At some point in every great actor's career, he must begin to face his own mortality. For Clint Eastwood, that point is approaching faster than a runaway stagecoach. Having just released his 49th feature, Blood Work, Clint's resume sets him apart as one of Hollywood's all-time bad-asses. But, with his newest character's being a heart transplant recipient instead of an icy tough guy, the question needs to be asked--Has Clint aged like a fine wine or more like Anna Nicole Smith's butt? Let's go to the tale of the tape.
Clint earned his bad-ass rep in the sixties with films such as Fistfull of Dollars and Hang 'Em High. He became America's favorite bad-ass in 1971, however, with Dirty Harry. By flying off the handle faster than a Rottweiler on methamphetamine, the role of Harry Callahan earns Clint the rating of 9 on the Schnaars Scale of Bad-Assitude, or simply, the ASS.
In The Outlaw Josey Wales, Eastwood plays a Civil War-era farmer out for revenge. His bad-man with a soft side portrayal garners a still solid 7 on the ASS. In the eighties, Clint partnered with an orangutan named Clyde for the action-comedies Any Which Way but Loose and Any Which Way You Can. The truck-driving, beer-swilling, bare-knuckle fighting Philo, while not as hard as Josey or Harry, still merits a barely respectable 5.
Unfortunately, this was the beginning of our hero's descent. Despite a rebound in Unforgiven which earned Clint a Best Actor nomination as well as a 10 on the ASS, Eastwood bottomed out in the nineties with The Bridges of Madison County (1) and Space Cowboys (3).
Recently however, by embracing his aging physique and profile, Clint has succeeded in redefining Bad-Assitude to his own liking--a feat every aging icon must accomplish to stay relevant. Films such as True Crime and Absolute Power, as well as Blood Work, have introduced audiences to a Clint who is older and frailer, but still gritty and tough.
So, is Clint Eastwood still a bad-ass? You could say that but you?d have to call him Grandpa Bad-Ass.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.