There are countless actors. A few dozen honest-to-goodness movie stars. But there is and will only ever be one Clint Eastwood. He’s not just a legend—he’s the guy. Start with a face that looks like it was cut from granite. Add an intense squint that may as well shoot laser beams. His rugged appearance matches the effortless swagger of someone who can walk into any room and instantly demand everyone’s attention.
Never mind that he has no time for conversation, much less small talk. And I’m not extrapolating here: During an interview with Eastwood in 2021, I hung on every one of his carefully chosen words—delivered in that husky growl of a voice—out of both genuine interest and sheer panic that each one would be the last. Yet he was surprisingly reflective in his answers, even admitting that, after returning home from a recent movie shoot, he thought to himself, I’m lucky to be here.
As Eastwood approaches his 96th birthday with no official retirement in sight, we’re feeling lucky to still have him (punk). After all, beyond the hypermasculine persona is a supremely versatile and hardworking artist who’s been entertaining fans since 1959, when he first appeared as the trusty assistant trail boss “Rowdy” Gaines in the popular CBS Western Rawhide. In his leading-man prime, he made our day taking care of business via his incredible Spaghetti Western trilogy and the Dirty Harry franchise. His senior characters have become wearier and warier but remain tougher than anyone else.
Behind the camera, Eastwood has directed a staggering 40 films between 1971 and 2024’s Juror #2, including classics such as 1992’s Unforgiven (which earned him an Oscar for Best Director), 2003’s Mystic River, 2004’s Million Dollar Baby (another Oscar!) and 2014’s American Sniper. He also composes original scores for many of his works, showcasing a melancholic bluesy style. (He told me that he still plays piano every day.) And since 1967, his company, Malpaso Productions, has produced many of his films.
Ranking Eastwood’s 10 best performances out of his storied 50-plus movie resume is no easy feat. But in the spirit of his no-excuses attitude, we went for it. Go ahead, make my day and just try to pick a favorite among these classics.
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10. Every Which Way but Loose (1978)
Actor
Let’s start with a rare rollicking comedy. Eastwood is refreshingly relaxed and funny as Philo Beddoe, a bare-knuckle brawler and trucker who lives with a beer-guzzling pet ape named Clyde (seriously). The two—along with Philo’s brother, Orville (Geoffrey Lewis)—hit the road, Jack, and roam the West to find his fleeing girlfriend (Sonda Locke). During the cross-country trek, they clash with cops and a biker gang and meet a woman (Beverly D’Angelo!) who becomes Orville’s girlfriend. Eastwood and Locke, by the way, were together for 13 years and starred in six films together … including this hit movie’s 1980 sequel, Any Which Way You Can.
9. Pale Rider (1985)
Actor, director, producer
“I looked, and behold a pale horse. And his name that sat on him was Death.” Though Eastwood’s output was a mixed bag in the 1980s, he continued to push himself with more nuanced characters. The highlight is this supernatural-tinged Western in which he’s a nameless, mysterious “preacher” who arrives in a small mining town being terrorized by a ruthless corporate tycoon. The preacher steps in to defend the locals, using both his faith and his gun (of course) to deliver justice. A spiritual sequel of sorts to High Plains Drifter from 1973, this classic film is a standout because it’s so moody and meditative. Through it, Eastwood solidified his legendary status in the genre.
8. The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Actor, director, producer
Eastwood’s silver-fox handsomeness is on full display in this romantic, tear-jerking adaptation of Robert James Waller’s mega-bestselling novella of the same name. It chronicles a tentative flirtation between Eastwood’s traveling National Geographic photographer and a lonely Italian housewife (Meryl Streep in an Oscar-nominated performance) that turns into a passionate affair. Eastwood is impossibly seductive, and the two icons smolder in their chemistry. Years later, Streep revealed that she used Eastwood’s low-volume-yet-forceful voice in front of and behind the camera as inspiration for her Miranda Priestly character in The Devil Wears Prada.
7. In the Line of Fire (1993)
Actor
The blockbuster summer movie slate of 1993 kicked off with Jurassic Park and ended with The Fugitive. Smack in the middle? Eastwood’s final big-budget action flick. He plays Frank Horrigan, a veteran Secret Service agent haunted by his failure to save John F. Kennedy’s life. Thirty years later, he’s hot on the trail of a potential new presidential assassin (an Oscar-nominated John Malkovich). This is the definition of a re-watchable popcorn movie, enhanced by Eastwood’s low-key charm. He also shows his vulnerable side, notably when he recalls that fateful day in Dallas and starts tearing up. Good stuff.
6. Gran Torino (2008)
Actor, director, producer
As Eastwood approached his 80th birthday, he could have hung up his boots and called it an acting career. Instead, the star gave his patented tough-guy reputation a powerful whirl. His Walt Kowalski is a bitter (“Get off my lawn!”) Korean War veteran and widower whose attitude is personified by his 1972 Gran Torino car, a prized product of its time, now rendered obsolete. After his neighbor, young Thao (Bee Vang), attempts to steal it as part of a gang war, Walt becomes an unlikely mentor to him and his Hmong family. He finds redemption. He finds purpose. And in portraying what could have been just a cranky geezer, Eastwood proved that he could still conjure up both nobility and menace.
5. Play Misty for Me (1971)
Actor, director, producer
Think of this taut psychological thriller as a precursor to Fatal Attraction—plus every other psycho-stalker flick we’ve come to love. Eastwood, making his directorial debut, is a popular radio disc jockey who picks up a woman (a pre-Arrested Development Jessica Walter) at a bar and sleeps with her. Turns out she’s the same caller who’s been requesting the song “Misty” repeatedly. She becomes obsessive, prompting a series of chilling, nail-biting, cover-your-eyes thrills. Is Eastwood’s character a bit of an insensitive jerk? Totally. It’s a testament to his appeal that we root for him anyway.
4. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Actor, director, producer
Here’s Eastwood as Frankie Dunn, a way-past-his-prime boxing manager training a plucky 30-something woman (Hilary Swank) to become a contender. The pair form an unlikely bond, and he becomes a surrogate father to her. No ordinary sports drama, this effort transcends the genre, thanks in part to Eastwood’s emotionally demanding performance. (His tender goodbye to Swank’s character … just wow.) The underdog story triumphed in every sense: Swank and Morgan Freeman scored acting Oscars, Eastwood received a Best Director trophy (and a nod for Best Actor) and the film won Best Picture.
3. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)
Actor
From the moment the poncho-wearing, cheroot-chewing Man with No Name appeared onscreen in 1964’s A Fistful of Dollars, audiences knew this was not a guy to mess with. This origin story cemented the character as an antihero for the ages. (Quentin Tarantino has credited it as a major influence.) The sprawling and superb Western—part of Eastwood’s trilogy with Italian director Sergio Leone—follows the adventures of three gunfighters looking for $200,000 in stolen gold. Eastwood’s “Blondie” character is the “good,” which for him means honorably giving a dying Confederate soldier a puff of his cigarette. He’s the definitive example of the strong, silent type, and it’s no wonder the work propelled Eastwood to stardom.
2. Dirty Harry (1971)
Actor
The actor is still closely associated with .44 Magnum-wielding “Dirty” Harry Callahan, the San Francisco detective who bends the rules and freely takes matters into his hands while tracking a Zodiac-like serial killer nicknamed Scorpio. In his most famous scene, the confident cop stands over a wounded bank robber, points his gun and famously snarls, “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?” Eastwood played the renegade cop five times in all, including 1983’s Sudden Impact (in which he delivered the signature catchphrase, “Go ahead, make my day”) and 1988’s The Dead Pool.
1. Unforgiven (1992)
Actor, director, producer
Eastwood’s renowned celluloid history on the frontier culminated with this neo-Western masterpiece. His Will Munny is a former outlaw clinging to his quiet new life on the farm. To wit, he struggles to even mount a horse. But when Will decides to take on one last job, he must reckon with his carnage-filled past. (Cue moving lines like: “It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away all he’s got, and all he’s ever gonna have.”) The actor subverts his Man with No Name image and goes deep in what’s considered his most empathetic and poignant performance ever. Eastwood also struck gold with it, as he won long-overdue Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, and he was nominated for Best Actor for the first time. In case you’re wondering, it still holds up.
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Sources:
- New York Times: “Clint Eastwood: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly”
- Parade: ‘”I’m Not In It For the Dough: Clint Eastwood Talks About Cry Macho and Why He has No Plans to Retire”
- Vanity Fair: “How Meryl Streep Terrified The Devil Wears Prada’s Screenwriter”
- Los Angeles Times: “Quentin Tarantino on his movie influences: From ‘Operation Amsterdam’ to ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’”
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