) and Alison Eastwood (born 22 May 1972) with Maggie Johnson, Scott
Eastwood (born 21 March 1986) and Kathryn Eastwood (2 February 1988) with Jacelyn Reeves,
Francesca Fisher-Eastwood (born 7 August 1993) with Frances Fisher and Morgan Eastwood (born 12
December 1996) with Dina Eastwood.
Is owner of the exclusive Tehama golf club in Carmel Valley, California.
He was reluctant to have children with his wife at first (although he did have a child from an affair), but
then she became very ill with hepatitis. Once she recovered, he changed his mind, and almost 15 years
after they married, their first child together was born.
Although he has been associated with violence throughout his career, he personally detests it and has
carefully shown the horrific consequences of violence in his more recent films, such as Necrutatorul
(1992), A Perfect World (1993), Absolute Power (1997), Mystic River (2003) O Fata de Milioane (2004)
and Gran Torino (2008).
He has always disliked the reading of political and social agendas in his films, which has occurred from
Dirty Harry (1971) to O Fata de Milioane (2004). He has always maintained that all of his films are
apolitical and what he has in mind when making a film is whether it's going to be entertaining and
compelling.
Has been named to Quigley Publications' annual Top 10 Poll of Money-Making Stars 21 times, making
him #2 all-time for appearances in the top 10 list. Only John Wayne, with 25 appearances in the Top 10,
has more. Eastwood, who first appeared in the Top Ten at #5 in 1968, finished #2 to Wayne at the box
office in 1971 after finishing #2 to Paul Newman in 1970. After his first two consecutive #1 appearances in
1972 and 1973, he dropped back to #2 in 1974, trailing Robert Redford at the box office. Clint was again
#2 in 1979, 1981 and 1982 (topped by Burt Reynolds all three years), before leading the charts in 1983
and '84. He last topped the poll in 1993.
Was named the top box-office star of 1972 and again in 1973 by the Motion Picture Herald, based on an
annual poll of exhibitors as to the drawing power of movie stars at the box-office, conducted by Quigley
Publications.
He was the only nominee for the Best Actor Oscar in 2004 (for O Fata de Milioane (2004)) to play a
fictitious character. All four other nominees portrayed real people in their respective films.
A sample of his whistling can be heard on the track "Big Noise" from his son Kyle Eastwood's jazz CD
"Paris Blue" (2004).
At the The 45th Annual Academy Awards (1973) (TV), he presented the 1972 Best Picture Oscar to Albert
S. Ruddy, the producer of Nasul (1972). Thirty-two years later, they would jointly accept the 2004 Best
Picture Oscar at the The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV), along with fellow O Fata de Milioane
(2004) co-producer Tom Rosenberg.
At the The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) (TV) in 2000, presented the Best Picture statuette to
American Beauty (1999).
Was named the #1 top money-making star at the box office in Quigley Publications' annual poll of movie
exhibitors five times between 1972 and 1993. Bing Crosby, Burt Reynolds and Tom Hanks also have
been named #1 five times, while Tom Cruise holds the record for being named #1 six times.
Wife Dina Ruiz (Dina Eastwood) is a former local television news anchor/reporter in California.
On February 27, 2005, at age 74, he became the oldest person to win the Best Director Oscar for O Fata
de Milioane (2004). His 95-year old mother was in attendance at the ceremony.
He directed 10 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Gene Hackman, Meryl Streep, Sean
Penn, Tim Robbins, Marcia Gay Harden, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon,
and himself (in Necrutatorul (1992) and O Fata de Milioane (2004)). Hackman, Penn, Robbins, Freeman
and Swank won Oscars for their performances in one of Eastwood's movies.
For two consecutive years he directed two out of the four actors who won Oscars for their performances:
Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Tim Robbins (Best Supporting Actor) in Mystic River (2003)) in 2004, and
Hilary Swank (Best Actress) and Morgan Freeman (Best Supporting Actor) for O Fata de Milioane (2004))
in 2005.
Received an honorary Doctorate from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Wesleyan is also home to his
personal archives. [2000]
Every year the PGA tour comes to Pebble Beach, California, to host a celebrity golf tournament where
celebrities team up with the professionals. Clint has participated in this every year from 1962-2002 and
has been the longest running participant. He now serves as Host.
Announced that he would supply the voice for a "Dirty Harry" video game. [2005]
Premiere Magazine ranked him as #43 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in
Our Constellation feature. [2005]
Favorite actor is James Cagney.
Some of his favorite movies are, The 39 Steps (1935), Sergeant York (1941), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
and Chariots of Fire (1981).
Some of his favorite actors are Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum and James Stewart.
In the late 1990s he said that Play Misty for Me (1971), Razbunarea lui Josey Wales (1976), Bronco Billy
(1980),Honkytonk Man (1982), Necrutatorul (1992) and A Perfect World (1993) are the favorites of the
films he had done.
Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).
He stood at 6'4" at his peak, but due to recent back problems, he can only stretch up to 6'2".
He, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, Mel Gibson, Richard Attenborough and Kevin Costner are the only
directors best known as actors who have won an Academy Award as Best Director.
President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. [1994]
Claimed that the trait he most despised in others was racism.
The boots that he wore in Necrutatorul (1992) are the same ones he wore in the TV series "Rawhide"
(1959). They are now a part of his private collection and were on loan to the 2005 Sergio Leone exhibit at
the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, California. In essence these boots have
book-ended his career in the Western genre.
He and former partner Sondra Locke made six films together: Any Which Way You Can (1980), Bronco
Billy (1980), Every Which Way But Loose (1978), The Gauntlet (1977), Razbunarea lui Josey Wales
(1976) and Sudden Impact (1983).
As a director, he has always refused, and refuses to this day, to test screen his films before their release.
He objected to the end of Dirty Harry (1971) when Harry throws his badge away after killing the Scorpio
Killer, arguing with director Don Siegel that Harry knew that being a policeman was the only work for
which he was suited. Siegel eventually convinced Eastwood that Harry threw his badge away as a symbol
that he had lost faith in the justice system.
His production company is Malpaso Productions, which he formed in 1968. The company's first feature
release was, Hang 'Em High (1968).
At the National Board of Review awards dinner in New York City, Eastwood joked that he would kill
filmmaker Michael Moore if Moore ever showed up at his home with a camera (an evident reference to
Moore's controversial interview with Eastwood's friend, actor and conservative activist Charlton Heston,
for the movie Bowling for Columbine (2002)). After the crowd laughed, Eastwood said, "I mean it."
Moore's spokesman said, "Michael laughed along with everyone else, and took Mr. Eastwood's
comments in the lighthearted spirit in which they were given." Publicly, Eastwood has not commented
further. [2005]
Took acting class from Michael Chekhov in Hollywood.
He attended President Richard Nixon's landslide victory celebration in Los Angeles, along with John
Wayne, Charlton Heston, and Glenn Ford. [1972]
Was appointed to serve on the National Council of the Arts by President Richard Nixon. [1972]
Voted for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972, Ronald Reagan in
1980 and 1984, Ross Perot in 1992, and John McCain in 2008.
Has ruled out the possibility of playing Dirty Harry again, saying he has "outgrown him age-wise."
His performance as "Dirty" Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971) is ranked #92 on Premiere Magazine's
100 Greatest Performances of All Time. [2006]
At a press conference for his movie Mystic River (2003), Eastwood condemned the Iraq war as a "big
mistake" and defended Sean Penn's visit to Baghdad, saying he might have done the same thing but for
his age.
His mother, Ruth Eastwood, died at age 96. [2/7/06]
He declined an offer from President George Bush to campaign for him in the Presidential election. He told
an interviewer the next year, "I think what the ultra-right wing conservatives did to the Republicans is
really self-destructive, absolutely stupid". [1992]
His performance as Blondie in Bunul, raul si urtul (1966) is ranked #50 on Premiere Magazine's 100
Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
His performance as "Dirty" Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971) is ranked #42 on Premiere Magazine's
100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Was friends with Robert Donner.
He claims that he wound up getting the role in Sergio Leone's Pentru un pumn de dolari (1964) because
James Coburn, to whom the role was originally offered, wanted $25,000. Eastwood accepted the role for
$15,000.
Was offered Al Pacino's role in Duminica pierzi sau cstigi (1999), but turned it down because Warner
Bros. wouldn't let him direct it also.
Is a patron of the arts, notably as an avid collector of western art.
Presented the Golden Globe Award for Best Director to Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005).
His Pentru un pumn de dolari (1964) mannerisms were imitated in Canada, by the Tim Horton's
restaurant chain, to promote the Southwest chicken sub. [2005]
Served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was stationed at Ft. Ord, California, across from
Monterey (over the hill from where he now lives and has served as mayor, Carmel-by-the-Sea). He was a
swimming instructor.
Whenever asked if he would do a Dirty Harry 6, he often joked that he can imagined Dirty Harry now
longed retired, and fly-fishing with his .44 magnum.
His first screen appearance was an uncredited role in Revenge of the Creature (1955), as the goofy
white-coated lab assistant who does the silly mouse gag in the lab scene with the monkey. His only line in
the film is, "I've lost my white mouse".
Cited as America's Favorite Movie Star by the Harris Polls conducted in 1993, 1994 and 1997. Tom
Hanks and Harrison Ford are the only other actors to be cited as the #1 Movie Star as many times.
He was not nominated for an Academy Award, either as an actor or as a director, until age 62.
His favorite movie is John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941).
Met John Wayne for the first time at the Republican National Convention. [1968]
He was awarded the rank of "Chevalier de la Lgion d'Honneur" by French President Jacques Chirac as
a tribute to his career as an actor and a filmmaker. [2/17/07]
Voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California in 2003 and 2006.
Son of Clinton Eastwood (11 June 1906 - 22 July 1970) and wife Margaret Ruth Runner (1 September
1909 - 7 February 2006).
Attended a celebration of John Wayne's 40-year career at Paramount Studios, along with Lee Marvin,
Rock Hudson, Fred MacMurray, James Stewart, Ernest Borgnine, Michael Caine and Laurence Harvey.
[1969]
Fluent in Italian.
Had to fill in for Charlton Heston at The 44th Annual Academy Awards (1972) (TV) until Heston arrived.
[1972]
Was offered Gregory Peck's role in Mackenna's Gold (1969), but turned it down to make Hang 'Em High
(1968) instead.
The producers of Dirty Harry (1971) originally didn't want Eastwood, since they felt he was too young at
41. After older stars like John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Robert Mitchum turned the film down, Eastwood
was cast. He last played Harry Callahan aged 57 in The Dead Pool (1988), which was the age the
character was supposed to be in the first film according to the original screenplay.
William Friedkin offered him the lead in Sorcerer (1977), but Eastwood didn't want to travel anywhere at
that time. Jack Nicholson turned the film down for the same reason.
Used to shop at Market Basket a lot when it was still open.
Mentioned in theme song in The Adventures of George the Projectionist (2006).
Received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Southern California. [5/11/07]
Studied at Los Angeles City College.
Learned mountain climbing for The Eiger Sanction (1975) because he felt the scenes were too dangerous
for him to pay a stuntman to do for him. He was the last climber up The Totem Pole in Monument Valley,
and as part of the contract, the movie crew removed the pitons left by decades of other climbers. The
scene where he was hanging off the mountain by a single rope was actually Eastwood, and not a
stuntman.
An accomplished jazz pianist, he performs much of the music for his movies, including the scene in the
bar in In the Line of Fire (1993).
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Eastwood into the
California Hall of Fame located at The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts. [12/6/06]
Along with John Travolta and Tom Selleck, he attended the formal state dinner at the White House held
by President Ronald Reagan to welcome Prince Charles and Princess Diana to the United States in
1985.
In the late 1980s he discussed remaking the classic Sam Peckinpah western Ride the High Country
(1962) with Charlton Heston.
He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film
culture.
'William Goldman (I)' said of Eastwood that he was the only person to be a star in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
By "star" Goldman means Variety's list of top ten actors of the decade.
Sondra Locke wrote an autobiography titled "The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly", which included
details about her troubled relationship with him.
Former longtime companion Sondra Locke filed a palimony lawsuit against him after their break-up in
1990. The settlement included a financial payment and a contract between Locke and Warner Bros. She
sued him again in 1996 for fraud. They settled out of court in 1999, for a reported large amount, details of
which were not publicly disclosed.
Though he often smokes in his movies, he is a lifelong non-smoker offscreen.
Although he can handle pistols with either hand equally well, he is left-eye dominant, evident when he
shoots a rifle as in Joe Kidd (1972) or Necrutatorul (1992), but is right handed, as seen when he wears or
handles one pistol.
He and Burt Reynolds both had major influences on their respective careers. It was he who sent a copy of
"Sharky's Machine" to Reynolds, which gave Reynolds the idea to turn the novel into a movie, Sharky's
Machine (1981), which went on to garner excellent reviews. On the other hand, it was Reynolds the one
who sent Clint a copy of "The Outlaw Josey Wales", made into a major motion picture by Eastwood
(Razbunarea lui Josey Wales (1976)). Years later, Burt told Clint about this great novel called The Bridges
of Madison County, and some time later, it was shot by Eastwood (Podurile din Madison County (1995)).
Served as Mayor of Carmel California for one term with a salary of $300.00 per year.
Lived with Frances Fisher from 1990 to 1995. They have also appeared in three movies together: Pink
Cadillac (1989), Necrutatorul (1992) and True Crime (1999).
Turned down the title role in Dick Tracy (1990) that went to Warren Beatty.
Has a younger sister, Jean, and three nieces.
Attended the The 65th Annual Academy Awards (1993) (TV) with Frances Fisher, mother Ruth Eastwood-
Belden, and stepfather Jon Belden-Wood.
Has been extremely health-conscious ever since his father, Clinton Sr., died of a stroke at age 63 on July
22, 1970.
Though he has lapsed out of organized religion, he practices meditation twice a day.
Dislikes hunting, saying that he doesn't enjoy killing an animal for no reason.
Stepfather, John Belden Wood, died on February 18, 2004 at age 90. He was married to Clint's mother for
almost 32 years.
While serving in the Army during the Korean War, he survived a plane crash landing into the Pacific, north
of San Francisco, and swam two miles to shore. Because he had to testify about the incident, he was not
sent to Korea with his unit.
He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts on February 25, 2010 for his services and
contributions to the arts.
Contrary to rumors, he is not a vegetarian. However, he does keep to a strict lowfat diet.
Profiled in "Directors Close Up" by Jeremy Kagan. [2005]
Declined to have a party for his 80th birthday, explaining that at his age he doesn't like birthday parties for
himself. He said his only plans to celebrate the occasion would be to go out for a drink with his wife.
The genesis of his production company - Malpaso - had a curious origin. When Italian director Sergio
Leone approached Eastwood about appearing in what would become the "Spaghetti Western" trilogy:
Pentru un pumn de dolari (1964) (Fistful of Dollars), Pentru Cativa Dolari in Plus (1965) (For a Few
Dollars More) and Bunul, raul si urtul (1966) (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), Eastwood was eager for
a plum part but was advised against it by his agent, suggesting it would be a "bad move" (mal paso).
Against all odds, the actor went ahead and accepted the "man with no name" role and his decision turned
out to be a "good move". Eastwood never forgot the irony of the situation and thereafter adopted
"Malpaso" as his production company name.

Personal Quotes
My father used to say to me, "Show 'em what you can do, and don't worry about what you're gonna get.
Say you'll work for free and make yourself invaluable."
[to Eli Wallach prior to starting work on Bunul, raul si urtul (1966) ("The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly")]
Never trust anyone on an Italian movie. I know about these things. Stay away from special effects and
explosives.
[what he says after a take, instead of "Cut!"] That's enough of that shit.
I like the libertarian view, which is to leave everyone alone. Even as a kid, I was annoyed by people who
wanted to tell everyone how to live.
I love every aspect of the creation of motion pictures and I guess I am committed to it for life.
Right now, the state of the movies in America, there's an awful lot of people hanging on wires and floating
across things and comic book characters and what have you. There seems to be a lot of big business in
that, a nice return on some of those.
Nowadays you'd have many battles before you blow it up, but eventually you'd take it down. And that's
okay, I don't heavily quarrel with that, but for me personally, having made films for years and directed for
33 years, it just seems to me that I long for people who want to see a story and see character
development. Maybe we've dug it out and there's not really an audience for that, but that's not for me to
really worry about.
And I like to direct the same way that I like to be directed.
[on directing] Most people like the magic of having it take a long time and be difficult . . . but I like to move
along, I like to keep the actors feeling like they're going somewhere, I like the feeling of coming home
after every day and feeling like you've done something and you've progressed somewhere. And to go in
and do one shot after lunch and another one maybe at six o'clock and then go home is not my idea of
something to do.
I think kids are natural actors. You watch most kids; if they don't have a toy they'll pick up a stick and
make a toy out of it. Kids will daydream all the time.
There's really no way to teach you how to act, but there is a way to teach you how to teach yourself to
act. That's kind of what it is; once you learn the little tricks that work for you, pretty soon you find yourself
doing that.
Again, after you've gone through all the various processes and the film comes out and is very successful,
you're almost afraid to revisit it. You want to save it for a rainy day.
...in America, instead of making the audience come to the film, the idea seems to be for you to go to the
audience. They come up with the demographics for the film and then the film is made and sold strictly to
that audience. Not to say that it's all bad, but it leaves a lot of the rest of us out of it. To me cinema can be
a much more friendly world if there's a lot of things to choose from.
You know when you think of a particular director, you think you would have liked to be with them on one
particular film and not necessarily on some other one.
At the studios, everybody's into sequels or remakes or adaptations of old TV shows. I don't know if it's
because of the corporate environment or they're just out of ideas. Pretty soon, they're going to be wanting
to do one of "Rawhide" (1959).
I think I'm on a track of doing pictures nobody wants to do, that they're all afraid of. I guess it's the era we
live in, where they're doing remakes of "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979) and other old television shows. I
must say, I'm not a negative person, but sometimes I wonder what kind of movies people are going to be
making 10 years from now if they follow this trajectory. When I grew up there was such a variety of
movies being made. You could go see Sergeant York (1941) or Sitting Pretty (1948) or Sullivan's Travels
(1941), dozens of pictures, not to mention all the great B movies. Now, they're looking for whatever the
last hit was. If it's The Incredibles (2004), they want 'The Double Incredibles.' My theory is they ought to
corral writers into writers' buildings like they used to and start out with fresh material.
I liked the O Fata de Milioane (2004)' script a lot. Warner Bros. said the project had been submitted to
them and they'd passed on it. I said, "But I like it." They said, "Well, it's a boxing movie." And I said, "It's
not a boxing movie in my opinion. It's a father-daughter love story, and it's a lot of other things besides a
boxing movie." They hemmed and hawed and finally said that if I wanted to take it, maybe they'd pay for
the domestic rights only. After that, I'd be on my own. We took it to a couple of other studios, and they
turned it down, much like Mystic River (2003) was turned down, the exact same pattern. People who kept
calling and saying, "Come on, work with us on stuff." I'd give it to them, and they'd go, "Uh, we were
thinking more in terms of Dirty Harry coming out of retirement." And who knows? Maybe when it comes
out they'll be proven right.
Plastic surgery used to be a thing where older people would try to go into this dream world of being 28
years old again. But now, in Hollywood, even people at 28 are having work done. Society has made us
believe you should look like an 18-year-old model all your life. But I figure I might as well just be what I
am.
[on trying to get O Fata de Milioane (2004) made at Warner Bros.] They might have been a little more
interested if I said I wanted to do "Dirty Harry 9" or something.
[2005 Academy Awards acceptance speech for Best Director for O Fata de Milioane (2004)] Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you. I'd like to thank my wife, who is my best pal down here. And my
mother, who was here with me in 1993. She was only 84 then. But she's here with me again tonight. And
she just -- so, at 96, I'm thanking her for her genes. It was a wonderful adventure. It takes a -- to make a
picture in 37 days, it takes a well-oiled machine. And that well-oiled machine is the crew -- the cast, of
course, you've met a lot of them. But there's still Margo and Anthony and Michael and Mike and Jay and
everybody else who was so fabulous in this cast. And the crew, Campanelli. Billy Coe and, of course, Tom
Stern, who is fantastic. And Henry Bumstead, the great Henry Bumstead who is the head of our crack
geriatrics team. And Henry and Jack Taylor, and Dick Goddard [Richard C. Goddard], all those guys. Walt
and everybody. I can't think of everybody right now. I'm drawing a blank right now. But, Warren, you were
right. And thank you, for your confidence earlier in the evening. I'm just lucky to be here. Lucky to be still
working. And I watched Sidney Lumet, who is 80, and I figure, "I'm just a kid. I'll just -- I've got a lot of stuff
to do yet." So thank you all very much. Appreciate it.
[1985] My old drama coach used to say, "Don't just do something, stand there." Gary Cooper wasn't afraid
to do nothing.
One of the first films I went to - I went with my dad because my mother didn't want to go see a war movie
- was Sergeant York (1941). My dad was a big admirer of Sergeant York stories from [World War I]. It was
directed by Howard Hawks. That was when I first became aware of movies, who made them, who was
involved.
Most people who'll remember me, if at all, will remember me as an action guy, which is OK. There's
nothing wrong with that. But there will be a certain group which will remember me for the other films, the
ones where I took a few chances. At least, I like to think so.
The plan was, when I first started directing in the 1970s, to get more involved in production and directing
so at some point in my life, when I decided I didn't want to act anymore, I didn't have to suit up.
I feel very close to the western. There are not too many American art forms that are original. Most are
derived from European art forms. Other than the western and jazz or blues, that's all that's really original.
In Podurile din Madison County (1995) Kincaid's a peculiar guy. Really, he's kind of a lonely individual.
He's sort of a lost soul in mid-America. I've been that guy.
I think people jumped to conclusions about Dirty Harry (1971) without giving the character much thought,
trying to attach right-wing connotations to the film that were never really intended. Both the director [Don
Siegel] and I thought it was a basic kind of drama - what do you do when you believe so much in law and
order and coming to the rescue of people and you just have five hours to solve a case? That kind of
impossible effort was fun to portray, but I think it was interpreted as a pro-police point of view, as a kind of
rightist heroism, at a time in American history when police officers were looked down on as "pigs", as very
oppressive people - I'm sure there are some who are, and a lot who aren't. I've met both kinds.
You have to trust your instincts. There's a moment when an actor has it, and he knows it. Behind the
camera you can feel the moment even more clearly. And once you've got it, once you feel it, you can't
second-guess yourself. You can find a million reasons why something didn't work. But if it feels right, and
it looks right, it works. Without sounding like a pseudointellectual dipshit, it's my responsibility to be true to
myself. If it works for me, it's right.
None of the pictures I take a risk in cost a lot, so it doesn't take much for them to turn a profit. We don't
deal in big budgets. We know what we want and we shoot it and we don't waste anything. I never
understand these films that cost twenty, thirty million dollars when they could be made for half that. Maybe
it's because no one cares. We care.
[on how he decided to do Pentru un pumn de dolari (1964)] I'd done "Rawhide" (1959) for about five
years. The agency called and asked if I was interested in doing a western in Italy and Spain. I said, "Not
particularly." They said, "Why don't you give the script a quick look?" Well, I was kind of curious, so I read
it, and I recognized it right away as The Bodyguard (1961), a Kurosawa [Akira Kurosawa] film I had liked
a lot. Over I went, taking the poncho with me - yeah the cape was my idea.
There's a rebel lying deep in my soul. Anytime anybody tells me the trend is such and such, I go the
opposite direction. I hate the idea of trends. I hate imitation; I have a reverence for individuality. I got
where I am by coming off the wall. I've always considered myself too individualistic to be either right-wing
or left-wing.
I don't like the wimp syndrome. No matter how ardent a feminist may be, if she is a heterosexual female,
she wants the strength of a male companion as well as the sensitivity. The most gentle people in the
world are macho males, people who are confident in their masculinity and have a feeling of well-being in
themselves. They don't have to kick in doors, mistreat women, or make fun of gays.
I don't believe in pessimism. If something doesn't come up the way you want, forge ahead.
The reason I became a Republican is because [Dwight D. Eisenhower] was running. A hero from World
War II, a charismatic individual, a military man, a non-attorney - even then I liked that! I was a very young
person voting for the first time. A lot of people joke that a conservative is a liberal who's made his first
$100,000 and then decides,"Wait a second, I want to save this, why are they taxing it away?". Today the
country's in kind of a turmoil over taxing. Being raised in the thirties, watching my parents work hard to
make ends meet, with jobs scarce, and then the war years - it tends to make a person a little more fiscally
conscious than if you've been born into a wealthier family. You know, if you go to most people who are
self-made and ask them what their political philosophy is, usually they're a little more conservative than
people who had a better start.
This film cost $31 million. With that kind of money I could have invaded some country.
They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.
I've always supported a certain amount of gun control. I think California has always had a mandatory
waiting period, so we were never concerned about it like the rest of the country. Some states didn't have
any at all. So I've always supported that. I think it's very important that guns don't get in the wrong hands,
and, yes, I would support most of that. I don't know too much about trigger locks. I've never really
discussed that with anyone. But I do feel that guns - it's very important to keep them out of the hands of
felons or anyone who might be crazy with it.
I've thought about retiring for years now. When I did "Play Misty for Me" in 1970, I thought that if I could
pull this off maybe I could step behind the camera, and it would be time to see the end of me. Every year I
have threatened to do that - and here I am. So it may come sooner than you think.
[on World War II] I feel terrible for both sides in that war and in all wars. A lot of innocent people get
sacrificed. It's not about winning or losing, but mostly about the interrupted lives of young people.
I've done a lot of violent movies, especially in the early days. My recent efforts, like Podurile din Madison
County (1995), weren't too violent. In recent years I've done less, and, yes, I am concerned about
violence in film. In '92, when I did Necrutatorul (1992), which is a film that had a very anti- violence and
anti-gun play - anti-romanticizing of gun play theme, I remember that Gene Hackman was concerned
about it, and we both discussed the issue of too much violence in films. It's escalated ninety times since
Dirty Harry (1971) and those films were made.
Maybe I'm getting to the age when I'm starting to be senile or nostalgic or both, but people are so angry
now. You used to be able to disagree with people and still be friends. Now you hear these talk shows, and
everyone who believes differently from you is a moron and an idiot - both on the Right and the Left.
I like to play the line and not wander too far to either side. If a guy has just had a bad day in the mines
and wants to see a good shoot 'em up, that's great.
My involvement goes deeper than acting or directing. I love every aspect of the creation of motion
pictures and I guess I'm committed to it for life.
Whatever success I've had is due to a lot of instinct and a little luck.
I've always had the ability to say to the audience, watch this if you like, and if you don't, take a hike.
I've actually had people come up to me and ask me to autograph their guns.
[on former President Ronald Reagan] Yes, I liked him very much. When he was a former president of the
Screen Actors Guild, I don't think he had the vast support that a lot of other presidents have had. So I
don't know why that is, it's just the nature of things.
[when asked if he is still registered as a Republican] Yes, I am. I started - I enrolled as a Republican in
1951 when Dwight D. Eisenhower was running. And I was in the military. I was a fan of his. And that's how
I got started off. I was never - my parents were mixed, I think one Republican, one Democrat, so I didn't
have any grand-pappies to influence me.
When I was doing Podurile din Madison County (1995), I said to myself, "This romantic stuff is really
tough. I can't wait to get back to shooting and killing."
[when asked if he has disappointed his conservative fans by directing O Fata de Milioane (2004)] Well, I
got a big laugh out of that. These people are always bitching about "Hollyweird", and then they start
bitching about this film. Are they all so mad because The Passion of the Christ (2004) is only up for the
makeup award and a couple of other minor things? Extremism is so easy. You've got your position, and
that's it. It doesn't take much thought. And when you go far enough to the right you meet the same idiots
coming around from the left.
[On John Huston] It's another aspect of the character that pleased me: he was interested in other things
besides his art. He liked women, gambling, living the high life. He could have a life parallel to his work. I
could identify with this type of behavior. But, because of this very fact, he became attracted more and
more by other things, so that what interested him in life moved him away from his art to the point that he
nearly lived a tragedy. And the tragedy brings him back to reality. If you study Huston's life, you realize
that at the age of nineteen he thought he didn't have long to live because of a heart defect a doctor has
notified him of as a result of a misdiagnosis. It drove him to elaborate a personal philosophy according to
which he would profit from life to the maximum. He didn't take care of himself - he was a confirmed
smoker, a heavy drinker - and yet he lived to be more than eighty. Paul Newman spoke to me about him
when we were acting at the same time, each in a different movie, in Tucson, Arizona. He was starring in
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) and I was doing Joe Kidd (1972) with John Sturges.
Huston drank martinis and smoked cigars all night long, slept from one o'clock to four o'clock in the
morning because he was an insomniac, did everything he shouldn't do to live to be old, and yet he died at
a very great age! It was the same thing with John Wayne, who was first of all the opposite of a health
fanatic.
I never considered myself a cowboy, because I wasn't. But I guess when I got into cowboy gear I looked
enough like one to convince people that I was.
If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.
I always cry when I watch myself on screen.
Guys I thought of as heroes were like Joe Louis and, maybe during the war, there was General [George
S. Patton], of course, and maybe [Dwight D. Eisenhower], who was the head of the Allied forces. And
Gary Cooper. There were just a handful of men and a handful of women. Now, people become stars who
are just heiresses or something.
I also wonder how I got this far in life. Growing up, I never knew what I wanted to do. I was not a terribly
good student or a very vivacious, outgoing person. I was just kind of a backward kid. I grew up in various
little towns and ended up in Oakland, California, going to a trade school. I didn't want to be an actor,
because I thought an actor had to be an extrovert - somebody who loved to tell jokes and talk and be a
raconteur. And I was something of an introvert. My mother used to say: "You have a little angel on your
shoulder." I guess she was surprised I grew up at all, never mind that I got to where I am. The best I can
do is quote a line from Necrutatorul (1992): "Deserve's got nothing to do with it."
Every movie I make teaches me something, and that's why I keep making them. I'm at that stage of life
when I could probably stop and just hit golf balls. But in filming these two movies about Iwo Jima, I learnt
about war and about character. I also learnt a lot about myself.
I was a teenager when the battle of Iwo Jima took place. I remember hearing about the bond drive and
the need to maintain the war effort. Back then, people had just come through 10 years of a Depression,
and they were used to working for everything. I still have an image of someone coming to our house
when I was about six years old, offering to cut and stack the wood in our back yard if my mother would
make him a sandwich.
The Americans who went to Iwo Jima knew it would be a tough fight, but they always believed they'd win.
The Japanese were told they wouldn't come home - they were being sent to die for the Emperor. People
have made a lot out of that very different cultural approach. But as I got into the storytelling for the two
movies [Flags of Our Fathers (2006) and Scrisori din Iwo Jima (2006)], I realised that the 19-year-olds
from both sides had the same fears. They all wrote poignant letters home saying: "I don't want to die."
They were all going through the same thing, despite the cultural differences.
I guess if you see both of the movies [Flags of Our Fathers (2006) and Scrisori din Iwo Jima (2006)]
together, they sum up as an antiwar film. Whether it's about territory or religion, war is horrifyingly and
depressingly archaic. But I didn't set out to make a war movie. I cared about those three fellows - Bradley,
Hayes and Gagnon [John H. Bradley, Ira H. Hayes, 'Ren A. Gagnon'] - the headliners on that war-bond
circus. The young men were taken off the front lines, wined and dined, introduced to movie stars. But it
felt wrong to them.
As for me, I like being behind the camera instead of in front of it. I can wear what I want. Will I act again? I
never say never. I like doing things where I can stretch and go in different directions. I'm not looking to
take it easy. Like the Marines on Iwo Jima, I understand that if you really want something, you have to be
ready to fight.
Life is a constant class, and once you think you know it all, you're due to decay. You're due to slide. I have
to keep challenging myself and try something I haven't done before. The studios aren't always happy with
that. When I wanted to make Mystic River (2003), the studio said, "Uh-oh, it's so dark." And I said, "Well,
it's important. And it's a nice story." Then the next movie, O Fata de Milioane (2004), they said, "Who
wants to see a picture about a girl boxing?" And I said, "It's really a father-daughter love story. Boxing just
happens to be what's going on." They didn't have much faith. So there are always obstacles and people
afraid to take risks. That's why you end up with remakes of old TV shows as movies. But playing it safe is
what's risky, because nothing new comes out of it.
[on the Iraq war] My druthers would have been, "Get a more benevolent dictator and stick him in. You
know, try somebody a little less mean." You don't go in there and fire the army. The army's got to do
something. When you fire 'em, you leave them all unemployed. Worst thing in the world. Just get
somebody else who they respect and bring him on your side. That's one way of doing it.
[on President George W. Bush] You've got to admire somebody who stands up for what they believe
regardless of how the polls go. A lot of presidents do everything by the polls. They do a focus group then
all of a sudden they say, "OK, that's what I'm going to be for because that's where focus group is leading
me.
[on the Iraq war] I wasn't for going in there. Only because democracy isn't something that you get
overnight. I don't think America got democracy overnight. It's something we had to fight for and believe in.
[on John Wayne] I gave him a piece of material that I thought had potential for us to do as a younger guy
and an older guy. He wrote me back critical of it. He had seen High Plains Drifter (1973), and he didn't
think that represented Americana like She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) and other John Ford westerns. I
never answered him.
[on Sergio Leone] I spun off Sergio and he spun off me. I think we worked well together. I like his
compositions. He has a very good eye. I liked him, I liked his sense of humor, but I feel it was mutual. He
liked dealing with the kind of character I was putting together.
Macho was a fashionable word in the 1980s. Everybody was kind of into it, what's macho and what isn't
macho. I really don't know what macho is. I never have understood. Does it mean somebody who
swaggers around exuding testosterone? And kicks the gate open and runs sprints up and down the
street? Or does handsprings or whatever? Or is macho a quiet thing based on your security. I remember
shaking hands with Rocky Marciano. He was gentle, he didn't squeeze your hand. And he had a high
voice. But he could knock people around, it was a given. That's macho. Muhammad Ali is the same. If you
talked with him in his younger years, he spoke gently. He wasn't kicking over chairs. I think some of the
most macho people are the gentlest.
I was tired of playing the nice, clean-cut cowboy in "Rawhide" (1959), I wanted something earthier.
Something different from the old-fashioned Western. You know: Hero rides in, very stalwart, with white
hat, man's beating a horse, hero jumps off, punches man, schoolmarm walks down the street, sees this
situation going on, slight conflict with schoolmarm, but not too much. You know schoolmarm and hero will
be together in exactly 10 more reels, if you care to sit around and wait, and you know the man beast
horse with eventually get comeuppance from hero this guy bushwhacks him in reel nine. But [Pentru un
pumn de dolari (1964)] was different; it definitely had satiric overtones. The hero was an enigmatic figure,
and that worked within the context of this picture. In some films, he would be ludicrous. You can't have a
cartoon in the middle of a Renoir.
In those days, they'd make interview tests, not acting tests. They'd sit you in front of the camera and talk-
just as we're talking now. I thought I was an absolute clod. It looked pretty good; it was photographed
well, but I thought, 'If that's acting, I'm in trouble.' But they signed me up as a contract player- which was a
little lower than working in the mail-room.
I like working with actors who don't have anything to prove.
Probably the lousiest western ever made. - On Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958)
[On the retirement of friend and fellow actor Gene Hackman]: It is a sad thing. I know his agent and I saw
him recently, and he said, 'Can't you talk Gene into coming back?' I said, 'I'd love to see him come back,
but I think it's not very nice to ride him.' He's too good an actor not to be performing but, by the same
token, he probably thinks that's enough.
That will probably do it for me as far as acting is concerned. You always want to quit while you are ahead.
You don't want to be like a fighter who stays too long in the ring until you're not performing at your best. -
On Gran Torino (2008)
There are certain things you have to be realistic about. Dirty Harry would not be on a police department at
my age so we'll move on from that.
Having a good person as a foil certainly helps, because acting is an ensemble art form. Clark Gable is
only as good as Claudette Colbert in S-a Intamplat intr-o Noapte (1934).
It wasn't like Cantand in ploaie (1952), where it had a cohesive plotline. They started out with a real
dramatic story and then made it fluffy. When they changed it around, I tried to bail out. It wasn't my
favorite. I wasn't particularly nervous about singing on film. My dad was a singer and we'd have sing-
arounds. But certainly Sinatra wasn't worried - on Paint Your Wagon (1969).
With Every Which Way But Loose (1978), they gave me the script and I thought, "This is something. This
is kinda crazy. But there's something kind of hip about it. This guy's out drifting along and his best friend is
an orangutan". I mean, the scenes of talking to an orangutan about your troubles, I'd never seen anything
quite like it. He has a romance that falls through, he doesn't get the girl, and then he goes off with the
orangutan. I thought, What could be better? I wouldn't put it in the time capsule of films you did that you
thought were great, but everything's a challenge.
Gene Hackman was interesting because I gave the Necrutatorul (1992) script to his agent and he said no,
he didn't want to do anything violent. But I went back to him and said, "I know where you're coming from.
You get to a certain age and I'm there too, where you don't want to tell a lot of violent stories, but this is a
chance to make a great statement".
At this particular time in my life, I'm not doing anything as a moneymaker. It's like I'm pushing the
envelope the other way to see how far we can go to be noncommercial. But I'm definitely not going for the
demographics of 13- to 15-year-olds. I didn't know if Mystic River (2003) would go over at all. I had a hard
time getting it financed, to tell you the truth. But I just told Warners the same thing I did with O Fata de
Milioane (2004): "I don't know if this is going to make any money. But, I think I can make a picture that
you'd be proud to have in your library.
People have lost their sense of humor. In former times we constantly made jokes about different races.
You can only tell them today with one hand over your mouth or you will be insulted as a racist. I find that
ridiculous. In those earlier days every friendly clique had a 'Sam the Jew' or 'Jose the Mexican' - but we
didn't think anything of it or have a racist thought. It was just normal that we made jokes based on our
nationality or ethnicity. That was never a problem. I don't want to be politically correct. We're all spending
too much time and energy trying to be politically correct about everything.
[On the possibility of a Dirty Harry (1971) sequel in the 21st Century] I'm 78 years old, and you're pretty
well drummed out of the police force by that age. There could be a scenario. I suppose if some mythical
writer came out of nowhere and it was the greatest thing on the planet, I'd certainly have to think about it.
But it's not like I've ever courted it. I feel like that was an era of my life, and I've gone on to other things.
I'm not sure about being Dirty Harry again - but who knows?
I keep finding interesting stories, or they come to me, so I'll keep making movies.
[on a possible return to acting after saying he was giving it up with Gran Torino (2008)] I'm like Jaws 2
(1978): "Just when you think it's safe to go back in the water..."
[On Angelina Jolie] She's wonderful. To me, she's like a throwback to the women in film of the Forties. Not
to say women today aren't great, but back then there was more individuality. They didn't have the same
Botox look. Angelina has that great individuality, her own look and her own style. I think she would have
been just as big a name in that era, the same as Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Ingrid Bergman.
[On O Fata de Milioane (2004)] It's a tragedy that could have been written by the Greeks or Shakespeare.
I don't quite understand this obsession about doing remakes and making television series into feature
films. I would rather see them encourage writers with new ideas in all different genres like they used to in
the heyday of movies.
[On director Michael Cimino and how he felt that Michael was treated unfairly by Hollywood] George
Lucas made Howard the Duck (1986), and the guy who made Waterworld (1995) - those films didn't
destroy them. Critics were set up to hate Heaven's Gate (1980)... the picture didn't work for the public. If it
had, it would of have been the same as Titanic (1997). Titanic worked, so all is forgiven. Certain things
may have been his fault. The accolades for The Deer Hunter (1978) probably made him think 'I am a
genius, I'm king of the world'. But if you say that you're king of the world then people will root for you to
fall...I've always said that if you're prepared to accept reviews saying you're brilliant, you better be
prepared to accept reviews saying you're a burn. The guy calling you a burn may be wrong, but the guy
calling your brilliant may be wrong, too. Michael needs to make a intimate, smaller picture, do a film for
five or six weeks, with no special effects, flying by the seats of his pants, to not be afraid and pull the
trigger.
[On death] I don't think older people think about it that much, my mother was 97. She passed away a few
years back. The only thing she ever said to me, toward the last, she said, 'I want out of here, I am tired.'
And I said 'No, no, three more years. We get the century mark.' I figured I could coax her into more after
that, but when she finally did pass away, she couldn't talk because she had had a stroke. They said do
you want to be resuscitated for while, and she said 'no.' So, I had to grant her that wish. She had no fear
and I think as you get older -- you probably have more fear as a younger person than you do as an older
person. Because as an older person you have stacked up a lot of background and time-in-grade, so to
speak, so you are probably thinking what the hell 'I have had a good time
If you believe in reincarnation you're putting too much on the other side. I believe you have just one shot
at life, and you should do the best you can with that shot. And I suppose you should be thankful that
you've been given the ability to do certain things in life, and not be greedy enough to want to stay around
forever.
[On the Rocky (1976) movies] I loved the first one. I always admired Sylvester Stallone's tenacity to go
ahead and get that made.

Salary
In the Line of Fire (1993) $7,000,000
City Heat (1984) $5,000,000
Every Which Way But Loose (1978) $12,000,000 (15% of gross)
Paint Your Wagon (1969) $500,000 + % of profits
Where Eagles Dare (1968) $750,000
Hang 'Em High (1968) $1 million
Le streghe (1967) $20,000 + new Ferrari
Bunul, raul si urtul (1966) $250,000 +10% of Western Hemisphere gross + new Ferrari
Pentru Cativa Dolari in Plus (1965) $50,000
Pentru un pumn de dolari (1964) $15,000
Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958) $750
The First Traveling Saleslady (1956) $750
Star in the Dust (1956) $75/week
Francis in the Navy (1955) $100/week
Where Are They Now
(April 2001) Developing adaptations of "Blood Work" and "Mystic River" with writer Brian Helgeland.
(May 2008) Making premiere of latest film Schimbul (2008), a period thriller set in the 1920s.
(September 2008) In pre-production for the Nelson Mandela movie Neinfrant (2009), where his good
friend, 'Morgan Freeman I)', will be acting as Nelson Mandela. Filming will commence in early 2009 in
Cape Town, South Africa. Clint will produce and direct the film.
(March 2009) Currently in Cape Town, South Africa filming Neinfrant (2009).