“He explodes into Clint Eastwood the fighter”: Leonardo DiCaprio Learned to Fight From Hollywood’s Macho Man Himself in J.Edgar
Clint Eastwood is one of the most iconic figures in film history. His role as The Man With No Name in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy made him a global star and the character has become a prominent one in the world of cinema. He is also an accomplished director who has directed many acclaimed and Oscar-winning films such as Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Changeling, Invictus, Mystic River, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, The Mule, and Richard Jewell. Despite having a tough and intense persona in his acting career, his directorial works all include an exploration of human emotions through the events of tragedy, loss, and alienation. At 93, he is still young at heart and is hard at work in his pursuit as a filmmaker.
Leonardo DiCaprio worked with Eastwood on the 2011 biographical film J. Edgar. DiCaprio had immense respect for Eastwood as a filmmaker and it was a dream come true in this film. He experienced Eastwood’s dedication, especially in explaining one specific scene that blew everyone’s minds.
Clint Eastwood Taught Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer How to Brawl
Clint Eastwood is known for his dedication to getting things right for his films. He is very committed to maintaining authenticity and realism in every scene. For J. Edgar, he taught Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer how to perform a convincing brawl. He was already 81 at the time but despite that, he went and got his hands dirty by going head-to-head with the stunt coordinator of the film. Hammer told The Hollywood Reporter,
“Clint was there with one of his stunt-guy friends, Buddy Van Horn, and they put on an impromptu fight scene for us. There’s Buddy standing in the middle of the room and Clint says, ‘I think it should be something like this’ — and he explodes into Clint Eastwood the fighter and they start smacking each other around and rolling on the floor. And then Clint just gets up and says, ‘OK, something like that.’”
Eastwood’s enthusiasm is inspirational and it must have been a learning curve for all the crew involved to see a man of his age do such feats. Even now at 93, he is still making films. He is indeed one of a kind and there is none like him. He is a legend whose name and contribution to cinema will always remain untouched.
Clint Eastwood Says His Proudest Work Changes With Time
Clint Eastwood has been in the movie industry for more than 60 years with around 70 acting roles and 45 directing credits to his name. It is reasonable to assume that he must have a film or role that he is most proud of in his illustrious career. When asked about this, Eastwood had a rather interesting answer. He told Parade,
“That’s interesting. I think it changes—for the better. I’m thinking of Unforgiven [which brought him his first Oscar for directing, plus three other Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, for Gene Hackman]. I had done a lot of Westerns, but this had a different story element to it. [The 1976 revenge thriller] The Outlaw Josey Wales was an interesting story. And Million Dollar Baby [which won four Oscars in 2005, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress, for HilarySwank]. Sometimes you just trip over things and it comes out good—or bad”
Eastwood’s comments are an interesting take on a question that is rather difficult to answer. All his films are his creations which he devoted blood, sweat, and tears to make and put out for the public. Hence it is logical for him to have differing answers to that question each time it is asked. Eastwood is currently making his last feature film called Juror No.2 starring Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and Zoey Deutch.
