One of the most iconic movie stars in history, Clint Eastwood attained such monolithic status without ever setting the box office truly alight, not that ticket sales are the be-all and end-all for measuring any performer’s success for those who don’t sit in the studio boardroom.
As an on-camera talent, Eastwood has never starred in a film that cleared $300million at the global box office, and he’s only ever appeared in two features that crossed $200m. In fact, adjusted for inflation, the highest-grossing release of his entire career came in 1978 when he starred opposite an orangutan.
However, the biggest money-spinner of his entire professional life is an entirely different story, with American Sniper far and away the most lucrative endeavour of his entire career. The biographical drama was a surprise sensation after releasing in December 2014, going on to hoover up a mammoth $547m.
It would go on to land six Academy Award nominations, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Actor’ for Bradley Cooper, and win the Oscar for ‘Best Sound Editing’, so for all intents and purposes, the film was a monumental triumph that should have been defined by and remembered for its colossal run in cinemas and subsequent recognition during awards season. Except, that wasn’t the case.
Ask 100 people to name the number one thing they remember from American Sniper, and there’s a very good chance 99 of them will name the fake baby. Not just any fake baby, though, but the fakest fake baby in the history of fake babies, which was somehow deemed good enough to be used in a $60m production helmed by one of Hollywood’s eternal figures.
Audiences were known to be found guffawing in the aisles when Cooper unconvincingly cajoled it with his hand to give the impression of human life, but it could have been avoided were it not for Eastwood’s famously economical shooting style. He favours a couple of takes only before moving on to the next setup, which left him out of time and patience when it came to sourcing an infant.
The real baby that was supposed to fill the role turned up to set with a fever, and the backup child on hand in case of emergencies didn’t turn up as planned. Instead of sourcing a baby – which may or may not be a particularly difficult thing for Eastwood or studio Warner Bros to do – he drafted in the doll that ended up becoming the most famous character in American Sniper by far.
When Cooper was informed, he was left incredulous. “I literally couldn’t believe it,” he admitted. “Like, I couldn’t believe we were working with the plastic baby. I was like, ‘This is nuts.’” It certainly was, with Eastwood’s confidence, that a fake one would do the trick, turning out to be entirely misplaced.