The star Clint Eastwood called “the most prepared actress” he’s ever worked with
To be considered an icon in Hollywood, you usually need to be proficient in at least one outstanding skill. However, some artists can go the extra mile and become legendary in two. Alongside his prolific acting career, starring in many acclaimed westerns and thrillers, Clint Eastwood has also directed countless movies, making him one of the industry’s hardest-working filmmakers. Following his star-making turn in the Dollars Trilogy, he made his directorial debut in 1971 with Play Misty For Me.
The film marked the start of a long directing career, which subsequently included titles such as High Plains Drifter and Bronco Billy. Throughout the years, he’s continued to make a significant dent on the film industry with movies like Unforgiven, The Bridges of Madison County, Million Dollar Baby, Invictus and American Sniper. Often working in the crime and thriller genres, he made Changeling in 2008 with Angelina Jolie in the starring role.
Written by J Michael Straczynski, who also created Babylon 5 and Sense8, the film is perhaps one of Eastwood’s most emotional directorial outputs. The movie follows a woman who is reunited with her missing son, only to discover that he is not the same child. Despite her insistence that she has been given the wrong boy, she is quickly viewed as crazy and sent to a psychiatric hospital. Set in the late ‘20s, the film digs into themes not typically associated with Eastwood, whose movies are often set in rather macho worlds, with the director exploring how women during this time were often failed by authorities and not taken seriously.
It was during filming that he first worked with Jolie, who rose to prominence in the ‘90s because of performances in movies like Gia and Girl, Interrupted. Eastwood called Jolie via Pop Entertainment “the most prepared actress — or certainly as prepared — as any actress I’ve ever worked with,” praising her dedication to her performance.
Jolie’s position in the acting world is perhaps now more recognised for ther activism than her performances, but it is worth remembering how diligently she took on her roles. Firstly thought of as a sex symbol, with her role in Tomb Raider becoming a much-drooled over turn, Jolie would show the world she was far more than a pretty face, and she achieved it by never letting apathy get in the way, as Eastwood experience: “I didn’t know Angelina very well before doing this. I had met her on a few occasions, but I always thought of her as a very interesting actress, a very good actress,” he explained.
According to Eastwood, “A lot of people get on the cover of magazines and it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re talented, but in her case, she is really talented.” He recognised her talent in the way that she knew exactly what to do as soon as shooting began. “She came in with the material in her mind, with an attack on the character, was very amenable, and you could shoot almost immediately, which was something I like to do,” he said. “I like to catch somebody before they have a chance to think about it too much; like they haven’t spoken the words so many times that it’s flat”.
Eastwood believes that there is “a subliminal thing where you look in their eyes, and it’s the 10th or 20th time they’ve done it…you try for it in the early moments when they’re still reaching for it and still trying to figure it out, but she’s very amenable to that.” Jolie seemed to be an ideal actor for him to direct, and her performance certainly reflected this ease between the two; she was subsequently nominated for ‘Best Actress’ at the Academy Awards.
“And she does have the most striking face that one could imagine,” Eastwood concluded.
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