After 7 decades, actor and director Clint Eastwood retires from films

2026-06-02 23:03:00, Lifestyle CNA

After a career that spanned seven decades, it seems Clint Eastwood has retired from films, both in front of and behind the camera.

Legendary American actor and director Clint Eastwood turned 96 last weekend (May 31), and we may have confirmation that the Hollywood star has now concluded his career as an actor and director.

In an interview with French media outlet France 3, Eastwood's son, musician and composer Kyle Eastwood, revealed that his father has quietly retired.

"I have a lot of good memories of working with him. He's retired now, he's 96," Kyle Eastwood said, ahead of his father's birthday. "But I was very lucky to be able to work with him on a lot of films. It was a great experience for me."

Clint Eastwood began acting on screen in the mid-1950s and made his name in the 1960s in the Western genre, with a trio of films directed by Sergio Leone - A Fistful Of Dollars (1964), For A Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966) - also known as the "Dollars Trilogy".

Over a career spanning seven decades, Eastwood continued to impress in classics such as Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) and The Dead Pool (1988) - in which he played the role of rebellious cop Harry Callahan.

Other memorable on-screen performances include films such as The Beguiled, Thunderbolt And Lightfoot, Escape From Alcatraz, Pale Rider, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino.

Clint Eastwood's directorial career began in 1971 with the film "Play Misty For Me." He continued to direct throughout his career, with titles such as "Bird," "The Rookie," "Unforgiven," "The Bridges of Madison County," "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," "Mystic River," "Million Dollar Baby," the diptych "The Flags Of Our Fathers / Letters From Iwo Jima," "Invictus," "American Sniper," and "Sully and Richard Jewell."

This impressive filmography, with more than 70 screen roles and 40 films directed, has earned Eastwood four Oscars, four Golden Globes, and two Directors Guild of America awards.

It's worth noting that Eastwood guided five actors to Oscar glory: Gene Hackman (Unforgiven), Sean Penn, Tim Robbins (both from Mystic River), Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman (both from Million Dollar Baby)/ CNA