Clint Eastwood’s final directorial movie Juror #2 premiered at the AFI Film Festival on Sunday. There, the film’s star Nicholas Hoult admitted that he was “truly shocked” that Eastwood wanted him to be the lead in it.
Hoult Left ‘Truly Shocked’ By Eastwood
While most people think of Clint Eastwood as The Man With No Name or Dirty Harry, in Hollywood is a very well-respected director.
“It came out the blue where I got a call from my agent saying, ‘Clint Eastwood wants you to do his next movie.’ And I was truly shocked,” Hoult, 34, told People Magazine.
“I was like, ‘Surely there’s been a mix-up. This has to be a mistake. How does Clint Eastwood know who I am?'” he added. “And then they were like, ‘No, no mistake. He does know who you are and he wants you to be in the movie.'”
He may be in his 90s, but Clint Eastwood doesn’t miss anything, and knows talent when he sees it!
In Juror #2, Hoult plays “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.
Watch the trailer:
Related: Clint Eastwood, 94, Hit With Crushing Blow As Warner Bros. Buries His Final Movie ‘Juror #2’
Hoult Was ‘Completely Blown Away’ By Eastwood
Hoult remembers being “completely blown away” when talking to Eastwood during the development of the film. He was happily surprised that Eastwood, 94, cracked so many jokes during their talks.
“First of all, I was on the phone with Clint Eastwood and I said, ‘I love the script.’ And he said, ‘If you like it so much, I guess I’ll have to read it’ and went off laughing. I knew from that moment we were going to have a fantastic time,” Hoult continued. “He had a cracking sense of humor, he’s so kind. He creates a wonderful atmosphere. And he’s a true icon of cinema.”
“He is cinema in many ways, as an actor, the performances he’s given, the films he’s directed,” he stated. “It’s just magic to be on set with him and [to have] learned from him. So I feel very, very lucky.”
Hoult went on to say that Eastwood “has such an ease with how he creates and the trust he puts in people and the trust he puts in the audience.”
That’s a common theme among actors lucky enough to work with Eastwood when he’s behind the camera.
When asked what Eastwood was like on set, Hoult recalled that his “ease” stood out to him.
“Easy come, easy go,” he explained. “His allowance for things, his acceptance of good and bad. And also when I could hear him munching Cheez-Its, just off of set.”
Related: Clint Eastwood’s Final Movie ‘Juror No. 2’ Scores Release Date
Eastwood Praises Hoult
As for Eastwood, he’s been quick to praise Hoult and the rest of the cast.
“We had a really great group of actors, led by Nicholas Hoult, who I was really impressed with — he is what I think a movie star is,” Eastwood said. “Everyone was very professional, came prepared and ready to work, but more than that they came and we laughed every day. Whether I’m directing or acting, I think it’s important to enjoy the work, and we did.”
Juror #2 is set to be the final movie that Eastwood will direct, capping off a career that spans seven decades. The movie will be released in select theaters November 1.
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