The real reason Clint Eastwood doesn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: “There’s one spot left”
As the name implies, the Hollywood Walk of Fame exists to celebrate and enshrine the industry’s most indelible stars on the streets of Los Angeles, so why doesn’t Clint Eastwood have one?
He’s one of the most iconic figures in Hollywood history on both sides of the camera, becoming a legendary and enduringly successful leading man in front of it, before moving behind it to carve out the greatest double-pronged career of them all, winning four Academy Awards in the process.
In a world where David Beckham has recently become one of the latest inductees, and his lasting contribution to the silver screen is giving one of the worst acting performances in history, thanks to his horrendously gratuitous cameo in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, never mind he’s got fuck all to do with the movie business, Eastwood’s omission might seem like a head-scratcher.
There’s a certain set of criteria that need to be met in order to be bestowed with a star, and the Dirty Harry frontman passes them all with flying colours. There are also dozens, if not hundreds, of names embedded on the pavement who’ve contributed infinitely less to the arts than he has, including the Rugrats and the Chevrolet Suburban, which means a car got one before Eastwood did.
In many circumstances, though, the simplest explanation is often the most obvious. And in this case, the reason why the Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, and Invictus director doesn’t have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame so far is about as simple as they come: he doesn’t want one.
To get the nod, a person needs to be nominated by a third party, submit an application, pay a sponsorship fee, have their nomination approved by a committee, and agree to appear at their induction ceremony within two years, all of which would be a walk in the park, should the fancy ever tickle him.
And yet, despite being nominated repeatedly over the decades, Eastwood has never taken up any of the offers. Ana Martinez, who’s been producing Walk of Fame ceremonies for the better part of four decades, even admitted they’re keeping a slot open for him, in the event that he finally changes his mind.
“There’s one spot left in front of the Chinese Theatre if he wants it,” she said, which would put him alongside some heavy hitters and fellow pop culture icons like Bruce Lee and Michael Jackson. Having officially retired at the age of 96, maybe now is the perfect time for Eastwood to finally take his rightful place in the Walk of Fame, but if he’s resisted it until now, don’t bet on it.
Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Stanley Kubrick, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Prince are some of the other high-profile names who don’t have one, either, but in terms of legacy and iconography goes, Eastwood might be the biggest absentee of the lot.
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