Clint Eastwood Is An 'Old-School' Father & Raised Son Scott With 'Integrity' While Mom Gave Son Many 'Values'

Dec 14, 2021 by apost team

Clint Eastwood is America's beloved cowboy actor, having been featured in iconic films that solidified the impact of the Spaghetti Western genre in America and across the world. Although Clint is getting older, luckily, he has a son who bears not only his likeness but also his acting chops. We've taken a look at his career along with that of his youngest son, Scott Eastwood, and the similarities between the two are striking.

While Clint is a Hollywood mainstay, his roots are rather humble. He's a self-made movie star and his biography proves it. Born on May 31, 1930, in San Francisco, California, Clint's family grew up in a wealthy area of town in a house that had a swimming pool, while each parent had their own car and the family belonged to a country club. His father was a manufacturing executive at Georgia-Pacific, while his mother worked in a clerical role at IBM.

As a young man, Clint worked in a range of odd jobs, including as a lifeguard, grocery clerk, forest firefighter, golf caddy, and paper carrier. While he attempted to enroll at Seattle University in 1951, he was instead drafted into the United States Army during the middle of the Korean War.

Although the exact story of how he caught the attention of notable people in the film industry is disputed, he eventually made it to the audition process, and while prominent producer Arthur Lubin was impressed with his looks, he disapproved of Clint's acting. Nonetheless, he signed an acting contract in 1954 that included attending drama classes.

Read on to learn more about Clint's career and his relationship with Scott.

Clint Eastwood was being nominated and winning awards for his acting from as early on as 1961 when he won the Bronze Wrangler award for the TV drama "Rawhide" at the Western Heritage Awards. 

From his role as John Lucas in the TV western series "Death Valley Days" to his poncho-wearing days in a popular movie trilogy, the actor has been known as the tough guy with a heart of gold in a long list of westerns. He portrayed a gunslinging hero in "Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More," and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." The three westerns formed a trilogy written and directed by Sergio Leone.

Clint's character as "the Good" was one of his most popular and influential roles. In an interview with Empire back in 2017, Clint reflected on his days in acting in "the Good" role and working with director Sergio Leone. He said:

"Sergio was terrific for me...I was a big fan of John Ford, and Sergio was too, but his approach was so different: he had no restrictions, he'd kind of go off and do what he wanted even if it was somewhat satirical. It was certainly different from me."

Now Clint isn't the only cowboy in the family. His son Scott Eastwood is following suit and the young actor is even aware of his likeness to his father. Scott even played-up their similarities by dressing just like his father's past character. 

According to Today, the younger Eastwood donned a poncho and cigar à la "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" for Halloween in 2016. Son Scott looked almost identical to how his father Clint looked in the iconic 1996 Spaghetti Western film.

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Scott is the best-known among the Eastwood brood. He began working under his mom's surname, Reeves, to avoid riding his father's coattails. According to a 2017 interview with CinemaBlend, he auditioned for many of his father's movies, but he did not get cast in every one. Scott was quick to point out that he did not pass every audition despite his family ties as he said: "Here's the thing, he's put me in a few movies. I've auditioned for a lot and haven't gotten a lot."

Out of his children, Clint has a lot in common with Scott, and they even reflected on their influences on each other in a 2016 joint interview with Esquire. Scott told Esquire: "My father's definitely old-school. And he raised me with integrity—to be places on time, show up, and work hard."

Clint elaborated on how Scott behaved growing up. "He was a pretty good kid. Not much of a problem. His mother gave him a lot of values, because she's a good person," the father said.

Scott went on to humbly describe just how new he is to Hollywood in comparison to his father. He said:

"What I've discovered from working with my father is that I'm still learning. I'm just a kid in this business. But film is much more of a director's medium. And I've seen from my father transitioning into being a director, that's where the power lies. And, like he says, it's feast or famine for an actor. If you're not creating your own material, then you're just fighting for whatever's out there. I definitely have the desire to go to the other side."

What do you think of Scott following in his father's footsteps? What is your favorite Clint Eastwood movie? Let us know and pass this fun story on to fellow movie lovers and Western fans!