Clint Eastwood, 94, Is Asked What He Wants His Legacy To Be – His Answer Is Perfection

The Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, 94, is currently promoting his new movie Juror #2. The film is set to be the final movie that he will direct after a career that has spanned seven decades, and so far it has gotten rave reviews.

Now, in a new interview with IndieWire, Eastwood was asked what he wants his legacy to be. His response shows just how humble he has remained after so many years of success.

Eastwood’s Legacy

In typical Clint fashion, his answer was humble as heck.

“That would be up to them, to the audiences, to answer,” Eastwood replied, referring to his film legacy. “Up to the people on the outside. I just kind of go along. I consider this, again, emotional. It comes upon you. You have a story, you make a movie of it.”

“You have to just go for it,” he continued. “If you think too much about how it happened you might ruin it. I go back and look at films I’ve made, and I could easily ask, ‘Why the heck did I make this?’ I don’t remember! It might have been a long time ago…”

Well sure, Clint, lots of things were a long time ago when you’re 94! But seriously, isn’t it refreshing to hear a Hollywood star say “let the audience decide” rather than giving some audacious, pompous answer?

As for Eastwood’s longevity in Hollywood, Eastwood credited his fans with supporting him despite movies that were “disappointments” at times.

“After you get a few films that are reasonably successful, people kind of stick with you. But if you’re grinding out turkeys, they don’t stick with you,” continued Eastwood, who made his directorial debut in 1971 with Play Misty For Me. By then, Eastwood was already an established actor.

Related: Clint Eastwood Defies Typical Hollywood “Preachiness Or Pandering” To Achieve His Success

Eastwood’s Approach To Filmmaking

Eastwood, who has won two Oscars for Best Director for Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), also opened up about his approach to filmmaking, and the differences between being in front of the camera and behind it.

“It’s not an intellectual sport, it’s an emotional craft,” Eastwood explained. “Sometimes you like a script and want to do it as an actor; sometimes you like a script because you think you’d also want to direct. You get a feeling about certain projects and you want to make sure you get your stamp on them, because if you turn them over to somebody else, they might start seeing things differently.”

“If you have somebody directing who doesn’t see the material, it’s not much fun,” he continued. “If you’re with a director like Sergio [Leone] or Don [Siegel], that makes it fun. It makes it come out like you hoped it would come out. If you do it yourself and it’s bad, you take the beating; if it’s OK, you get the glory.”

Related: Clint Eastwood, 94, Vindicated As Studio Is Slammed For Burying His Final (Great) Film

Juror #2

Meanwhile, Juror #2 is set to be the final movie that Eastwood directs after over 70 years in Hollywood. The movie reportedly follows “family man Justin Kemp who, while serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict, or free the wrong killer,” according to IMDb. 

Kemp is played by Nicholas Hoult, while the role of the prosecutor is played by the former Sixth Sense actress Toni Collette. Other stars appearing in the movie include Leslie Bibb, Kiefer Sutherland, Gabriel Basso, Zoey Deutch, and Chris Messina.

“You think you’re going to get some tough guy and he is completely gentle and calm and fun and cracking jokes, and a lot of the crew members — [for example], the craft services woman has been with him for 22 years,” Messina told People Magazine of Eastwood back in December of last year.

“He was awesome. I really loved him,” he continued. “93 years old and completely with it, great notes, up on his feet behind the camera — just a badass. It was super inspiring.”

Eastwood is a true living legend, and there will never be another one like him. He can stay humble about his legacy all that he wants to, but it’s clear that he will never be forgotten!