I think I saw some familiar names on the tombstones in the cemetery. You might have. One was Donald Siegel. Oh, Don Siegel, did I put him in there? Don Siegel and the other was S. Leone. S. Leone, well. I was having a little fun with those guys. Hanks I wasn’t wishing anything wrong with him.
I think some people tried to draw the significance that I was burying my past or something like that. Most Hollywood legends spent their careers learning to perform for cameras. Clint Eastwood never bothered. For 60 years he has answered questions in three words, directed entire movies in single takes, and watched co-stars panic about his economy of effort.
At 95 years old, he is still working. He still gives the shortest answers in show business. And he is still drier than anyone in the room. Clint Eastwood made his first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1973. Johnny Carson tried to get a normal conversation going. Clint had other ideas. Next guest has been described as everything from an old-fashioned man to Huckleberry Finn with hormones.
Uh would you please welcome the number one international star, Mr. Clint Eastwood. [applause] You got a tough act to follow, you know that? 20th and Plum, I think. [laughter] Tom Hanks worked with Clint Eastwood on the film Sully. On the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Tom explained Clint’s approach to directing in one sentence.
It is not the sentence Tom expected to say. You met Sully I did indeed. I met him at the same I didn’t meet him actually. I have to say rarely do I get starstruck, but it was a Vanity Fair Oscar party. Oh, I right after the event. I was there. Yes, I met him there, too. I saw him and I I remember getting like like oh my god, it’s Sully.
You know, it’s weird because you see all these actors and it’s like all right, well, you know, they’re actors you see, but then it’s like he’s Sully, he’s real. Didn’t you Didn’t you just feel like when you met him for the first Did you just feel like really a lazy [ __ ] [laughter] More than usual? You know, uh nice to meet you.
I haven’t done anything. [laughter] And you saved 155 I did I did ask him how he was handling the, you know, the autographs and sunglasses and he said, “Well, it’s something we got used to.” He [laughter] is the calmest, coolest, most practical man on the planet. Well, and Clint, he’s speaking of calm and cool, practical men, Clint Eastwood directed this film.
Yes, he did. And he did a beautiful job with it. job. No, no, I love the guy. No, seriously. Both both Both No, no, no, I I say that because he he’s like it’s like, “Guess what? Mount Rushmore just came down from South Dakota and you’re working for him now.” So, he’s so obviously the man when he comes on the set.
You just You just want to please him and you don’t want him to look in the You don’t want to look him in the eye for too long cuz he gets that kind of, you know, [laughter] And you don’t You don’t want to experience that. He also He also We realized it both both Aaron and I, he treats actors like horses. In what way? Well, here’s the deal.
They have other other act other movies they they make a big deal about action, you know, “All right, let’s start it up. Get ready everybody. We’re rolling We’re rolling Are we rolling? WE’RE ROLLING. ROLLING. WE ARE ROLLING.” Matt Damon shot the film Invictus with Clint Eastwood and spent the rest of his life telling the story.
Conan O’Brien finally got it on record earlier this year. Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood started their careers at Universal Studios at the exact same time. Universal eventually fired them both. Burt told Conan exactly why. There’s a story I don’t know if it’s true, but okay. [laughter] There’s a story I heard that you and Clint Eastwood both got started around the same time and that you were both fired from Universal Pictures on the same day.
That’s true. As young guys getting started out because they found fault with both of you. Why would they fire you, Clint Eastwood, or you? I mean Well, Clint they said you you know, you you talk too slow. And your your tooth is chipped and you won’t get it fixed. And you just you don’t you don’t listen to anybody.
You just want to do things your own way. Gene Hackman had sworn off playing violent men. Clint Eastwood needed him for Unforgiven anyway. The pitch Clint used took less than a minute. And I’d known for many years, but had never we’d never worked together. And he was in a mood at that time. He says, “I don’t want to do any more violent pictures. I’m tired of it.
I’ve been involved with a lot of them.” He says, “I’m really tired of it.” And I I said, “You know,” I said, “I I know exactly where you’re coming from, but read it again because I think we can make a great statement against violence and and killing him if if if we do this right. Of course, it’s all in the execution.
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You got to do you got to execute it right or else it’s nothing means anything then. But he So, he did. He reread it and he came back and said, “Yeah, okay. I’m Robert Patrick worked with Clint Eastwood on True Crime. He showed up expecting normal director behavior. He walked away with a different definition of normal.
Uh you know, I I’ve worked with Clint Eastwood twice. He’s that way. Billy Bob Thornton is another guy I’ve collaborated with. He’s that way. Yeah. There’s just something about it cuz it’s a respect of I’m prepared. I’m prepared and this is not only my time, but it’s your time. Yeah, and we got to go.
And you’ve hired me and I get it. I’ve also endured I don’t really know if I feel comfortable I’ve I’ve also been around and been on sets where great big name actors have deliberately sabotaged the shooting schedule either inadvertently or or purposely. I you know, but they have definitely taken steps to slow down production because of their own vanity and process.
Right. And much and that’s much with some of the older actors that come from that period of I don’t want to give up real estate to a certain individual and I don’t I want to dominate this character and it’s the character and it’s not me, it’s this and I don’t like this blocking and so all that kind of [ __ ] You go like Oh boy.
And you kind of have to suck it up and just go I don’t think there’s time for that now in this day and age. I mean you work all the time now. I think people hire you, they come in and they expect you to do your job. Yeah. I mean when I work with Clint Eastwood on Flags of Our Fathers he hired me.
Clint. I worked with Clint. He’s a great What did you do? I did this movie called Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I had one big scene in the courtroom. That’s great. Yeah, I loved him. He was like the That’s a great movie. the best director in terms of just like he would just do your thing, shoot it and then he go That was great.
Just this take just acknowledge the jury. That’s all I need you to do. I go do you have any else? He goes no, how did you feel? I go I felt great. He goes all right, you want another one? He and he and he would even say action, remember? He would just say he just go Jack to Jack Green as DP and he would just do that rolling motion.
yeah. I loved I loved Clint. He was he was such a great and that was my first real movie. My What with him? I got to tell you I got to go back and watch that and and I loved your impersonation of him too by the way. And and that’s exactly the scenario. I did a Neil McDonough and I did a big Love Neil. He was on here.
Oh, was he? Yeah. Neil. Love Neil. I love his love of Catholicism as well. Yeah, oh yeah. He’s got a beautiful family. He’s a wonderful wonderful guy. Um Bradley Cooper has had his offices next to Clint Eastwood on the Warner Brothers studio lot for years. He told Ellen about something he watched Clint do that nobody else seems to have noticed.
On the set of Space Cowboys, Clint Eastwood and Donald Sutherland had to film a hospital scene that required them both to be naked. Years later, Sutherland told Conan how that conversation went. Yeah, I really like the movie. The movie’s a lot of fun. movie. I think it’s great. Yeah, amazing cast.
It was cool that they got all of you guys together. Yeah. Yeah, it was very neat and it’s a good idea for a movie. Yeah, everything and it’s very funny. One thing I did not expect when I when I went to see the movie was that you guys were going to get naked in this movie.
You [cheering] You You’re nuts. You You’re absolutely nuts. You see 250 years of ass on a screen at one time. [laughter] What about it? Some somebody asked me somebody asked me whether we had a a shot of the four of Yeah, except Blair Brown comes around and looks at all of us from the front.
Right, right. Except my character is the only one who doesn’t put his hands over his What do you call it? Testicular area? know what I call it. Whatever it I call it little Conan. All right. Uh [laughter] This is but but yeah, that that shocked me. It was Yeah, shocked me the four of you guys really did that.
You didn’t use a stunt butt. Is that the term? They call it doubling it. Mine mine was already doubled there. [laughter] Since Animal House, it’s absolutely doubled. That’s right, I know. You’re That’s a famous scene in Animal House, too. Yeah, it wasn’t supposed to be. It was just a a joke for John Lennon of John Landis.
John Landis, the director, that you walk through and you’re wearing a I guess a No, no, I’m standing getting I’m getting a Karen Allen’s there and I’m I’m getting a a book. Scott Eastwood is Clint’s son. He is also a working actor. Every so often a journalist asks Scott how many times his father has actually cast him in a Clint Eastwood film.
The answer is shorter than the question. Father, of course, Clint Eastwood, and I just wanted to mention it’s got to be strange because I would think, “Okay, this is your dad.” Who Who Who Who again? Clint. His name’s Clint Eastwood. Yeah. Yeah, that guy. And um and what’s interesting to me is that I learned that you have to audition for his movies, which seems weird to me cuz you’d think he’d know what you can do, what you can’t do.
Yeah, no. No. He does not He does not uh I don’t think I don’t think he likes me in his movies. You know, because here’s the thing, he’s he’s put me in a few movies and I’ve auditioned for a lot and haven’t got a lot. And then Gran Torino came around where he was talking to me it was just like this little role.
Yeah. And He’s supposed to He’s His character’s supposed to be giving your character a hard time. Yeah, yeah, exactly. He’s calling me a [ __ ] and a you know, you know, spoiled little brat or whatever. And So, he he gave me that role and on the day we were shooting it there was a lot of stuff that came out that wasn’t on the script there.
What? That wasn’t in the script. Right, right. Okay. Yeah. And so, did it make you think like he’s working through some issues with you? Yeah, yeah, I think I got a part for the kid. Give him this part. The part where I chew out that punk in the movie. it was a I think it was a lot of pent up over the years of me pissing him off.
Yeah, you pissing him off. Well, maybe that’s a healthy way. You know, that’s a good kind of therapy. Possibly. Tom Hanks is one of the only people alive who can do a credible Clint Eastwood impression. On the Graham Norton Show, he proved it without warning. This is from the director, it’s Clint Eastwood.
Oh, dear. So, how did that dynamic pan out? Well, you don’t want to get one of those Clint Eastwood looks from him, you know? You know, I can’t do it, but you you where he just kind of like raises one, looks at you and like And give that guy 50 bucks just to let loose with some of those. [laughter] But he he treats his actors like uh horses. You know, we’re rolling.
ALL RIGHT, STAND BY. THIS IS THE TAKE. EVERYBODY READY? ALL RIGHT, THREE, TWO, ONE. ACTION! And every time they would do that, the horses they were on would bolt, you know. Action! And they’d have to like go to And uh so when you’re in a Clint Eastwood movie, you don’t even know the camera’s rolling and you just hear over your shoulder All right, go ahead.
[laughter] That’s enough of that. And that’s And then you move on and you’re on to the next setup. It’s intimidating as hell. Because I could go either way. time, “That’s enough of that”? On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Clint Eastwood walked out and did an impression of Molly Shannon’s Superstar character.
Nobody on the show had any idea this was about to happen. Do you feel tougher when you come on when I’m You do. You rub off You rub off on me a little bit, yeah. I see. Cuz I think you’re probably one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met. Well, that’s Yeah. Cuz I haven’t met Molly Shannon personally.
Yeah. I got you. She’s tough, too, yeah. She can stretch and she’s 50. [laughter] She can kick Oh, Molly’s going to go nap. But I think Do you like coming to New York City? Oh, absolutely. [laughter] Yeah. Dude, Molly’s going to go nap. She’s freaking out right now. Do you like coming to New York City? Do you like Yeah, I do.
You do? Yeah. I I picture this. I picture Clint Eastwood comes and then you just you don’t take a driver or a cab. You drive around in a horse. And is that That’s cool. about right? No, that ain’t right. No, no. Something similar to that, no. We were We just up in uh Telluride.
So that was quite a difference quite a shock when you’re coming from Telluride to New York. It’s extreme. What does Clint Eastwood drive? Do you have a Let me Can I guess what you drive? Cuz I think people would guess that you drive like a like a muscle car. I think you drive a truck. I could drive a truck.
Yeah. What do you drive? I I drive a Typhoon, a GMC Typhoon. It was made It’s out of print. Dude, we had just one guy who was like, “Yes!” Uh I’ve never heard of that ever. It’s actually a turbo V6. IT’S FAST. YEAH! ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT. THAT’S HERE. I knew you’d do something cool like that.
Oh, we always do cool stuff. Uh we don’t do mess with the cars around here cuz I just walk everywhere. But I do do stuff with technology. I invented a new app called Bunk. Have you heard of this? Bounce? Bunk. Bunk? Yeah. It’s Bunk. It takes a picture of your face.
Would you like to try it? No. Bradley Cooper went on the BAFTA stage early this year to talk about working with Clint Eastwood on American Sniper. He explained why Clint refused to let him do his job the way he wanted to. I want to talk about American Sniper cuz it feels like it was another really important moment for you.
Yeah. But for on a number of terms, as a as someone, you know, admiring your your work and that working with Clint Eastwood being a big moment for you. But then also just what the role gave you the opportunity to explore both in prep within it and then I imagine kind of afterwards as well.
Do you mind talking a little bit about that and how it kind of presented itself to you first of Yeah, that was the first time that I that was a shift in sort of uh approaching a character because that was a book that I I had become interested in through Jason Hall who who went on to write the screenplay.
And so I brought the book to Clint. So it was a project that I was producing. I’d never done that before. Um and so I had a lot of time to prep, which I’d never had before. Like, you know, like a lot of time, like, I think like 7 months, maybe. And um and I was playing a real person. And when we were developing that project, Chris Kyle was still alive.
Um and he was killed while we were in the middle of in, you know, finishing this, you know, writing a script and trying to get it going. So, it was a It was a crazy thing. I was on set when I got the call that that he had perhaps I think it was February 2nd I think he died.
And um Steven Spielberg was going to direct the movie at that time. And um and then so we all sort of paused and then then it actually felt like there was a real reason to make this movie even more. Um and then it was Greg Silverman at Warner Brothers who said, you know, Clint I think is reading the book just offhandedly and um why don’t you call him? And I was like, call call him? And [laughter] he’s like, yeah, he’ll talk to you. And I was like, okay.
And um And then and then so I talked to Clint. He’s like, let me uh let me finish it up. I’ll call you Monday. And I was like, okay. And I was in Denmark editing Serena, I remember. And then they’re like and like James Lipton spent decades on Inside the Actors Studio asking the same questions to every actor.
He asked Clint Eastwood the hardest question an actor faces. Clint answered in eight words and made it sound easy. On several occasions in this series, notably with Steven Spielberg, with Ben Kingsley, we’ve talked about the virtue and use of silence in film. Don Siegel has said the hardest thing to do is nothing.
A number of people have paid tribute to your expressive use of silence. What you’re doing with me this moment is what you do so extraordinarily well. On the screen, you listen. Is it that important to you? I I think it’s the most important thing. It’s certainly the most important thing is as enacting is listening.
Anybody can expound a lot of dialogue, but a lot of people don’t listen well. In fact, I think it’s something in life my wife and I were talking about this the other night. It’s one of the great things I think they ought to be teaching in school and not for acting, but for just life in general is the art of listening.
It’s something that a lot of people don’t understand and a lot of people may listen or attempt to listen, but they don’t hear or they don’t they don’t absorb what they’re what they’re uh what they’re listening to. As acting students we used to have to stand in front of the audience with your hands at your side, not in your pocket.
Then you can stand there and just be. And you’re doing nothing. And and and and you’re going, “Okay.” But at first you’re embarrassed about but after a while you just take a position about it and you take an observation about it and you look at people and regard things that are around you.
And it’s amazing what the feeling it comes over you when you master it to the point where you’re not inhibited from any outside effects or you’re not worried about what he or she out there is thinking about you. A lot of actors nowadays feel they have to do more. Um in the ’50s when I first started acting uh the Actors Studio was coming into prominence uh from the Group Theatre.
Marlon was the big big guy on the scene at that time. So everyone was trying to act like Marlon and and it was embarrassing because guys would be playing neurosurgeons and they’d be talking like uh 1993 Academy Awards, Clint Eastwood won Best Picture for Unforgiven. Jack Nicholson handed him the statue.
Clint had been making movies for almost 40 years and had never won an Oscar before that night. In March of 2024, a fan in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California recognized Clint Eastwood walking into a community theater. He was 93 years old. He had driven himself there. He was going to see Jane Goodall give a talk.
He sat alone in the back. He stayed for the whole show. He left when it was over. Nobody had told the press. Nobody had been invited. He was just there because he wanted to be. He was in He was downstairs in the TV room watching High Plains Drifter on television. So So he as he tells me this story and then he kind of which of course he was flipped out that I wanted him cuz he loved doing Westerns.
