The actor Clint Eastwood called “terrific”
The western genre is quintessentially American, attracting viewers with its vast scenic shots of dusty landscapes and heroes riding on horseback. Westerns were particularly popular during the early days of cinema, remaining so for decades, even through the transition from silent cinema into sound. For Clint Eastwood, westerns were an entryway into his career, scoring him some of his earliest roles.
He gained further prominence when he appeared in Rawhide, a western television series that became highly popular. The actor starred in the series from 1958 to 1965, becoming a nationwide celebrity. Yet, everything changed for Eastwood when he was offered a chance to work with an Italian director who was fairly unknown at the time, especially in the United States. Sergio Leone’s classic western A Fistful of Dollars would end up giving Eastwood the boost he needed, with the film becoming incredibly successful.
Eastwood’s character, the Man With No Name, proved to be a compelling presence, an antihero type that the actor seemed to embody perfectly. He reprised the role in For A Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which helped to cement him as one of the western genre’s biggest names. Moreover, Leone’s films helped to transform westerns, taking a much more violent and considerably less romanticised American approach to the genre.
Since then, Eastwood has starred in many more films, including westerns, while also honing a successful career as a director. He made his directorial debut with Play Misty For Me before making movies like High Plains Drifter, Bronco Billy and Pale Rider. As his filmmaking career progressed, he expanded into more genres and worked with even bigger stars, winning two ‘Best Director’ Academy Awards (interestingly, he has never won any Oscars for acting).
Subsequently, his extensive and varied career has allowed him to work with countless actors, from Hollywood stars to up-and-coming talent. There is one actor who he particularly loves working with, calling him “terrific”: Morgan Freeman. The actor, known for his deep voice, starred in Eastwood’s Unforgiven in 1992, back when he had only recently broken into Hollywood. Since then, he’s starred in more movies directed by the western star, like Invictus and Million Dollar Baby, winning an Academy Award for the latter.
Reflecting on his working relationship with Freeman, Eastwood explained that the “terrific” actor was “built for the role” he played in Million Dollar Baby, calling his character, Scrap, “very important to the story.” He clearly admires the actor and respects his opinions. Freeman told RTE that he even “begged him to direct Invictus,” and the director obliged with his request.
In the same interview, Freeman noted that Eastwood “is an actor’s director.” The star added, “He doesn’t direct actors. He directs movies. He hires actors, and it’s your job. And I love that about him that you establish your own character; you play it and do what the scene calls for. [He’ll] have the scene set up. […] He never says action, and he never says cut. He’s his own person on a movie set. Wonderful.”
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