Clint Eastwood pᴀssed on reuniting with Dollars trilogy auteur Sergio Leone on his following Westerns, as the star felt “... there was no challenge for me anymore.” After a lengthy stint on TV series Rawhide, Eastwood traveled to Italy in 1964 to work on a low-budget Western that would become known as A Fistful of Dollars. Clint’s movie star charisma and the film’s willingness to break the rules of a traditional Hollywood Western saw it become a word of mouth sensation, with Eastwood and Leone later creating an entire Dollars movie trilogy together.
Eastwood’s “Man with No Name” is one of cinema’s most iconic characters, and the trilogy revitalized a genre that was already in decline. While Eastwood never worked with Leone again, he has often spoken of the impact the late filmmaker had on his career, with Unforgiven even closing with a dedication to his former mentor. Still, that didn’t stop Eastwood turning down movie offers from Leone, including on a film that has been labeled the director’s masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in the West.
Clint Eastwood Pᴀssed On Two Sergio Leone Westerns Because They Didn’t “Challenge” Him
Clint felt Leone had begun to focus on style over storytelling
As revealed in Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983, Leone approached Eastwood to star in Once Upon a Time in the West and his Western follow-up Duck, You Sucker! Eastwood pᴀssed on both of these projects and while Duck, You Sucker! is one of Leone’s lesser known movies, Once Upon a Time in the West is the director’s best movie. While talking through his decision to pᴀss, Eastwood had few regrets about moving on from Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns.
… I felt at the time, after The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, that [Leone] was going in a different direction than I wanted. He wanted to go more into a kind of spectacle thing. I think Leone more envisioned himself as a David Lean à la Italiano, and that’s understandable. He just wanted to make bigger, more elaborate projects.
Despite the acclaim that greeted The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Clint felt he had less to do as an actor than the previous two films. For him, Leone’s push to make more sweeping, epic films gave him less to work with.
There was no challenge for me anymore. In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly there certainly wasn’t as much of a challenge as a performer as there was in A Fistful of Dollars or For a Few Dollars More. In each one progressively the impetus became on the production values rather than the story.
Eastwood also noted that despite the attention the Dollars movies brought him in America, he still wasn’t receiving many quality projects. Instead of starring in Once Upon a Time in the West, Eastwood focused his attention on the dark 1968 Western Hang ‘Em High, about an innocent man who survives a lynching and becomes a Marshal to hunt down the gang. This was Clint’s first time leading an American movie production, and its success helped cement his leading man status.
Eastwood & Leone Considered Reuniting For A Western Miniseries
Clint was set to make an important cameo in Sergio Leone’s Colt
An article by The Independent claims that Leone was “furious” when Eastwood pᴀssed on Once Upon a Time in the West, though he kept those feelings to himself at the time. Charles Bronson instead took the role of Harmonica, after Leone had briefly considered the actor to take over from Eastwood during negotiations for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; the role Leone offered Eastwood in Duck, You Sucker! also went to James Coburn.
There was a plan for Leone’s Colt series to open with Clint Eastwood playing a mysterious gunslinger who has the тιтular gun custom-built, but is then gunned down soon after acquiring the revolver.
Leone’s anger with Eastwood led to an estrangement between the two, with the director later unkindly comparing Clint’s acting ability to his Once Upon a Time in America star Robert De Niro. According to Leone, the range of Eastwood’s acting came down to “With or without a hat“. Eventually, Eastwood and Leone reunited in Rome in 1988 for a dinner that saw them put old grievances to rest. At this time, Leone was developing a miniseries called Colt, which would follow the journey of a Colt revolver as it pᴀsses between different characters (via Sergio Leone: Something To Do With Death).
There was a plan for the series to open with Eastwood playing a mysterious gunslinger who has the gun custom-built, but who is then gunned down soon after acquiring the revolver. This event would kick off the rest of the show. Sadly, Colt never came to fruition as Leone pᴀssed away in 1989. It’s unknown how far the project got, or if Eastwood was actually approached about appearing, though it would have been nice to see the two collaborate again after a 20 years gap.
There was talk of Leone’s heirs reviving the premise, with Sicario: Day of the Soldado director Stefano Sollima set to direct two episodes (via Variety). Little has been heard of that series since 2019, so it may not be happening anymore. Even if it does move ahead, it’s unlikely Clint Eastwood would be involved, so it might be best to let it lie.
Source: Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979-1983, The Independent, Sergio Leone: Something To Do With Death, Variety
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Clint Eastwood
- Birthdate
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May 31, 1930
- Birthplace
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San Francisco, California, USA
- Height
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6 feet 4 inches
- Notable Projects
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Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, The Good
- Professions
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Actor, Director, Producer, Composer
Discover the latest news and filmography for Clint Eastwood, known for Dirty Harry and Unforgiven.
