The one and only person allowed to shout at Clint Eastwood on set: “He was like a little boy”
Few actors or filmmakers in Hollywood, if any, command more respect than Clint Eastwood, which comes with the territory when the four-time Academy Award winner is one of the industry’s most pre-eminent icons. He may not rule his sets with an iron fist, but he’s always the man in charge.
One of the main reasons why the star works so quickly, efficiently, and economically is that he surrounds himself with a crew of trusted lieutenants, many of whom have worked with him for years, if not decades. That sense of familiarity ensures a tight ship, but they still defer to the living legend.
The same goes for his actors; so many performers have dreamed of working with Eastwood for so long that when he calls them up and offers a part, they’ll do whatever he wants, no questions asked. There are inevitably exceptions, though, with Kevin Costner one of the few on-camera talents bold enough to argue with the director, which didn’t end up going particularly well for him.
Regardless of whether or not there are any disagreements between two parties, with Judi Dench revealing her frustrations at the two-take approach that’s been standard practice on Eastwood’s sets since the 1970s, it takes a brave soul to get in the Dirty Harry and Unforgiven headliner’s face and chastise him. In fact, only one member of the Malpaso inner circle was bold enough to put him in his place.
1999’s True Crime won’t be remembered as one of his best, with Eastwood himself admitting that it’s hardly top-tier stuff, but it did open Denis Leary’s eyes to one of cinema’s most shocking sights. The actor, who played Bob Findley in the mystery thriller that tanked at the box office amid middling reviews, saw something he thought was impossible.
“There was a mirror on the set,” he recalled. “And he looked into the mirror, and he put his hand up as if he was going to touch his hair. From about 70 yards away, you could hear this woman scream, ‘Don’t touch your damn hair!’ And Clint just froze in place. And his hair woman, who has been his hair woman for years, ran over and said, ‘What’s wrong with you, touching your hair? Put your hands down.'”
It knocked Leary for a loop, but it did teach him something. “He was like a little boy,” he continued. “And I was like, ‘Wow, there’s somebody in the world who can yell at Clint Eastwood.'” Even the biggest names in the business can be put firmly in their place, and in the Dollars trilogy figurehead’s case, it’s the woman who does his hair.
The ‘hair woman’ in question is Carol A O’Connell, who was already a Malpaso veteran after serving as the key hair stylist on In the Line of Fire, A Perfect World, The Bridges of Madison County, Absolute Power, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and she’d continue to ensure Eastwood didn’t ruffle his doo on almost another dozen productions from Space Cowboys to American Sniper.
He might be one of the most respected figures in the game, but if Eastwood even thought about touching his hair when he’s not supposed to, O’Connell was there, ready to bring him back down to earth.
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