The Oscar-nominated movie Clint Eastwood didn’t want to direct: “Too much stress”
When Clint Eastwood rose to prominence as a western star in the 1960s, he ensured everyone was aware that a new cowboy was in town. The days of John Wayne and John Ford championing the genre were practically over, and instead, the grittier and more violent spaghetti westerns emerged, with Eastwood starring in the Dollars trilogy to significant acclaim.
With these Sergio Leone-directed movies, Eastwood became America’s ultimate symbol of masculinity—rugged and handsome, unafraid to be violent when necessary but also a lonesome hero, or rather, an anti-hero. However, the actor didn’t waste time beginning his career as a director, making his debut in 1971 with Play Misty For Me, a psychological thriller highlighting his filmmaking skills.
Thus, he became known as a director just as much as an iconic actor, consistently starring in movies he’d also helmed. While he still lent himself to other filmmakers, like Don Siegel for Dirty Harry, as his career continued, he dedicated himself more and more to his own projects.
Eastwood made some successful movies during the 1970s and 1980s, such as High Plains Drifter and Bird, but it wasn’t until 1992’s Unforgiven that he really cemented his place in Hollywood as a truly essential director, winning ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards. Starring himself alongside Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman, it was a huge hit both critically and commercially, grossing $159.2 million against a $14.4 million budget.
Following Unforgiven, Eastwood was asked to direct In the Line of Fire, which would go on to earn three Oscar nominations, including ‘Best Original Screenplay’ and ‘Best Supporting Actor’, but he turned it down. Instead, he chose to star in the movie without the pressure of having to direct it, with Wolfgang Petersen taking on the job. This is something he’d probably never do now; since his 1995 cameo in Casper, Eastwood has only starred in one movie he hasn’t had control over as a director, Trouble With the Curve.
However, in this instance, Eastwood realised that he needed some time to recover from the stress of Unforgiven, telling the Los Angeles Times, “Castle Rock approached me about doing In the Line of Fire. They wanted me to direct it and be in it. And I thought, ‘You know, right after Unforgiven, to just jump right into another picture, especially a picture where there’s quite a bit to do in it, I don’t know.’”
He added, “Working with Hackman, Freeman and [Richard] Harris on Unforgiven, I noticed they were having so much fun, just coming in and letting me have all the headache. So I figured, ‘Why don’t I have that much fun and let somebody else have the headache?’”
Thus, Eastwood took on the role of Secret Service Agent Frank Horrigan, appearing alongside the likes of John Malkovich and Rene Russo. In the meantime, he was able to focus on some other projects, like A Perfect World, which he directed and starred in opposite Kevin Costner. It seemed like the right decision; both films were critically acclaimed, and the latter is even considered one of Eastwood’s best.
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