Clint Eastwood is an American actor, director, and producer. He was born in 1930 and raised during the Great Depression. While he wasn’t particularly adept in pursuing his education, Eastwood became famous for his acting roles in several western films.
Clint Eastwood’s earliest success came from his role in the TV Western Rawhide. Worldwide recognition hit with his role as The Man with No Name in the Italian Western trilogy A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
His cold, strong characters are the face of his legacy today. Notably, the most memorable line in his entire acting career, “Do I feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?” comes from his role in the 1971 film Dirty Harry.
Eastwood has had an equal amount of success as a director and producer, as in his acting career. Starting with his directorial debut Play Misty for Me, Clint Eastwood has directed over 30 films from various genres, including Westerns, action films, and drama pieces.
He is famous for his fast-paced filming and directing, known for coming in under budget and ahead of schedule while making a film. While he may finish fast creating a movie, Eastwood’s films come across on screen as unhurried and relaxed with a sense of real-time for the audience. T
o date, Clint Eastwood has won 13 Academy Awards, 1 BAFTA Awards, and 8 Golden Globe Awards. He is a man of many talents, even contributing original scores for many of the films he has produced.
From the beginning of his career, Eastwood has always been an inspiring figure. Most people consider his strength and determination as inspiration for self-improvement.
Clint Eastwood’s Best Quotes
This list of quotes compiles some of Clint Eastwood’s most inspiring personal quotes and a few famous lines from his films:
- Sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I don’t believe in pessimism. If something doesn’t come up the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it’s going to rain, it will.”– Clint Eastwood
- “The less secure a man is, the more likely he is to have extreme prejudice.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I tried being reasonable. I didn’t like it.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I’ve never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates. Anybody can do well at something he loves – it’s just a question of finding the subject.”– Clint Eastwood
- “It’s much more fun to play something you’re nothing like than what you are… It’s much easier to hide yourself in a character.”– Clint Eastwood
- “It takes tremendous discipline to control the influence, the power you have over other people’s lives.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.”– Clint Eastwood
- “You have to feel confident. If you don’t, then you’re going to be hesitant and defensive, and there’ll be a lot of things working against you.”– Clint Eastwood
- “If a person doesn’t change, there’s something really wrong with him.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I guess I’m living in the present more than the past.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I’m a day-to-day-type person.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I’m not a regrets-type person.”– Clint Eastwood
- “If you think it’s going to rain, it will.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Men must know their limitations.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I’m just a kid – I’ve got a lot of stuff to do yet.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Whether you like it or not, you’re forced to come to the realization that death is out there. But I don’t fear death, I’m a fatalist. I believe when it’s your time, that’s it. It’s the hand you’re dealt.”– Clint Eastwood
- “What you put into life is what you get out of it.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Remember, tomorrow is promised to no one.”– Clint Eastwood
- “You want to play the game; you’d better know the rules, love.”– Clint Eastwood
- “A good man always knows his limitations.”– Clint Eastwood
- “There’s plain few problems that can’t be solved with a little sweat and hard work.”– Clint Eastwood
- Things change. They always do. It’s one of the things of nature. Most people are afraid of change, but if you look at it as something you can always count on, then it can be a comfort.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Fate pulls you in different directions.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I keep working because I learn something new all the time.”– Clint Eastwood
- “You always want to quit while you are ahead. You don’t want to be like a fighter who stays too long in the ring until you’re not performing at your best.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I think there is a lot made out of age, and what age you feel.”– Clint Eastwood
- “God gave you a brain. Do the best you can with it. And you don’t have to be Einstein, but Einstein was mentally tough. He believed what he believed. And he worked out things. And he argued with people who disagreed with him. But I’m sure he didn’t call everybody jerks.”– Clint Eastwood
- “My whole life has been one big improvisation.”– Clint Eastwood
- “You can’t stop everything from happening. But we’ve gotten to a point where we’re certainly trying. If a car doesn’t have four hundred air bags in it, then it’s no good.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Nobody looks like they did when they were 20, so why not take advantage of the fact that you’re changing, emotionally as well as physically?”– Clint Eastwood
- “Respect your efforts, respect yourself.”– Clint Eastwood
- “When you’re young, you’re very reckless. Then you get conservative. Then you get reckless again.”– Clint Eastwood
- “If I was not a dreamer, I would have achieved nothing.”– Clint Eastwood
- “You should never give up your inner self.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Man becomes his most creative during war.”– Clint Eastwood
- “There’s a rebel lying deep in my soul. Anytime anybody tells me the trend is such and such, I go the opposite direction. I hate the idea of trends. I hate imitation; I have a reverence for individuality.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Extremism is so easy. You’ve got your position, and that’s it. It doesn’t take much thought. And when you go far enough to the right you meet the same idiots coming around from the left.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Maybe I’m getting to the age when I’m starting to be senile or nostalgic or both, but people are so angry now. You used to be able to disagree with people and still be friends. Now you hear these talk shows, and everyone who believes differently from you is a moron and an idiot – both on the Right and the Left.”– Clint Eastwood
- “If a person is confident enough in the way they feel, whether it’s an art form or whether it’s just in life, it comes off—you don’t have anything to prove; you can just be who you are.”– Clint Eastwood
- “They say all marriages are made in heaven, but so are thunder and lightning.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Take your work seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously.”– Clint Eastwood
- “War pictures are always fascinating for people; they were for me growing up, even though I’m not nuts about war.” “War is the ultimate conflict, and conflict is the basis of drama to begin with.”– Clint Eastwood
- “There’s only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn what it is I’ll get married again.”– Clint Eastwood
- “I’ve always felt that if I examine myself too much, I’ll find out what I know and don’t know, and I’ll burst the bubble. I’ve gotten so lucky relying on my animal instincts, I’d rather keep a little bit of the animal alive.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Be the type of guy that makes other guys want to step up their game.”– Clint Eastwood
- “The brain has to be exercised the same as the rest of the body.”– Clint Eastwood
- “In past generations, people would try to play younger than they really are. My trick is, I don’t try to play younger than I really am.”– Clint Eastwood
- “There’s no real excuse for being successful enough as an actor to do what you want and then selling out. You do it pure. You don’t try to adapt it, make it commercial.”– Clint Eastwood
- “Every story has its demands.”– Clint Eastwood
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Clint Eastwood – Video Clip from the Good, Bad and the Ugly
This is a classic scene from the Good, Bad and Ugly. The distinct soundtrack music is a familiar tune to everyone. This 1966 movie was a Clint Eastwood classic Western. Watch this short clip and enjoy!
https://youtu.be/h1PfrmCGFnk
60 of the Most Interesting Quotes from Cool Hand Luke
Clint Eastwood was a Movie Legend
These quotes show so many different sides to this amazing man. Which version of Clint Eastwood do you admire the most? Is it the stoic gunfighter with few words but a quick draw? Or the passionate cop willing to do whatever it takes to right a wrong?
Perhaps you prefer the down to Earth man behind the scenes, directing some of the greatest films in American history? Or the vibrant in your face individual that speaks his mind, even if it goes against the status quo?
Any way you take him, Clint Eastwood has a legacy for people all over the world. Without a doubt, he will continue to inspire young people through his acting and directing for the foreseeable future.
If you like Clint Eastwood and are inspired by these quotes, share your favorite quote from Clint Eastwood today!
Image Credit: Jolly Film / Public domain
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