Strange Details About Clint Eastwood Everyone Just Ignores
With his distinctive voice and trademark squint, Clint Eastwood remains one of Hollywood's most enduring icons. But after seven decades in the spotlight, is there anything fans don't know about him?
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00:00With his distinctive voice and trademark squint, Clint Eastwood remains one of Hollywood's
00:04most enduring icons.
00:06But after seven decades in the spotlight, is there anything fans don't know about him?
00:10Throughout his career, Clint Eastwood was celebrated as an attractive, masculine leading
00:14man.
00:15But it is surprising to learn that when he was starting out, not everyone was convinced
00:18that his striking looks were suitable for a career on screen.
00:22Way back in 1959, Eastwood was rejected by Universal Studios, who were concerned that
00:27his Adam's apple was too prominent and that he had a chipped tooth.
00:30The executives also had an issue with Eastwood's slow drawl, another aspect of his acting that
00:35would become famous later in his career.
00:37Eastwood was let go at the same time as another movie icon, Burt Reynolds, a frequent future
00:42collaborator who was told by the studio that he lacked acting talent.
00:46According to the Los Angeles Times, Reynolds was amused by the fact that they were both
00:50released by the studio.
00:51He even joked with Eastwood that he could get acting lessons, while Eastwood was stuck
00:55with his looks.
00:57Another detail about Eastwood that everyone ignores is the fact that he dabbled in local
01:01politics.
01:02In 1986, he ran for the mayorship of the tiny town of Carmel, California, which had been
01:06his home for many years.
01:08He campaigned on the promise to lift a ban on ice cream cones, to ban skateboarding,
01:12and several other issues facing himself and locals.
01:15Surprisingly, the actor won by a landslide and for the next two years was mayor of the
01:20town, attending regular city council meetings.
01:23Eastwood was so successful as mayor that he was even approached by Vice President George
01:27Bush to be his running mate for the presidential election in 1988, according to a 1994 biography.
01:32However, the actor decided to return to the film industry after his two-year mayorship.
01:37Eastwood's political views have come under scrutiny throughout his career, with fans
01:41keen to know whether he considers himself liberal or conservative, and which candidate
01:45he endorses during presidential elections.
01:48Typically, Eastwood has attempted to avoid being aligned with either major party, though
01:52he has frequently referred to himself as a libertarian.
01:55Eastwood has always been cool as a cucumber on screen, as well as generally well-grounded
01:59in interviews throughout his career.
02:01Much of his allure undoubtedly derives from his frequent portrayals of characters keeping
02:05their cool under pressure, but what few people know is that Eastwood's easy calm has a spiritual
02:11dimension.
02:12He meditates and has done so for more than half his life.
02:14In particular, the dirty, hairy actor is a proponent of Transcendental Meditation, also
02:20known as TM.
02:21TM has long been used as a therapeutic activity used to limit distraction and relax the mind.
02:26Its famous adherents include The Beatles and experimental filmmaker David Lynch, who has
02:31campaigned for the technique's use in combating post-traumatic stress disorder among American
02:35veterans.
02:36Eastwood said in a video interview for the David Lynch Foundation's YouTube channel,
02:40I'm a great supporter of Transcendental Meditation.
02:43I've been using it for almost 40 years now.
02:45I think it is a great tool for anyone to have.
02:49The TV show Rawhide made Eastwood famous in the late 50s and early 60s, then Sergio Leone's
02:55The Dollars Trilogy made him a megastar.
02:58Portraying the man with no name, Eastwood's outfit — a wide-brimmed fedora with an alpha
03:02poncho — is still taken as inspiration for men's fashion by outlets such as GQ.
03:07Such ingratitude after all the times I've saved your life.
03:11Eastwood wore the same iconic poncho in all three Dollars films.
03:16It was never washed in between takes, or even between movies for fear that it would damage
03:20the garment.
03:21Eastwood still owns the poncho to this day, though he told Entertainment Today in the
03:252000s,
03:26It was folded up after The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and it hasn't been unfolded yet.
03:30More recently, he has claimed the poncho is protected by glass, and it still remains unwashed.