For the Love of Clint Eastwood

Written by Erich

Fri, 03/09/12 - 15:49

There are moments in every great actor’s life when fans and critics alike begin to presume that the actor is just playing him/herself.  Clint Eastwood’s career has gone down an interesting path not seen by many actors.  In his early career, Clint was known for his badass cowboy roles, creating characters with a minimalist style all his own.  With a deadly glare and a chomp on his Marsh Wheeling cigar he could instill comfort in his friends and fear in his foes all at the same time. 

These characters, such as Joe in “Fistful of Dollars”, were rugged and intimidating; calm and cool with a frighteningly tough attitude and a nasty side waiting to be unleashed.  For a good-looking man in his 30’s and early 40’s at the time – what some might consider your “prime” – macho roles in Westerns were an obvious fit.  The right actor would need to be old enough to be believable, but young enough to kick ass.  In 1971, Clint was able to parlay this style into the role of Detective Dirty Harry Calahan in a series of films for which he is probably still best known.  By that time, he was still only 41 years old and there were still lots of sequels and similar roles to come, such as his portrayal of Philo Beddoe in “Every Which Way But Loose.”

Although his role as the retired assassin in “The Eiger Sanction” was when he was 45 years old, he would be laying the ground work for a successful later career of old retired man roles.  Since his epic Oscar-winning film “The Unforgiven” in 1992, Clint has assumed the role of retired old man in almost every movie for which he starred: “In The Line Of Fire”, “Absolute Power”, “Space Cowboys”, and “Blood Work” to name a few.  This is no coincidence.  In fact, many of these films he also directed so I’m sure he also had a hand in casting.  For the last 20 years, or since he was 62 years old, Clint has played relics of his old characters.  Still tough as nails, but now with a grumpy, often tired seeming Nick Nolte quality.  While many actors retire or take on smaller roles in their later years (see Elizabeth Taylor), Clint has adapted his career to his age.  And considering most people are retired by the time they’re 82 years old, Clint Eastwood is still going strong.  His next role is as “An ailing baseball scout in his twilight years” – A role perfect for an aged actor.
***Catch 5 nights of Clint Eastwood double bills beginning March 12 on WarnerFilms

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