Clint Eastwood is one of the leading pioneers of actors and filmmakers who popularized the Western genre and elevated it during his prime. The actor’s collaborations with Sergio Leone on the Dollars trilogy changed Westerns forever. Eastwood carried on the legacy of those who came before him and elevated the genre by taking it into unexplored territory with many of his Westerns.
The Outlaw Josey Wales, High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider, and Unforgiven were four of the Westerns masterpieces Eastwood made. While the genre has not had the level of popularity it did back then, Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone reinvigorated the genre with a fresh and intimate familial story. While Sheridan certainly took inspiration from Eastwood, he did not want to copy one trait of his films.
Taylor Sheridan Does Not Want To Have an Acting Role In Every Project He Makes
Taylor Sheridan became a big name in the industry with the success of Yellowstone starring Kevin Costner. At a time when Westerns are slowly fading away and not having the appeal they had back in the day, audiences were hooked on the character-driven Western show powered by the Dutton family dynamics.
Sheridan was clearly inspired by the great Westerns that Hollywood has made over the years in writing the show. One of them was Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (via The Atlantic), the Western that deconstructed the structure of the genre and brought real consequences and emotionality rather than just cool gun fights with flashy characters.
However, as a creator, writer, and director of his shows on Paramount+, Sheridan does not have the intention to insert himself in some kind of small role in them, despite being an actor himself. In an interview with Uproxx, Sheridan stated that many have done that to great effect, but he just wants to remain behind the camera instead. The Yellowstone creator said,
There are a number of people who have done that. I don’t want to be one of those guys.
Eastwood has starred in many of the films he has directed including Million Dollar Baby, all of his Western films, Gran Torino, etc. There are other great actor-turned-directors like Mel Gibson (Braveheart), George Clooney (The Midnight Sky), Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves), etc have also found success being the lead in films they have directed.
Sheridan made an exception by playing Travis Wheatley in Yellowstone but has since not starred in other shows that he has created. He prefers being the one calling the shots and creating great shows instead of starring in them.
Morgan Freeman’s Favorite Director To Work With is Clint Eastwood
Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood have had a very successful working relationship over the years. The actor-director combo collaborated on some of the best films of their career Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, and Invictus. Freeman revealed that Eastwood is his favorite director he has ever worked with in his career.
The actor stated Eastwood works at a brisk pace and he is very easy to work for. Freeman is in awe of Eastwood’s talent as a director and working with him on their three hit films was an absolute pleasure for him. Freeman said
I have worked with a number of excellent directors, but my favorite of all, I think the best of them all, certainly for me is Clint Eastwood. We started working (on Unforgiven) and it was like we have been doing it forever, you know, he’s very fast and very easy to work for. He’s no-nonsense, super quick, and got a lot of talent…All three of these episodes have been just nothing but pleasure for me. I have great admiration for him as a man.
Eastwood is returning as a director once again with the upcoming courtroom thriller film Juror No.2. The film will star Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Zoey Deutch, Kiefer Sutherland, Gabriel Basso, Leslie Bibb, Chris Messina, and J. K. Simmons. The film is expected to be released sometime this year.