With his movie version of stage hit ?The Jersey Boys? out this weekend, Clint has directed his 33rd film.Here are some things you might not know about the Hollywood legend.
The name?s Eastwood, Clint Eastwood : When Sean Connery wanted to leave the Bond franchise after ?You Only Live Twice?, Clint was a frontrunner to take over. He turned it down, not wanting to follow Connery and also because he felt it should be played by a British actor.
Could have played Superman : When the producers were putting together the 1977 film, Eastwood was one of the actors considered for the lead role. It eventually went to the unknown Christopher Reeve.
He directed some of ?Dirty Harry ? Clint had been desperate to direct an episode of ?Rawhide? when he starred on that show, but hadn?t been allowed. He grabbed his opportunity when Don Siegel got ill on the set of the 1971 cop classic and helmed a couple of scenes.
Is good mates with Burt Reynolds : Reynolds told chat show host Larry King, ?We were fired [from Universal] the same year. And he was fired because his Adam?s apple stuck out too far. He talked too slow. And he had a chipped tooth and he wouldn?t get it fixed.?
A monkey was one of his favourite co-stars : He co-starred with an orangutan in 1978?s ?Every Which Way But Loose? and ?Every Which Way You Can? in 1980. According to Clint, Manis (who played Clyde) ?was one of the most natural actors I ever worked with! But you had to get him on the first take because his boredom level was very limited.?
The French love him : In 2009, he was made a commander in the country?s prestigious Legion D?Honneur. He is also a recipient of an honorary César ? France?s Oscars ? in 1998.
He had a stalker in real life : He directed the stalker drama ?Play Misty For Me? but has suffered from a similar plight in real life. Eric James Chisum claimed to be Eastwood?s son and broke into Clint?s California home.
