The controversially iconic role Clint Eastwood rejected: “This business isn’t about doing the thing that makes sense”
Careers don’t last seven decades if they end up being repeatedly dogged by controversy, with Clint Eastwood carving out a legendary filmography on either side of the camera while rarely finding his name dragged through the mud.
There have been several exceptions, however, because nobody to have been around for as long as Eastwood stands a chance of emerging completely unscathed. Spike Lee certainly had his issues with the filmmaker, which ended up becoming so heated that Steven Spielberg ended up stepping in to mediate.
The friends and relatives of journalist Kathy Scruggs accused him of “malicious fabrications” for the way she was depicted in the biographical drama Richard Jewell, while even one of the most iconic roles in his career came under heavy fire when Dirty Harry was accused of glorifying violence and celebrating police brutality thanks to the titular detective’s fondness for bending the rules to his own whims.
Having been inundated with offers to star in westerns following the release of Sergio Leone’s influential Dollar trilogy, Eastwood had only just started reinventing himself as a serious actor and aspiring filmmaker in the early 1970s when Dirty Harry saw him instead become inundated with offers to play revenge-fuelled antiheroes.
He wasn’t interested in repeating himself, though, especially when vigilantism entered the mix. The subject matter was always going to be a lightning rod for controversy, which also influenced Eastwood’s decision to reject the overtures being made by the studio, who were hoping they’d be able to sign him up for Michael Winner’s Death Wish.
Charles Bronson ultimately embodied the liberal-minded New York architect Paul Kersey, who takes to the streets to dish out his own brand of violent retribution after his wife is murdered and his daughter is attacked by a home intruder. Taking the law into his own hands, he quickly becomes a folk hero to the public, which came with its own set of adverse side effects.
With street crime on the rise, audiences saw Kersey as a figure they could live vicariously through, even if detractors were up in arms over a cinematic celebration of vigilantism that appeared to carry the message it was perfectly acceptable for everyday folks to decide which level of punishment was suitable for any given perpetrator.
Per the Los Angeles Times, when Eastwood knocked back the offer, he suggested Gregory Peck instead, explaining his reasons for turning down a surefire hit like Death Wish with a gruff, “Sometimes this business isn’t about doing the thing that makes sense.”
He already had Dirty Harry in his back pocket, a role he’d go on to play another four times. Bronson, meanwhile, would get four Death Wish sequels of his own. The characters weren’t completely dissimilar, but Eastwood did at least want to make sure he was operating on the right side of the law when kicking ass and taking names on the streets of an urban metropolis.
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