Clint Eastwood - Biography - IMDb
Clint Eastwood
Biography
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Overview (3)
6' 4" (1.93 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Perhaps the icon of macho movie stars, and a living legend, Clint Eastwood has become a standard in international cinema. Born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, the elder of two children in a middle-class family, Eastwood stayed in high school until the comparatively late age of nineteen and worked menial jobs over a period of several years before enrolling at Los Angeles City College, from which he dropped out after two semesters to pursue acting. He found uncredited bit parts in such nondescript B-films as Revenge of the Creature (1955) and Tarantula (1955) during the mid-'50s while simultaneously digging swimming pools for a living, until he got his first breakthrough in the long-running TV series Rawhide (1959) with Eric Fleming . Though only a secondary player in the early seasons, Clint made the show his own by end of its run and became a recognizable face to television viewers around the country.
Eastwood found much bigger and better things in Italy with the excellent spaghetti westerns A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965). But it was the third installment in the trilogy where he found one of his signature roles: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). The movie was a big hit and he became an instant international star. Clint's first American-made western, Hang 'Em High (1968), was yet again a success, and he followed it up with another starring role in Coogan's Bluff (1968) (the loose inspiration to the TV series McCloud (1970)) before playing second fiddle to Richard Burton in the World War II epic Where Eagles Dare (1968) and Lee Marvin in the bizarre musical Paint Your Wagon (1969). In Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) and Kelly's Heroes (1970), Eastwood went in an experimental direction by combining tough-guy action with offbeat humor.
1971 proved to be one of his best years in film, if not the best. He starred in The Beguiled (1971) and the classic thriller Play Misty for Me (1971), but it was his role as 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 did a fairly consistent quality of work thereafter with the road movies Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) and The Gauntlet (1977), the Dirty Harry sequels Magnum Force (1973) and The Enforcer (1976), the westerns Joe Kidd (1972), High Plains Drifter (1973) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) (his first of six onscreen collaborations with then live-in love Sondra Locke ), and the fact-based thriller Escape from Alcatraz (1979). In 1978 he branched out into the comedy genre in Every Which Way But Loose (1978), which became the biggest hit of his career up to that time; taking inflation into account, it still is. In short, notwithstanding The Eiger Sanction (1975), the '70s were an uninterrupted continuation of success.
Eastwood kicked off the '80s with Any Which Way You Can (1980), the blockbuster sequel to Every Which Way But Loose. The fourth Dirty Harry film, Sudden Impact (1983), was the highest-grossing film of the franchise and spawned the character's trademark catchphrase, "Make my day". Clint also starred in Bronco Billy (1980), Firefox (1982), Tightrope (1984), City Heat (1984), Pale Rider (1985) and Heartbreak Ridge (1986), all of which were solid hits, with Honkytonk Man (1982) being his only commercial failure of the period. In 1988 he did his fifth and final Dirty Harry movie, The Dead Pool (1988). Although it was a success overall, it did not have the box office punch the previous films had. About this time, with outright bombs like Pink Cadillac (1989) and The Rookie (1990), it became apparent that Eastwood's star was declining as it never had before. He then started taking on more personal projects, such as directing Bird (1988), a biopic of Charlie Parker , and starring in and directing White Hunter Black Heart (1990), an uneven, loose biopic of John Huston .
Eastwood bounced back in a big way with his western Unforgiven (1992), which garnered the then 62-year-old his first ever Academy Award nomination (Best Actor) and win for Best Director. Following up with a quick hit, he took on the secret service in In the Line of Fire (1993), then accepted second billing to Kevin Costner in the interesting but poorly received drama A Perfect World (1993). Next up was a love story, The Bridges of Madison County (1995), where Clint surprised audiences with a sensitive performance, but it soon became apparent he was going backwards after his brief revival. Subsequent films were credible, but nothing really stuck out. Among them were the moderately well-received Absolute Power (1997) and Space Cowboys (2000) as well as the badly received True Crime (1999) and Blood Work (2002). But Eastwood surprised yet again, returning to the top of the A-list with the hugely successful boxing drama Million Dollar Baby (2004). The movie earned him an Oscar for Best Director and a Best Actor nomination for the second time. Behind the camera, he had big successes directing the multi-award-winners Mystic River (2003), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) and Changeling (2008) which starred Angelina Jolie . His next starring vehicle, Gran Torino (2008), earned $30 million in its opening weekend, proving his box office appeal has not waned.
Eastwood has managed to keep his extremely convoluted personal life top secret and never discusses his families with the media. He had a long time relationship with frequent co-star Locke and has at least eight children by at least six other women, although he has only been married twice. Clint Eastwood lives in Los Angeles and owns homes in Monterey, Northern California, Idaho and Hawaii.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Scott- msa0510@mail.ecu.edu
Spouse (2)
( 19 December  1953            - 19 November  1984) (divorced) (2 children)
Trade Mark (14)
During the credits at the end of his movies, the camera will move around the location it was filmed in, after which there will be freezeframe for the rest of the credits.
Frequently uses shadow lightning in his films
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."
The lead characters in his movie are often outsiders with a dark past they prefer not to remember
Narrow eyes and towering height
Unmistakable authoratative rasping (sometimes hissing) voice
Often breaks unexpectedly into a warm smile
Deadpan delivery of one-liners
Many of his films show at least one variation of sexual assault
His films are often period pieces with a strong attention to detail
His scowl
Often plays characters who are consumed by regrets over past mistakes and are given one chance to redeem themselves
Recurring pattern of his characters is having an unloaded gun or one that misfires.
His films often feature misguided but well meaning younger characters who are mentored by older characters
Trivia (211)
Lived with Sondra Locke from 1975 to 1989.
Owns the Mission Ranch hotel & restaurant in Carmel, Calif., the exclusive Tehama golf club in Carmel Valley, and is partial owner of the Pebble Beach Golf Country Club in nearby Monterey Peninsula.
Received an honorary Cesar award in Paris, France for his body of work. [February 1998]
Ranked #2 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Gained popularity with his first three major films, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) (which weren't released in America until 1967/68). Soon afterwards Jolly Films (which produced A Fistful of Dollars (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.
He wore the same poncho, without ever having washed it, in all three of his "Man with No Name" Westerns.
Elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It has often been claimed that Eastwood ran for office as a Republican. In fact, although he was registered as a Republican in California, the position of mayor is non-partisan. [April 1986]
Was apparently such an organized director that he finished Absolute Power (1997) days ahead of schedule.
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."
Lifeguard and projectionist of training films for the U.S. Army from 1951-1952, stationed at Fort Ord in California. According to former high school buddy Don Loomis in "Clint: The Life and Legend" by Patrick McGilligan , page 49, Eastwood avoided being sent to combat in Korea by romancing one of the daughters of a Fort Ord officer, who might have been entreated to watch out for him when names came up for postings.
Has eight children by six different women: Kimber Eastwood (b. June 17, 1964) with Roxanne Tunis ; Kyle Eastwood (b. May 19, 1968) and Alison Eastwood (b. May 22, 1972) with Maggie Johnson; Scott Eastwood (b. March 21, 1986) and Kathryn Eastwood (b. February 2, 1988) with Jacelyn Reeves; Francesca Eastwood (b. August 7, 1993) with Frances Fisher ; Morgan Eastwood (b. December 12, 1996) with Dina Eastwood ; and another child with another woman whose identities are not confirmed. Only Kyle, Alison, Francesca and Morgan are mentioned in Clint's October 2003 episode of Biography (1987).
It's interesting, given his penchant towards violence, 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).
Until his pride was displaced by discovery of a larger version of same tree in 2002, Eastwood used to be proud owner of tree believed to be the nation's largest known hardwood - a bluegum eucalyptus.
Sworn in as parks commissioner for state of California at Big Basin Redwood Park, Santa Cruz, Ca., 8 June 2002. Holding up his new commissioner's badge, he told the crowd, "You're all under arrest".
2000 recipient of John F. Kennedy Center Honors.
Received the Career Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. [August 2000]
Of English, Scottish, Irish, and smaller amounts of German, Dutch, and Welsh, ancestry.
His character's voice was provided by Enrico Maria Salerno in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). In 1967, Eastwood dubbed his dialogue in English for the trilogy's American release.
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.
His production company is Malpaso Productions, which he formed in 1968. The company's first feature release was Hang 'Em High (1968).
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.
When Don Siegel fell ill during production of Dirty Harry (1971), Eastwood stepped in as director during the attempted-suicide/jumper sequence.
Current wife Dina Ruiz ( Dina Eastwood ) is a former local television news anchor/reporter from Salinas, Ca. They met when she was assigned to interview him for KSBW-TV in spring 1993. She admitted that she had seen zero of his movies.
35 years older than wife Dina Eastwood . Dina's parents were 19 and 21 when she was born. This makes Clint 16 years older than his mother-in-law, and 14 years older than his father-in-law.
Brother-in-law of Dominic V. Ruiz and Jade Marx-Berti .
Came close to divorcing first wife Maggie Johnson in the mid-1960s due to having fathered a child (though not necessarily his first) in an affair with Roxanne Tunis . They separated, but within a matter of weeks, Johnson became very ill with hepatitis. After she recovered, Eastwood agreed to a reconciliation, and almost 15 years after they married, their first child together was born. It was agreed upon that Johnson would turn a blind eye to the other family, but in 1972 Eastwood had the scare of his life when Johnson and Tunis accidentally met. Eastwood was directing Breezy (1973) and Tunis was on the set when Johnson showed up unexpectedly. A crew member calmly introduced the two women while Eastwood ran and hid.
Eastwood's children from liaisons with Jacelyn Reeves, now known as Scott Eastwood and Kathryn Eastwood , were born with their mother's last name and have been left out of nearly all publications and documentaries about Eastwood until recently. No father is listed on either of their birth certificates.
He has always disliked the reading of political and social agendas in his films, which has occurred from Dirty Harry (1971) to Million Dollar Baby (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 Million Dollar Baby (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 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) he 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.
Stacy McLaughlin filed a $100,000 lawsuit against Eastwood in May 1989 for "knowingly, intentionally and deliberately" ramming her Nissan Maxima with his quarter-ton pickup at the Burbank Studios on Dec. 16, 1988, when she mistakenly parked in his parking space while dropping off a tape at his Malpaso Productions office. Eastwood, who contended he was only trying to park his vehicle in its rightful space, paid $960 to repair the headlights and bumper of McLaughlin's car. She sought the additional money as punitive damages, claiming malice on Eastwood's part. The case went to court in July 1991, but a judge refused to grant the damages.
At age 74, he became the oldest person to win the Best Director Oscar for Million Dollar Baby (2004).
He directed 11 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 , Bradley Cooper , and himself (in Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (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 Million Dollar Baby (2004)) in 2005.
Received an honorary Doctorate from Wesleyan University in Connecticut (2000). Wesleyan is also home to his personal archives.
Every year the PGA tour comes to Pebble Beach, California, to host a celebrity golf tournament where celebrities team up with the professionals. Clint participated in this every year from 1962-2002 and is the longest running participant. He now serves as Host.
In early 2005 he announced that he would supply the voice for a "Dirty Harry" video game.
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).
Some of his favorite actors are Gary Cooper , Humphrey Bogart , Robert Mitchum and James Stewart .
Opened the Hog's Breath Inn with co-founders Paul E. Lippman and Walter Becker in 1972. According to Lippman, "I had to terminate three pretty good waitresses in the first few months of operation; not because they went to bed with Clint Eastwood, but because they either talked about it all over the premises, or came in the next day acting like they owned the place." The restaurant closed in 1999 and then re-opened under new management.
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 jury at the Cannes Film Festival. [1994]
Claimed that the trait he most despised in others was racism.
The boots that he wore in Unforgiven (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.
Made six movies with former partner Sondra Locke : The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), The Gauntlet (1977), Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Bronco Billy (1980), Any Which Way You Can (1980) and Sudden Impact (1983).
As a director, he has always refused 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.
He was a contract player at Universal International in the mid-1950s. He and a younger 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.
At the 2005 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 Charlton Heston , for 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.
Took acting class from Michael Chekhov in Hollywood.
In 1972 Eastwood attended President Richard Nixon 's landslide victory celebration in Los Angeles, along with John Wayne , Charlton Heston and Glenn Ford .
Was appointed to serve on the National Council of the Arts by President Nixon in 1972.
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.
Eastwood declined an offer from President George Bush to campaign for him in the 1992 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".
His performance as Blondie in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (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.
Ended his longstanding friendship with onetime neighbor William R. Thompkins in 1964.
He claims that he wound up getting the role in Sergio Leone 's A Fistful of Dollars (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 Any Given Sunday (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 "Fistful" mannerisms was imitated in Canada, by the Tim Horton's restaurant chain, to promote the 2005 Southwest chicken sub.
Claims to have been an early choice for the title role in Superman (1978). "I was like, 'Superman? Nah, nah, that's not for me.' Not that there's anything wrong with it. It's for somebody, but not me," he said.
Whenever asked if he would do a Dirty Harry 6, he often joked that he can imagine Dirty Harry now long retired, and fly-fishing with his .44 magnum.
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 is "Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur", a high French distinction that has been conferred on him by President Jacques Chirac on February 17, 2007, as a tribute to his career as an actor and a filmmaker.
Voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California in 2003 and 2006.
In 1969 he attended a celebration of John Wayne 's 40-year career at Paramount Pictures, along with Lee Marvin , Rock Hudson , Fred MacMurray , James Stewart , Ernest Borgnine , Michael Caine and Laurence Harvey .
Semi-fluent in Italian.
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 58 in The Dead Pool (1988), which was only a year older than 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. [May 2007]
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 Gov. 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. [December 2006]
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 said of Eastwood that he was the only person to be a star in the '70s, '80s and '90s. By "star" Goldman means Variety's list of top ten actors of the decade.
Former longtime companion Sondra Locke blasted Eastwood in her autobiography "The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey" (1997), describing him as "a monster who thought nothing of destroying anything inconvenient to him" and even likening Clint to O.J. Simpson . Locke reiterated earlier publicized claims that Eastwood had manipulated her into having two abortions and a tubal ligation in the 1970s and sabotaged her directorial career after the couple's 1989 split, but also made new allegations that he sired two children by another woman in the last three years of their relationship (which mainstream media refused to report, despite the fact that the kids' names and exact birthdates were revealed in the book). Sondra wrote that she learned of this "double life" from an investigative journalist who phoned her during depositions in the palimony case with the shocking revelation that Clint had a secret family in Carmel living in a house under his business manager's name--a fact confirmed when she filed a motion to discover and Eastwood's will was called in for evidence, with the document showing one Jacelyn Reeves, her legally fatherless son and daughter listed as beneficiaries.
Sondra Locke filed a palimony lawsuit against Eastwood in April 1989, after he changed the locks on their Bel-Air home and moved her possessions into storage while she was at work directing Impulse (1990). Diagnosed with breast cancer in the midst of the hearings, Locke met privately with him and dropped the suit in November 1990 in exchange for a settlement that included financial payments, title to a house in West Hollywood that he had been leasing to her estranged husband Gordon Anderson , and a multi-year contract with Warner Bros. to direct films. In June 1995 she sued Eastwood again, for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty once she became convinced - after having more than 30 separate projects rejected by the studio - that the deal was a sham and that she was employed only on paper. Having unearthed a bookkeeping printout to corroborate this assertion, Locke alleged the checks she received from Warner actually came from money Eastwood had laundered out of the budget for Unforgiven (1992) and written off as production costs. The case went to trial in September 1996, with ten of the 12 jurors believed to be solidly in Locke's corner, with the only real issue being how much money ultimately would be awarded. Eastwood's lawyers suggested a settlement, and on the morning in which jurors were set to begin a second day of deliberation, Locke announced her decision to drop her suit against him in return for an unspecified monetary reward. A separate lawsuit against Warner Brothers was settled out of court in May 1999, ending the decade-long legal saga.
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 Unforgiven (1992), but is right handed, as seen when he wears or handles one pistol.
He and Burt Reynolds had major influences on each other's 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 who sent Clint a copy of "The Outlaw Josey Wales", later made into a film by Eastwood ( The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)). Years later, Reynolds told him about "this great novel" called "The Bridges of Madison County", and some time later it was shot by Eastwood ( The Bridges of Madison County (1995)).
Served as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, for one term for the nominal salary of $300.
Turned down the role of Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979) because he found the story "too dark." The role went to Martin Sheen , whose son Charlie went on to co-star with Clint in The Rookie (1990).
Was offered the chance to play James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973), but turned it down because he felt the character should be played by an English actor. Roger Moore was then cast and went on to play Bond six more times.
Has a younger sister named Jeanne Bernhardt (b. 1934) and two nieces, Anna (b. 1958) and Celia (b. 1961).
Owns a hillside mansion in Sun Valley, Idaho and a beachfront estate in Maui.
Notable women Eastwood has reportedly been romantically linked with include actresses Inger Stevens , Jean Seberg , Jo Ann Harris , Jamie Rose , Rebecca Perle , Catherine Deneuve , Susan Saint James and Jill Banner , singer Keely Smith , competitive swimmer Anita Lhoest , restaurant critic Gael Greene , wildlife activist Jane Brolin, columnist Bridget Byrne, story analyst Megan Rose, French model Cathy Reghin and former Carmel mayor Jean Grace.
Practices transcendental meditation twice a day, and said in 2013 that he has been meditating for the past 40 years.
Dislikes hunting, saying that he doesn't enjoy killing an animal for no reason.
Father was Clinton Eastwood Sr. (1906-1970), an executive at Georgia Pacific LLC, a pulp and paper manufacturing company. Stepfather, after his widowed mother remarried in 1972, was John Belden Wood (1913-2004), a lumber executive.
Considered for the role of Rambo in First Blood (1982) long before Sylvester Stallone was hired.
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 Productions, had a curious origin. When Italian director Sergio Leone approached Eastwood about appearing in what would become the "Spaghetti Western" trilogy-- A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)--Eastwood was eager to take it but was advised against it by his agent, suggesting it would be a "bad move" (mal paso). Against all advice, 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 adopted "Malpaso" as his production company name.
Sergio Leone asked him and his The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) co-stars Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef to appear in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). The idea was reportedly scrapped due to scheduling conflicts with other films, although some rumors state they declined when they heard that their characters were going to be killed off by Charles Bronson 's character in the first five minutes. Leone filmed the scene instead with character actors Woody Strode , Jack Elam and Al Mulock .
Eastwood's parents settled in Piedmont, California, where he attended Piedmont Jr. High School, then Piedmont High School from January 1945 to January 1946. Later, Eastwood enrolled at Oakland Technical High School; he was held back due to poor academic scores and was scheduled to graduate in January 1949 as a midyear graduate, although it is not clear if he ever did.
Served as President of the Cannes Jury when Pulp Fiction (1994) won but the film was not his personal choice: "On the jury here when 'Pulp Fiction' won, somebody said, 'Oh, Clint Eastwood was on the jury, so he voted for the American film.' But my sensibilities are European, here is where my success started. Actually, 'Zhang Yimou''s To Live (1994) was my favorite piece, but most of the European jurors seemed to like 'Pulp Fiction'.".
Five of his movies were nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies: Dirty Harry (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Unforgiven (1992), Mystic River (2003) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). "Unforgiven" made the list at #68, 30 places up from its original rank at #98.
Turned down the role of K in Men in Black (1997).
Paul Haggis , who wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby (2004), offered Eastwood the role of Hank Deerfiled in In the Valley of Elah (2007). Eastwood turned it down and recommended Tommy Lee Jones , who went on to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance.
He was going to play the villain Two-Face on the Batman (1966) TV series, but the show was canceled before the episode began shooting. He later expressed interest for the same role in Batman Forever (1995).
Although he has been associated with violence throughout his career, he personally detests it and has carefully shown the horrific consequences of violence in films such as Unforgiven (1992), A Perfect World (1993), Absolute Power (1997), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Gran Torino (2008).
According to Robert Daley , the head of Warner Bros. when Eastwood made 15 pictures there, none of those films ever included preview screenings because Clint "doesn't believe in the preview process".
He and Warren Beatty are the only actor-directors to earn Best Actor and Best Director Oscar nominations for the same film two times.
His signature character, "The Man With No Name", is portrayed by Timothy Olyphant as "The Spirit of the West" in Rango (2011).
A former logger, steel furnace stoker and gas station attendant before becoming an actor.
Directed two films concurrently in 1973; High Plains Drifter (1973) and Breezy (1973).
Cinematographer Bruce Surtees and actor Geoffrey Lewis are regulars in Eastwood films (he's directed).
Father-in-law of Stacy Poitras .
In Cape Town, South Africa, filming Invictus (2009). [March 2009]
Attending Cannes premiere of latest film Changeling (2008), a period thriller set in the 1920s. [May 2008]
The character Shane Gooseman ("Goose" for short) from the animated space opera The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (1986) was based on him and his screen persona.
A guest speaker at the 2012 Republican National Convention, Eastwood spent much of his speech time on a largely improvised routine addressing an empty chair representing President Barack Obama . It generated many responses and a lot of discussion. Ex-girlfriend Frances Fisher wrote a condemning post on Facebook and suggested Eastwood's appearance was a publicity stunt to get more tickets sold for his new movie Trouble with the Curve (2012), adding "I've seen this act before. And I didn't buy it. Crazy like a fox. I saw the same act sitting with therapists, mediators and lawyers. [...] Even though I am certainly not a Republican, I felt bad for the people who thought this was a good idea." Several commentators including Bill Maher sidetracked to point out the hypocrisy of Eastwood's mere presence at the gathering, since the star's turbulent personal history was the antithesis of the "family values" advocated by Presidential nominee Mitt Romney on the same stage that evening.
Has played the same character in more than one film three times: The Man with No Name in the Leone trilogy, Philo Beddoe in the Any Which Way movies and Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry franchise.
He appeared in and directed two Best Picture Academy Award winners: Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). Morgan Freeman also appeared in both films.
Had planned to star in Die Hard (1988) and originally owned the rights to the novel "Nothing Lasts Forever" on which the film is based, but opted to make The Dead Pool (1988) instead.
Ranked #19 in Forbes magazine's list of the world's 40 best-paid entertainers, with estimated earnings of $44 million in 1995 and 1996. [September 1996]
Along with Orson Welles , Laurence Olivier , Woody Allen , Warren Beatty , Kenneth Branagh and Roberto Benigni , he is one of only seven men to receive Academy Award nominations for both Best Actor and Best Director for the same film: Welles for Citizen Kane (1941), Olivier for Hamlet (1948), Allen for Annie Hall (1977), Beatty for both Heaven Can Wait (1978) and Reds (1981), Branagh for Henry V (1989), Eastwood for Unforgiven (1992) and Benigni for Life Is Beautiful (1997).
Ex-significant other Sondra Locke was legally married to gay sculptor Gordon Anderson the entire time she and Eastwood were living together, and to this day they are still married in name. While house hunting with Locke in the late '70s, Eastwood introduced himself as "Mr. Anderson," even when he happened to be wearing a Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) T-shirt. Locke recalled that the sales agents could barely keep a straight face and always looked at their feet when addressing him as such.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945- 1985". Pages 294-302. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
Early in his career he appeared in a "B" western, Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958), in which he was billed third and leading lady Margia Dean was billed second. Years later, after Eastwood had become a superstar actor and director, Dean ran into him at a social function and teased him, "Just remember, I got top billing over you".
Discovered by director Arthur Lubin during filming of Francis Joins the WACS (1954) on location in Marina, Ca.
Has a grandson born in February 1984 named Clinton Eastwood Gaddie through his illegitimate daughter Kimber Tunis ( Kimber Eastwood ). Clint and Roxanne Tunis are great-grandparents via Kimber's son.
Clint and former spouse Maggie Johnson were estranged for nine years and legally separated for six before she filed for divorce in May 1984 (it was finalized that November). She had finally decided to make the split official so she could marry Henry Wynberg , a used car salesman who had once squired Elizabeth Taylor . The Johnson-Wynberg union ended in 1989 after four years, and in 1992 Wynberg married a 19-year-old Costa Rican woman.
Had a falling out with longtime associate Fritz Manes during the filming of Heartbreak Ridge (1986).
At one time, was dating Barbra Streisand .
Landed his breakthrough role in A Fistful of Dollars (1964) after Charles Bronson , Rory Calhoun , James Coburn , Henry Fonda , Ty Hardin , Steve Reeves , Tony Russel and Henry Silva all turned it down.
Wanted to direct Angels & Demons (2009), but didn't get the chance because Ron Howard was contractually obligated to direct it because of his contract from The Da Vinci Code (2006).
Once said that his wide hips were his only physical flaw, except for the chipped tooth he eventually had fixed.
Hired a private detective in the early 1980s when his company, Malpaso Productions, began to receive a series of strange, threatening letters addressed to him mailed from various California locations by someone who seemed to have inside knowledge of his life. The trouble was, the detective had an extremely long list of possible Clint enemies and ex-girlfriends but no real clues as to who might be the culprit. After a while suspicion focused on Jane Brolin, an off-and-on paramour of Eastwood's then married to actor James Brolin . Eastwood scoffed at the idea it was her and thought it might be an actress friend of ex-mistress Roxanne Tunis , seeking some kind of revenge on him. One night he drove around the Hollywood Hills with Fritz Manes , trying to find the assumed woman's address. He tried to convince Manes that they should burgle her place, and see if the lady's typewriter matched up with the letters. Manes said no, and the vile letters eventually waxed and waned.
In an interview with the London Times, Eastwood confessed that he had gained unwanted attention from a 23-year-old schoolteacher when he was 19 and that she stalked him and threatened to kill herself after a one-night stand.
Wanted to play Charles A. Lindbergh in The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and penned a letter to director Billy Wilder in October 1954 requesting to meet in person to discuss his potential eligibility for the role. At the time, Eastwood had just done his first screen test for Universal Pictures but had yet to make his acting debut. The role ultimately went to an established star, James Stewart .
Former agent is Leonard Hirshan .
On Christmas morning 2001, his daughter Francesca Eastwood and her mother Frances Fisher narrowly escaped a fire that engulfed their rented house in North Vancouver, Canada. Francesca leaped 15 feet from a second-story window into the arms of her mother and a neighbor, and was treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation. Frances was also treated for burns on her hands. Clint flew up to visit them in the hospital and personally thanked his daughter's rescuers.
One of several celebrity endorsers of David Lynch 's Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace.
On a return air trip from a prearranged tryst in Seattle in September 1951, a two-seated plane on which he was aboard ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Point Reyes. Eastwood and the pilot swam to shore - a distance some estimated at three miles, but Eastwood has said that he is not sure it was actually that long.
Admitted to voting 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.
Had a long-held obsession with New York Times film critic Pauline Kael because she never liked his work. After her review of The Enforcer (1976), Clint asked a psychiatrist to do an analysis of Kael from her reviews of his past work, which he had memorized verbatim. It concluded that Kael was actually physically attracted to Clint and because she couldn't have him she hated him. Therefore, it was some sort of vengeance, according to Clint.
Was interested in the prospect of playing Hank Rearden in a cinematic adaptation of "Atlas Shrugged" that was in development by Albert S. Ruddy in the early '70s.
A slow bloomer in almost every regard, Eastwood didn't leave high school until he was 19 (in an era where most students graduated at 16 or 17), got his first important film role at age 34, waited until he turned 38 to start a family, made his directorial debut at 41, and received his first Oscar nomination when he was nearly 63.
Accounts from inside the courtroom in the fraud case brought against him by Sondra Locke noted that Eastwood spoke in a barely audible tone on the witness stand and was unable to cross-reference. In one deposition he used the phrase "I have no records on that" 79 times.
Developed his movie voice by listening to audio recordings of Marilyn Monroe . He said he'd noticed Monroe's breathy whisper and he thought it was very sexy and since it had worked so well for her, he decided he'd "do" a male version of it himself.
One of his properties, the Rising River Ranch (located in Burney, CA) was formerly owned by the late Bing Crosby .
Used to be buddies with Robert Donner , George Fargo and Chill Wills .
Past cars have included Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and GMC Yukon XL. As of 2016 he is still driving at 86 years old and his vehicle of choice is an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria.
According to author Patrick McGilligan , in mid-1993 Eastwood was confronted with the claims of a woman in her late thirties, originally from Washington State, who had researched her adoption and ascertained that he was her biological father. After having his lawyers and business managers check her out, the story goes, Eastwood agreed to have dinner with the woman, who was married to a rich man and was happy to guard her anonymity - she just wanted to meet him - and promised to stay in touch. (It is worth noting that although McGilligan's book is touted as being meticulously researched, it does contain easily provable errors concerning important people in Eastwood's life, e.g. ex-partner Sondra Locke 's year of birth, son Kyle Eastwood 's marital status at a given time and the gender of Clint's only grandchild of record, Graylen Eastwood .) In a 2012 documentary that aired on French television, McGilligan stated on camera: "We don't know how many children Clint has had with how many women." A now-defunct website launched in 2006 by a man claiming to be Eastwood's cousin said he also has a son named Lesly, born 13 February 1959 to Rosina Mary Glen. Publicly, Eastwood has not addressed any of these claims or been asked to comment on them by the media.
Avid tennis player in the past.
Turned down The Bucket List (2007).
Doesn't use text messaging and prefers landline when he talks on the phone.
His first onscreen kiss was with Carol Channing in The First Traveling Saleslady (1956).
In addition to his multiple houses, he has a well-appointed apartment behind his studio office in Burbank. In Carmel, he used to keep an apartment on the third floor of a building two doors down from the Hog's Breath Inn.
Turned down the role of Archie Gates in Three Kings (1999) which went to 31-years-younger George Clooney .
Cited under the pseudonym Mr. Smith in "Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach" by Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw .
A July 1968 item by Dorothy Manners gives insight to Eastwood's rapid rise to stardom: "Clint Eastwood is on his way to earning $750,000 per picture while the proverbial man in the street is still asking, 'Who's Clint Eastwood?'. He's the hottest property sight unseen (almost) in Hollywood today.".
Has always been allergic to horses, which is why, in his westerns, he is rarely seen in close-up on horseback.
Ferris Webster was Eastwood's film editor for many years, working for him exclusively, but the two had a falling out during postproduction on Firefox (1982).
The only biographical book he's ever authorized is "Clint Eastwood: A Biography" (1996) by Richard Schickel , which contains extensive plot summary for each of Eastwood's movies but leaves his private life little documented by comparison.
Clint's first wife Maggie encouraged him to marry Frances Fisher , with whom she and her kids got along great. Fisher was aware of Roxanne and Kimber Tunis, but it was only after giving birth to Eastwood's child that she discovered - not through him - that he had yet another brood with Jacelyn Reeves. Hence it did not come as a surprise to anyone in the know when they didn't get married and split up rather abruptly. Frances later had a face-to-face encounter with Reeves at the funeral of one of Clint's golf buddies.
Has no middle name.
Without taking any acting jobs, he earned $17 million for the period of a year ending in 2010: $6 million apiece for directing Invictus (2009) and Hereafter (2010), $4 million in DVD royalties for Gran Torino (2008), plus $1 million in royalties from earlier projects.
Completely avoids soda and rarely drinks alcohol.
Personal physician Dr. Harry Demopoulos told Muscle & Fitness magazine in 1991 that Clint never eats fat, takes his antioxidants faithfully, works out like a demon and gets plenty of sleep, which is an area that is often neglected in a fitness program.
He started lifting weights at 19, when weight training and bodybuilding were relegated to back-alley sweatshops with black-iron plates.
Eastwood's image was untouched by personal scandal of any sort until late April 1989, when his girlfriend of 14 years, Sondra Locke , made it known to the world that she had undergone two abortions and a tubal ligation "at his specific request," she claimed. ("I had done the unthinkable. I had publicly exposed him," she commented in retrospect.) The breakup with Locke opened the floodgates to investigative journalism about Eastwood. In July 1989, the National Enquirer reported the existence of a love child he fathered in 1964, and in February 1990, the Star tabloid became the first publication to link Eastwood's name with Jacelyn Reeves--who, it turns out, was the mother of two of his unmentionable offspring. Reputable news outlets wouldn't touch this information for years after. When Locke's memoirs were published in 1997, she was shut out of most venues to promote the book. "Sadly, it was well suppressed by Clint and WB. [...] I was sad that it did not get the attention I feel it deserved," she said in 2013. "Clint: The Life and Legend," a deeply unflattering biography by film historian Patrick McGilligan , was published in Great Britain in 1999, but did not make its way to the United States until 2002, having bounced around publishers for three years amid rumored threats from Eastwood's attorneys. Los Angeles Times critic Allen Barra called it "perhaps the most thoroughly demythologizing book yet written on modern Hollywood." On Christmas Eve 2002, Eastwood's lawyer Marshall Grossman filed a $10 million libel suit against McGilligan and St. Martin's Press in San Jose, California. Strangely enough, out of all the sordid stories in the book, the libel claim only covered three points, according to news reports: (1) That Eastwood once punched his first wife Maggie Johnson in the face; (2) That Eastwood is an atheist; (3) That Eastwood used a romantic relationship with an officer's daughter in order to avoid being sent overseas during the Korean War. The suit was settled in 2004 without any public disclosure; McGilligan and the publisher admitted no wrongdoing and there was no penalty. A revised and updated version of "Clint" was published in 2015, with most of the original content intact. The three cited passages had been excised, and a few other modifications amounting to less than two pages were made. McGilligan says many of things he reported in the first edition are now taken for granted, and one of the reasons Eastwood sued him was an obvious attempt to find out his sources.
His net worth was estimated at $375 million prior to his 2014 divorce from Dina Eastwood . No terms of financial settlement were revealed in the divorce decree, so it's unclear where his personal fortune currently stands.
A bachelor again at age 84, he's been seen in the company of photographer Erica Tomlinson-Fisher and restaurant hostess Christina Sandera in recent times, and has reportedly bought homes for both women.
Had hair transplants in the mid-1980s. After the surgery when his head was wrapped in white bandages, he said he'd been in a bicycle accident.
Was asked for permission about his name being used for Marty ( Michael J. Fox ) in Back to the Future Part III (1990). He consented and was said to be tickled by the homage.
De-facto producer of Ratboy (1986) even though his name is nowhere to be found in the credits.
While promoting the reality series Mrs. Eastwood & Company (2012) on E!, Clint's then-wife Dina Eastwood told Chelsea Handler : "I hope we're still married when this is over!". Two weeks after the show premiered, Clint and Dina separated.
Known to be passive-aggressive in private life, communicating only by gesture, inference, and what isn't said or done.
Went to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2013 and 2015.
After meeting Sondra Locke at a luncheon in 1994, feminist activist Gloria Steinem said she would orchestrate a nationwide campaign to ban Clint Eastwood films.
Although Clint implies that he grew up poor by frequently dropping references to the Great Depression, actually his family lived in a very wealthy part of town, had a swimming pool, belonged to the country club, and each parent drove their own car.
His mother Ruth Wood often brought her own bedsheets when she stayed overnight at Clint's. Sondra Locke said she never observed the two of them really "talking." Most odd was the day she and Clint arrived at Rising River Ranch and on the kitchen counter lay a few dollars and change with a note from Ruth: "We made a long-distance phone call. Have fun. Mom." Clint stuffed the money in his pocket and looked impressed that she'd paid.
With the exception his cameo as Silvana Mangano 's husband in the obscure Italian film The Witches (1967), Space Cowboys (2000) is the only time Eastwood has played a formally married man. His characters are usually single and meet their potential love interest during the course of the movie. Other times he's played divorcées ( Tightrope (1984), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), The Rookie (1990)), widowers ( Dirty Harry (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Gran Torino (2008), Trouble with the Curve (2012)) or men who are separated from their wives ( True Crime (1999)) but never actually married.
Biographer Patrick McGilligan recounted that "the people who know Clint best suspect there are other families in his closet" in addition to his verified children, editorializing "If Kimber Tunis was kept secret for twenty-five years, and the Washington woman for forty, might there not be others?".
Left-handed.
To date, 24 of the 46 films Eastwood has starred in depict violence against women. He's made 16 films in which a female character is killed, 12 films depicting rape or attempted rape, and 11 films showing a female character battered.
According to the unpublished manuscript "Take Ten" by Ria Brown, Anita Lhoest at one point became pregnant with Clint's child, but went ahead and had an abortion.
Of his 8 or more children, the only one who lived with him growing up is daughter Morgan Eastwood , born when Clint was 66.
An impersonation Twitter account was suspended. [November 2016]
Personal Quotes (185)
[on Sondra Locke ] She plays the victim very well. Unfortunately she had cancer and so she plays that card.
[to Eli Wallach prior to starting work on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)] 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 Million Dollar Baby (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 Million Dollar Baby (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 Million Dollar Baby (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 The Bridges of 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 A Fistful of Dollars (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 Yojimbo (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 (1971) 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 The Bridges of 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 Unforgiven (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 The Bridges of 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 Million Dollar Baby (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 Unforgiven (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 Letters from 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 Letters from 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 , 'René 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, Million Dollar Baby (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 [ A Fistful of Dollars (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 mailroom.
I like working with actors who don't have anything to prove.
[on Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958)] Probably the lousiest western ever made.
[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.
[on Gran Torino (2008)] 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.
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 It Happened One Night (1934).
[on Paint Your Wagon (1969)] It wasn't like Singin' in the Rain (1952), where it had a cohesive plot line. 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 [ Frank Sinatra ] wasn't worried.
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 Unforgiven (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 Million Dollar Baby (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] 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 Million Dollar Baby (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.
[in 2002, on Michael Cimino ] 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 with the public. If it had, it would 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, king of the world". But if you say 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 bum may be wrong, but the guy calling you brilliant may be wrong, too. Michael needs to make an 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.
I would never have been able to pass the Bill Clinton - Gary Hart test. No one short of Mother Teresa could pass.
[on directing Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover ] He could make a lot of money making mechanical genre pictures but he wants to be challenged. And it's much more of a challenge to play someone who doesn't have the slightest thing in common with you.
[on Bruce Surtees ] He was fearless. He wasn't afraid to give you sketchy lighting if you asked for it. He didn't believe in flat light or just bright, 'Rexall drugstore' lighting, which a lot of times you can get if you get somebody that isn't very imaginative. He was perfect for me, because we didn't have very big budgets in those days. He'd made dollies by towing a blanket across the floor with the cameraman sitting on it.
I don't believe in pessimism. If something doesn't come out the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it's going to rain, it will.
[on surviving a plane crash in the early 1950s] They had one plane, a Douglas AD, sort of a torpedo bomber of the World War II vintage, and I thought I'd hitch on that. Everything went wrong. Radios went out. Oxygen ran out. And finally we ran out of fuel up around Point Reyes, California, and went in the ocean. So we went swimming. It was late October, November. Very cold water. I found out many years later that it was a white shark breeding ground, but I'm glad I didn't know that at the time or I'd have just died.
[on his planned remake of A Star Is Born (1937)] I talked about that for a while with Warner Brothers' people and we're still playing with that idea. But the problem at the beginning was they were more infatuated with just the idea of the casting. They were talking about having Beyoncé Knowles in it, and she was very popular, but she also is very active and it's hard to get a time scheduled, so we never could get that worked out. But I'm still playing with the idea.
I've done war movies because they're always loaded with drama and conflict. But as far as actual participation ... it's one of those things that should be done with a lot of thought, if it needs to be done. Self-protection is a very important thing for nations, but I just don't like to see it.
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.
The stronger the participation of the female characters, the better the movie. They knew that in the old days, when women stars were equally as important as men.
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 like the image of the piano player: the piano player sits down, plays, tells his story, and then gets up and leaves - letting the music speak for itself.
[after the Carmel city council refused his architectural plans for a downtown construction] They don't know who they're fuckin' with. I'll build that damn building the way I want it if I have to run the fucking city council to do it.
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 Steve Kroft , why he refuses to say how many children he has] Well, 'cause I - you - they're - there are other people that are involved there and they're vulnerable people. I can protect myself, but they can't.
[press statement in response to claims made by ex-significant other Sondra Locke , 4/27/89] I adamantly deny and deeply resent the accusation that either one of those abortions or the tubal ligation were done at my demand, request or even suggestion. As to the abortions, I told Locke that whether to have children or terminate her pregnancies was a decision entirely hers. Particularly with regard to the tubal ligation, I encouraged Locke to make her own decision after she had consulted with a physician about the appropriateness of and the necessity for that surgical procedure.
[about Patrick McGilligan 's unauthorized biography of him, 2002] I don't know if this is the same book that came out in England, but if it is, it's just very factually inaccurate. He has me involved with women I've never met and attending schools I've never gone to - and there was a photograph supposedly of me that wasn't me. The stories about my father weren't true. There were incidents described that never took place; I've never broken a window with a ball peen hammer in my life. If you can't even get the little stuff right, then how are you going to get the big stuff right? But I don't want to talk about it too much, because I hate even giving it credence. It's a very mean-spirited book. I don't care if you write something bad about me, as long as it's true. I'm not Mr. Evangelical Pure-as-the-snow. I just want the true (stories) out. They're fair game. But when they're made up, they're not fair game.
[on misrepresentation of his early work] My parts ranged from one-liners to four-liners, but to look at some of the billings in TV Guide these days, you'd think I co-starred in those films.
[on director Arthur Lubin ] We spent a lot of time together, traveled together. He liked me a lot; got me into the talent program at Universal, gave me a lot of breaks. Bought me some nice clothes, too. That's when people started wondering about us!
Every movie I make teaches me something. That's why I keep making them.
I tried being reasonable, I didn't like it.
[in 1975 on Sondra Locke ] I never knew I could love somebody so much, and feel so peaceful about it at the same time.
Alfred Hitchcock once told me, when I was analyzing a lot of things about his pictures, 'Clint, you must remember, it's only a movie.'
Crimes against children are the most heinous crime. That, for me, would be a reason for capital punishment because children are innocent and need the guidance of an adult society.
[answering David Letterman 's declarative question, "You have seven children?"] Uh, at least.
I was always respectful of people who were deeply religious because I always felt that if they gave themselves to it, then it had to be important to them. But if you can go through life without it, that's OK, too. It's whatever suits you.
[on home pornography] The ultimate turn-on.
My grandfather lived to be late 90s on one side and on the other side, 70s or something. And my father died young, at 63. But he didn't take very good care of himself.
I grew up with J. Edgar Hoover . He was the G-man, a hero to everybody, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation was the big, feared organization. He was ahead of his time as far as building up forensic evidence and fingerprinting. But he took down a lot of innocent people, too.
It's much more fun to play something you're nothing like than what you are... It's much easier to hide yourself in a character.
[characterizing his relationship with Roxanne Tunis ] It didn't mean anything; it was just an affair. I was young and . . . anyway she was a stand-in and extra on the show, and she was really crazy about me, and always hanging out in my dressing room.
Plagiarism is always the biggest thing in Hollywood.
I always thought of myself as a character actor. I never thought of myself as a leading man.
I love stories about women.
When I was a kid, I thought movies just came from air. I thought they just appeared.
Why am I a star? It can't be because of looks.
I kind of make a film for myself to sort of express myself.
[speaking in 2007 about troubled actress June Fairchild ] My heart sank when I heard of what had become of June. There are organizations that can help her but I'm sure she could also use a friendly face right now. I'd really like to meet her.
I've been through my womanizer part of my life. There was a point when it was an illness, just compulsive, but that's behind me now. I've never considered myself addicted to anything, but if I was, that was it.
Everybody has certain things they wish they hadn't done in life. They wish they hadn't kicked their dog when they were ten or something.
I like Italian movies. I was frequently there in the '60s, in Rome and the vicinity. It was a great period in life. I was very influenced by their stuff.
[January 1962] There has to be something for me beyond western roles, which rarely give you a full feeling of acting accomplishment. Have you ever heard of a western star being called an actor's actor? I'll bet not!
[April 2010] I planned on not working at this time in my life, but I am enjoying working more now than I ever have. I have been lucky enough to work in a profession I really like and I figure I will continue until somebody hits me over the head.
In the past I have been with women who wanted more from me than I was ever willing to give. I was probably not as attentive as I could have been. I can be selfish and some of the women didn't have a good idea of their self. They wanted me to mould them and I just can't do that.
I'm not good in big crowds. I prefer smaller, one-to-one nights out, which is why I've never been single. I like the company of women, but I do go for longer-term relationships than flings. The best things to come of all those relationships are my children.
I've waited all my life for a woman like Dina. She is bright, funny, independent. It's fate that I met her when I was in my sixties. I'd love to have been with her 20, 30 years ago and I would have settled down much sooner. I spent my twenties and thirties being angry, then my forties and fifties being disappointed. It's only in the last part of my life that I've learned to be happy.
[if he could give advice to his younger self] He was never a smart kid. I was a slow learner, so I'd say speed up the process a bit-and maybe practice a little more!
[December 2014] I just went through a period where my DNA was in demand for a while. I think that's all ended-but, you never know!
[on marriage] I haven't exactly been successful at it, but I made a couple of attempts. I've had moments of success interrupted by moments of satyr. Shelley Berman used to say that. I admire people who can accomplish and do it, but it's very difficult in today's society, because there are so many things pulling at people. People gain different interests as time goes by, so they decide that they want to try something else. You have to keep trying! You don't want to give up and be so cynical that, you say, 'Never!' But, maybe, at my stage in life, there's a silver act. Never say never.
Sergio Leone loved long stories and long pictures. To me, I don't mind a long picture if you've got a lot of story. But if you're just making a long movie to just show off more production value, I think you can edit some of that stuff down. That's where he and I would differ.
I am concerned about violence in films. In 1992, when I did Unforgiven (1992), which is a film that is very anti-violence and very anti-gun, I remember that Gene Hackman was concerned about it too. And we both discussed how much violence in films has escalated since Dirty Harry (1971) and other movies I made.
Films can go overboard on violence but the Dirty Harry films don't. We don't use slow motion violence for instance, or lingering blood squirts. Also, Harry Callahan is an honorable man and a hero to middle America. I'd question films like Taxi Driver (1976) where the hero is mentally ill.
As soon as I read that line in the script, "Go ahead make my day", I knew audiences would love it.
[on John Ford ] I remember seeing Stagecoach (1939) as a kid when it first came out. Ford had an influence on me subconsciously, and I watched it in a dark theatre with my knees up. Sometimes twice in a row. There's something about the way he approached the subject that broke down clichés of the era. I think he was always trying to make social statements in his movies, and with Stagecoach he used the western to do it efficiently.
Too many directors don't know what the hell they're doing. They'll do multiple takes on scenes and try out different angles and lighting. I don't like that. If you can't see it yourself straight away, you shouldn't be a director.
[on his dissatisfaction with his diminishing role in the "Dollars" trilogy] In the first, I was just about alone. Then there were two of us. And now are three of us. If it goes on like this I'm going to end up in a detachment of cavalry.
There's a bar I used to go to on Sunset Boulevard that was a straight bar that's now a gay bar. I think I went into it once some years later, and I looked around and said, 'Oh, yeah, it's a gay bar.' I still finished my beer.
[on Roxanne Tunis and Kimber Eastwood , as quoted in "The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly"] I give them a few thousand here and there, but I always give it in cash so they can't prove anything. Besides, Kimber is listed as a dependent on her stepfather's tax returns; she's not a dependent of mine. Legally, I'm not responsible.
Who's Barbara Walters ?
[asked by British interviewer Ginny Dougary why so many women had his babies] Well, sometimes -- ughh . . . arghh . . . I . . . I don't . . . ahh . . . know why it is that I'm any more of a sire than anyone else. Um . . . er . . . something to do with the genes, I guess.
When I used to be a contract player in 1954 at Universal, I wasn't getting good roles. I was getting one-liners, and then I'd be gone. But I'd hang around; I'd watch guys. And when I had days off, which was most days, I'd go down and watch other sets while they were shooting. Watch Joan Crawford or whomever. Just watch how they worked and how the director handled them. I didn't know anything about making movies, and there's a lot to learn.
Secretly everybody's getting tired of political correctness, kissing up. That's the kiss-ass generation we're in right now. We're really in a pussy generation. Everybody's walking on eggshells. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren't called racist. And then when I did Gran Torino (2008), even my associate said, "This is a really good script, but it's politically incorrect." And I said, "Good. Let me read it tonight." The next morning, I came in and I threw it on his desk and I said, "We're starting this immediately."
I don't know what I am. I'm a little of everything.
[on Barack Obama ] He doesn't go to work. He doesn't go down to Congress and make a deal. What the hell's he doing sitting in the White House? If I were in that job, I'd get down there and make a deal. Sure, Congress are lazy bastards, but so what? You're the top guy. You're the president of the company. It's your responsibility to make sure everybody does well. It's the same with every company in this country, whether it's a two-man company or a two-hundred-man company...
You're as young as you feel. As young as you want to be. There's an old saying I heard from a friend of mine. People ask him, "Why do you look so good at your age?" He'll say, "Because I never let the old man in." And there's truth to that. It's in your mind, how far you let him come in.
I don't have any great pickup lines. I was never an extrovert, so I always had to have someone meet me halfway. If she was interested, we'd come together, and if not ... When I became a movie actor and became well-known, it took care of itself. Maybe that's why I became an actor.
100 years from now and more, people will look back on this generation of films, and the guy who will standout more than anyone else will be Tom Cruise .
What's one great thing about a theater is it's got an exit.
One of the most important things in life is feeling good about yourself. And when you're in decent shape, when you like the way your body looks and feels and your energy levels are at their highest, it's a lot easier to feel good about yourself.
I am a junior, and all my younger life I was called Sonny or Junior, and I think a kid deserves his own name.
When I was growing up in the '30s and '40s, kids were a lot more active than they are today. We didn't have television, we certainly didn't have computers, so you came home from school and then went out to play with the other kids in your neighborhood. You didn't have to be a varsity athlete to get into a game of pickup basketball or football or to take a bat, ball and glove out to an empty lot for a game of flies-and-grounders.
[on taking nootropics] You can actually feel a difference and see a difference in yourself. I'm not necessarily interested in extending life. To me, what seems most intriguing is just keeping the quality of your life up as long as fate decrees that you'll be here on the planet.
[on the contemporary superhero craze in Hollywood] Thank God that I didn't have to do that. [...] I always liked characters that were more grounded in reality. Maybe they do super things or more-than-human things - like Dirty Harry, he has a knack for doing crazy things, or the western guys - but, still, they're not caped crusaders.
Follow what you think. You want to do something? Just do it the best you can. Not everyone makes something phenomenal, but at least you can fail on your own terms.
I was a bit of a screw-up, a loner.
I think women like to see other women put down when they're out of line. They have a dream of the guy who won't let them get away with anything. And the man in the audience is thinking, 'That's how I'd like to handle it--cool and assured, knowing all the answers.' He wants to be a superhero.
The important thing to remember about women is that they're a lot smarter than men and they don't play fair.
[asked on the red carpet at The Bridges of Madison County (1995) premiere if he thinks men become sexier with age] That's in the eyes of the beholder. I know nothing about how men become sexy because men aren't sexy to me, so I really don't know.
My appeal is in the characters I play. A superhuman type character who has all the answers, is double cool, exists on his own without society or the help of society's police forces. A guy sits in the audience. He's twenty-five years old and he's scared stiff about what he's going to do with his life. He wants to have that self-sufficient thing he sees up on the screen.
I'm just doing a job, I'm just in the entertainment business doing the kinds of films that appeal to me. You've got to keep that in perspective. Fame is fleeting.
I think I'm reasonably intelligent.
[in GQ magazine, October 2011] I don't give a fuck about who wants to get married to anybody else! Why not?! We're making a big deal out of things we shouldn't be making a deal out of ... Just give everybody the chance to have the life they want
I can get into the nostalgia thing sometimes, but to me the good old days are right now.
I am very well mannered, and that, believe it or not, stands me in very good stead.
Marriage is not just about 'love.' It's about 'like' as well.
The main thing is not how long you're on the planet, but the quality you have while you're here.
In some ways I know I didn't live up to my parents' hopes. It was a long time before I wanted to go to college--but in some ways I surpassed my parents' hopes.
I guess I'm just a bum and a drifter by nature. I don't think of myself as a "star." I don't have any image of myself.
Sometimes I think I disappoint people by not being more like the characters I play in the movies. But who wants to be those guys? The best kind of fan is the one who tells you he loved your film and then, boom, is off.
I'm in the entertainment business, NOT in the business of trying to shape social opinions.
My dad was always talking about retiring and sitting next to a stream with a couple of beers in his hand. Sounds like a commercial - but it's not for me!
I'm not a person who pre-plans life.
[asked for the secret to a lasting marriage, 1971] We don't believe in togetherness. We've stayed together by staying apart.
For years I bummed around trying to get an acting job. They told me my voice was too soft, my teeth needed capping, I squinted -- all that tearing down of my ego. If I walked into a casting office now, a stranger, I'd get the same old crap. But now I'm Clint Eastwood .
[in the early 70s] I'm number one at the box office, but Hollywood considers me a bore.
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