Clint Eastwood is probably the most iconic “macho man” in Hollywood. He is the epitome of the tough-guy persona, and the fans and critics love him. He was born in San Francisco to Clinton Eastwood, Sr. and Ruth Wood. The family moved around Northern California quiet often while Clint was growing up, until they finally moved to Oregon. In 1951, Clint moved to Seattle and got a job as a lifeguard and swim instructor for the military before he made his permanent move to California.
In 1955, Clint got several uncredited roles in B-movies and nearly gave up acting until he got a role in the popular TV series “Rawhide”. He played a supporting role for 6 years on the show, and soon was cast in the lead role of “The Man with No Name” in a low-budget film entitled “A Fistful of Dollars”. When that film turned out to be a hit, he was cast in the sequel “For a Few Dollars More”, and then “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. These films did not get released in the United States until 1968, as they were Italian-made films. In 1968, Clint was cast in yet another western film called “Hang ‘Em High”. The next year, he changed genres a bit and starred in a musical western called “Paint Your Wagon”. In 1970, he tried his hand at comedy and starred in “Kelly’s Heroes” and “Two Mules for Sister Sara”.
The early 1970s, specifically 1971, seemed to be the year of Eastwood. He starred in 3 major films that catapulted his career and made him a household name. His first film in ’71 was “The Beguiled”, where he played a wounded soldier who finds himself at an all-girls boarding school. His next film, which he directed, was “Play Misty for Me”, was a thriller about sexual obsession. His 3rd, and probably most famous, role was that of “Dirty Harry”, about a cop with an attitude. Even today, other films have used the famous line, “Do you feel lucky, punk”. Since 1971, Eastwood’s career has skyrocketed and he continued to make high-quality films. In 1974, he starred with Jeff Bridges in “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot”, then the “Dirty Harry” sequels, “Magnum Force” and “The Enforcer”. In 1973, he starred in other western films, “High Plains Drifter” and “The Outlaw Josey Wales”. In the late 1970s, Eastwood began making more action films, beginning with “The Gauntlet”, then a comedy/adventure with “Every Which Way But Loose” in 1978. In 1979, he went back to thrillers and starred in the factual thriller “Escape from Alcatraz”.
Eastwood began the 1980s with sequels to his most popular films, starting with “Any Which Way You Can”, the hit sequel to “Every Which Way but Loose”, and then, in 1983, he made the 4th sequel to his “Dirty Harry” films, called, “Sudden Impact”, which made the most money of all of the films in the series. His career was on fire with films like “Firefox”, “Tightrope”, “Pale Rider”, and “Heartbreak Ridge”, all of which were blockbuster hits and got fantastic reviews. His 5th, and final sequel to “Dirty Harry”, “The Dead Pool”, was not as big of a hit as expected, but it didn’t stop Clint from continuing with a monumentally successful career. He did, however, have a couple of bombs with “Pink Cadillac” and “The Rookie”, but it didn’t stop him from being one of the most popular actors in Hollywood.
Eastwood bounced back with huge hits like “Unforgiven”, which gave him his first Oscar nominations as Best Actor, and a win for Best Director and producer in the Best Picture category. Next, he took on the role of a secret service agent in “In the Line of Fire”, which turned out to be another major hit. “The Bridges of Madison County”, where he played opposite Meryl Streep, was a surprise hit and critics said it was his best performance to date. His next 2 films, “Absolute Power”, “Space Cowboys” turned out to be hits, as well. However, his next 2, “True Crime” and “Blood Work” did not do as well.
What some say is his finest film, one in which he directed, “Million Dollar Baby”, with Hillary Swank, received an Academy Award for Best Picture and gave Eastwood a second nomination for Best Actor and the Best Director win. It seemed his career was getting back on track, especially when “Gran Torino” was released in 2009, which made more than $30 million on its opening weekend. It also made Eastwood the oldest leading man to reach #1 at the box office.
As an edgy icon in films for 40 years, Eastwood has proven he is the longest-running film star in Hollywood. He now focuses mainly on directing, and continues to make hit films in “Mystic River”, “Flags of Our Fathers”, “Letters from Iwo Jima”, and “Changeling”, which starred Angelina Jolie.
Eastwood is rarely in the tabloids and keeps his private life private. He was in a 14 year relationship with Sondra Locke and has 7 children with 5 other women. Currently, he is married to Dia Eastwood. They have been married since 1996 and they have 1 child together.
There are dozens of western films like Clint Eastwood’s @ireel. When you get a membership at Ireel, you can instantly stream hundreds of films right on your computer or mobile device from www.ireel.com. Get your membership today.
. Bookmark the
.
Source:
http://www.ireelblog.com/ireel-com-clint-eastwood/