Clint Eastwood: Doing

“Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino play losers very well. But my audience like to be in there vicariously with a winner. That isn't always popular with critics. My characters have sensitivity and vulnerabilities, but they're still winners. I don't pretend to understand losers. When I read a script about a loser I think of people in life who are losers and they seem to want it that way. It's a compulsive philosophy with them. Winners tell themselves, I'm as bright as the next person. I can do it. Nothing can stop me.”

Clint Eastwood

On his role in The Beguiled
Source: Clint: The Life and Legend (1999), p. 189.

Life , People , Way , Understanding

“Having the security of being in a series week in, week out gives you great flexibility; you can experience with yourself, try a different scene different ways. If you make a mistake one week, you can look at it and say, 'Well, I won't do that again,' and you're still on the air next week.”

Clint Eastwood

On Rawhides impact on his beginning acting career
Zmijewsky, Boris; Lee Pfeiffer (1982). The Films of Clint Eastwood. p. 20. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press. ISBN 0806508639.

Way

“Westerns. A period gone by, the pioneer, the loner operating by himself, without benefit of society. It usually has something to do with some sort of vengeance; he takes care of the vengeance himself, doesn't call the police. Like Robin Hood. It's the last masculine frontier. Romantic myth. I guess, though it's hard to think about anything romantic today. In a Western you can think, Jesus, there was a time when man was alone, on horseback, out there where man hasn't spoiled the land yet.”

Clint Eastwood

Source: Clint: The Life and Legend (1999), p. 217.

Thinking , Time

“I never thought it was a good idea for attorneys to be president, anyway. … I think it is maybe time -- what do you think -- for maybe a businessman. How about that? A stellar businessman.”

Clint Eastwood

Speech at the Republican National Convention on August 30, 2012 ( transcript http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/30/transcript-clint-eastwood-speech-at-rnc.html)

Idea , Thinking , Time

“Everybody wonders why I continue working at this stage. I keep working because there's always new stories. … And as long as people want me to tell them, I'll be there doing them.”

Clint Eastwood

Reflecting on his later career
The Eastwood Factor (Extended Edition). [DVD]. Warner Home Video. June 1, 2010. Event occurs at 1:26:15.

People

“Don't just do something, stand there.' Gary Cooper wasn't afraid to do nothing.”

Clint Eastwood

In the first part, Eastwood was reportedly quoting a favored instruction from acting coach Jack Kosslyn.
p. 112.
Clint: The Life and Legend (1999)

“I wanted to play it with an economy of words and create this whole feeling through attitude and movement. It was just the kind of character I had envisioned for a long time, keep to the mystery and allude to what happened in the past. It came about after the frustration of doing Rawhide for so long. I felt the less he said the stronger he became and the more he grew in the imagination of the audience.”

Clint Eastwood

On playing the Man With No Name character
Source: Clint: The Life and Legend (1999), p. 133.

Feeling , Imagination , Time , Past

“Don't just do something, stand there.”

Clint Eastwood

Gary Cooper wasn't afraid to do nothing.
In the first part, Eastwood was reportedly quoting a favored instruction from acting coach Jack Kosslyn.
Source: Clint: The Life and Legend (1999), p. 112.