Clint Eastwood : A Filmmaker like no other
“Go ahead, make my day” is one of the most famous cinema lines ever spoken in the history of Hollywood. The actor was Clint Eastwood, and the film was 1983’s Sudden Impact. Eastwood’s words became an instant catchphrase that many Americans can recite to this day. Eastwood is quite possibly the epitome of the macho American man. He holds icon-like status among males for portraying the tough guy in nearly all his films.
Eastwood was born in 1930 in San Francisco before coming to Los Angeles at an early age. He briefly attended Los Angeles City College, but soon dropped out to pursue an acting career. After appearing in a couple of low-budget films, Eastwood got his big break in the old TV western Rawhide. His character Rowdy Yates was an instant celebrity, and it launched Eastwood’s incredible career. Eastwood first burst onto the big screen with his roles in three western movies in the 1960s. The so-called Spaghetti Westerns, which were called that because of their ties to Italian cinema, were all very successful, and made Eastwood a household name.
Eastwood followed his success with a string of movies that is unparalleled in Hollywood history. He starred in the very popular Dirty Harry franchise, where he, once again, played the tough guy. In this series, Dirty Harry is a San Francisco police officer who takes matters into his own hands. This troubles his superiors to no end, but Harry always wins. This persona delighted the American movie audiences, especially the men.
Acting was not the only talent Eastwood would eventually display. He became an Oscar-winning director also. Arguably, his best film as a director was Million Dollar Baby, but it is hard to pick one film from his impressive list of movies. He is still active in film at the age of 74.
