# Clint Eastwood filmography
The **Clint Eastwood filmography** is the record of screen work by the American actor and director [Clint Eastwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/clint-eastwood), counted at 75 credited film roles and 8 television roles, a total of 83 credits spanning 1955 to 2023[1](https://popculturefiles.com/filmographies/clint-eastwood-filmography). It divides into two intertwined careers: roughly four decades as a star built on two screen personas, the Man with No Name of Sergio Leone's Westerns and Inspector Harry Callahan of the [Dirty Harry](https://www.edgepedia.org/dirty-harry) films, and a directing career begun in 1971 that produced 40 features, including the Best Picture and Best Director Oscar winners *Unforgiven* (1992) and *Million Dollar Baby* (2004)[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/clint-eastwood) • [3](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/06/film-viewing-projects-guide-what-to-watch/683312/) • [4](https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/clint-eastwood?page=1).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Credits | 75 credited film roles and 8 TV roles, 83 credits from 1955 to 2023[1](https://popculturefiles.com/filmographies/clint-eastwood-filmography) |
| Breakthrough | TV series *Rawhide* (1959–66) as Rowdy Yates; Leone's Dollars trilogy (1964–66)[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/clint-eastwood) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/clint-90-how-dirty-harry-sealed-eastwoods-superstardom) |
| Star role | Harry Callahan in five Dirty Harry films, 1971–1988[6](https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2837081/actordirector-clint-eastwood-served-during-korean-war/) |
| Directing debut | *Play Misty for Me* (1971); Malpaso production company formed 1967[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/clint-eastwood) |
| Directed films | 40 films from *Play Misty for Me* (1971) to *Juror #2* (2024)[3](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/06/film-viewing-projects-guide-what-to-watch/683312/) • [7](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/) |
| Oscars | Eight Academy Award nominations and two wins, two DGA Awards and a Grammy nomination by 2006[8](https://www.dga.org/craft/dgaq/issues/0601-spring-2006/dga-interview-clint-eastwood) |
| Best Picture/Director double | *Unforgiven* (1992) and *Million Dollar Baby* (2004)[4](https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/clint-eastwood?page=1) |
## Early work, 1955–1964
Eastwood's career started, as one filmography site puts it, "rather uninspiringly", with brief appearances in low-budget horror movies and television commercials in the mid-1950s[9](https://www.clinteastwood.net/filmography/). His screen debut came in *Revenge of the Creature* (1955); *Francis in the Navy* (1955), a comedy alongside a talking mule, was his first credited film appearance, followed by parts in *Tarantula* (1955), *Away All Boats* (1956), and other Universal pictures under the contract he held in 1954–55[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/clint-eastwood) • [9](https://www.clinteastwood.net/filmography/) • [29](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/revenge-creature). From 1959 to 1966 he played second lead as cowhand Rowdy Yates on the CBS television Western *[Rawhide](https://www.edgepedia.org/rawhide-tv-series)*, taking over as trail boss in autumn 1965[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/clint-eastwood).
## Stardom: the Dollars trilogy and Dirty Harry
In 1964 Eastwood traveled to Italy to make *A Fistful of Dollars* for director [Sergio Leone](https://www.edgepedia.org/sergio-leone), recognizing the script as an adaptation of [Akira Kurosawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/akira-kurosawa)'s samurai film *Yojimbo* (1961)[10](https://www.tcm.com/articles/80139/eastwood-on-eastwood). Two follow-ups, *For a Few Dollars More* (1965) and *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* (1966), completed the Dollars trilogy and made him, as the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) puts it, "the world's most popular movie star, the heir apparent to laconic American icons like John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Gary Cooper"[11](https://www.afi.com/laa/clint-eastwood/). His Man with No Name, a poncho-clad loner with no scruples and no backstory, set the template for the Eastwood brand: the poker face, action over dialogue, coolness under pressure and black humor[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/clint-90-how-dirty-harry-sealed-eastwoods-superstardom). He was 37 when the three Italian Westerns finally made him a movie star in America[12](https://theweek.com/culture-life/books/clint-eastwood-shawn-levy-wrong-with-men-jessa-crispin).
**Dirty Harry.** In 1971 Eastwood played San Francisco inspector [Harry Callahan](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-callahan) in *Dirty Harry*, directed by his mentor [Don Siegel](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-siegel)[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/clint-eastwood). The script had been touted first for [Paul Newman](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-newman) and then Frank Sinatra before reaching Eastwood via Warner Bros[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/clint-90-how-dirty-harry-sealed-eastwoods-superstardom). The film was a box office smash, the fourth highest-grossing of 1971, and critics attacked it as sensationalizing violence; Pauline Kael's *New Yorker* review called it a grotesque right-wing fantasy, and the word "fascist" has followed the character since 1971[13](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-clint-eastwood) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/clint-90-how-dirty-harry-sealed-eastwoods-superstardom). Four sequels followed: *Magnum Force* (1973), *The Enforcer* (1976), *Sudden Impact* (1983), which supplied the line "Go ahead, make my day", and *The Dead Pool* (1988)[6](https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2837081/actordirector-clint-eastwood-served-during-korean-war/) • [5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/clint-90-how-dirty-harry-sealed-eastwoods-superstardom).
## Directing: Malpaso and the 1970s–1980s
Eastwood formed his own production company, Malpaso, in 1967 and made his directorial debut with the psychological thriller *Play Misty for Me* in 1971; he told *The New York Times* in 1993 that he took the directing job to protect himself in case his acting career stalled[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/clint-eastwood) • [14](https://www.the-independent.com/independentpremium/culture/clint-eastwood-dirty-harry-unforgiven-oscar-sergio-leone-trump-90-a9546591.html). His early films as director ranged across genre: the Western *High Plains Drifter* (1973), an "apocalyptic subversion of western iconography"; the prison drama *Escape from Alcatraz* (1979, directed by Siegel); the comic Western *Bronco Billy* (1980); and *[Bird](https://www.edgepedia.org/bird-1988-film)* (1988), a biopic of saxophonist [Charlie Parker](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-parker) that showed his willingness to take chances behind the camera[13](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-clint-eastwood) • [15](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-clint-eastwood-movies-ranked/) • [16](https://time.com/archive/6722799/go-ahead-make-my-career-clint-eastwood/).
**The Outlaw Josey Wales and the Eastwood Rule.** During *The Outlaw Josey Wales* (1976), the original director was replaced by Eastwood himself; the Directors Guild objected to a director being replaced by the star, and the dispute produced a new DGA rule, "The Eastwood Rule", preventing that practice[17](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/no-idea-the-outlaw-josey-wales-had-many-controversies-until-watched-it-recently-clint-eastwood).
## Westerns
Eastwood's Westerns run through both halves of his career. From his first leading role in a Hollywood Western, *[Hang 'Em High](https://www.edgepedia.org/hang-em-high)* (1968), he made a total of ten Westerns up to *Pale Rider* in 1985[18](https://ccc-grenoble.fr/cineclub/informations/item/download/261_80992cfd56848a1472c250e77b389ee0.html). Scholars treat him, alongside [John Wayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-wayne), as one of the genre's defining icons[19](https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/216/1/durham04.pdf). *Unforgiven* (1992), his revisionist Western about a retired gunslinger, is commonly treated as his last word on the genre; the BFI notes that despite the film's Oscar success he has never made a Western since[20](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/unforgiven-clint-eastwood-western).
## Critical turnaround and the 1990s–2000s
Critics long dismissed Eastwood as an actor and director; *Unforgiven* changed that. It won four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, and the Los Angeles Film Critics gave it five awards including best film, best actor and best director[21](https://time.com/3686483/life-with-dirty-harry-rare-photos-of-clint-eastwood-1971/) • [22](https://cultureinjection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/john-h.-foote-clint-eastwood-evolution-of-a-filmmaker.pdf). The 1990s and 2000s brought a varied run of directed films: *The Bridges of Madison County* (1995), *Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil* (1997), *Space Cowboys* (2000), *Mystic River* (2003), *Million Dollar Baby* (2004), the paired [Iwo Jima](https://www.edgepedia.org/iwo-jima) films *Flags of Our Fathers* and *Letters from Iwo Jima* (2006), *Gran Torino* (2008), *[Invictus](https://www.edgepedia.org/invictus-film)* (2009) and *Hereafter* (2010)[9](https://www.clinteastwood.net/filmography/) • [23](https://www.metacritic.com/person/clint-eastwood/). Eastwood himself chose *Mystic River* as "the best thing I've done"[24](https://as.com/meristation/cine/hace-22-anos-clint-eastwood-ya-sabia-cual-era-su-mejor-pelicula-soy-mi-propio-critico-f202609-n/).
By 2006 the Directors Guild counted eight Oscar nominations and two wins across his career, plus two DGA Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and a Grammy nomination[8](https://www.dga.org/craft/dgaq/issues/0601-spring-2006/dga-interview-clint-eastwood). As a producer, Malpaso backed nearly all his films; he has produced only one film he neither appeared in nor directed, *The Stars Fell on Henrietta* (1995)[25](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/eastwood/).
## Late period and retirement
BFI groups the four films Eastwood made between 2014 and 2019, *American Sniper*, *Sully*, *The 15:17 to Paris* and *Richard Jewell*, as a quartet on the question of heroism, each dramatizing a real-life figure thrust into it[13](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-clint-eastwood). *American Sniper* (2014), about Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, earned six Oscar nominations, none of them for Eastwood as director[26](https://time.com/3668960/oscars-2015-nominations-analysis/). His most recent theatrical release is the courtroom thriller *Juror #2* (2024), whose themes of truth, justice, morality and guilt the screenwriter linked to the DNA of Eastwood's whole filmography, from *Dirty Harry* to *Sully*[7](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/).
In 2026, Spanish press reported that Eastwood, by then 95, had retired from acting and directing, closing a screen career of more than 70 years[27](https://cincodias.elpais.com/smartlife/smart-tv/2026-06-06/clint-eastwood-retira-cine-ver-peliculas-fin-semana.html) • [28](https://los40.com/2026/06/05/adios-al-clint-eastwood-director-y-actor/).
## References
1. [Clint Eastwood Filmography: Every Movie and TV Show in Order, Pop Culture Files](https://popculturefiles.com/filmographies/clint-eastwood-filmography)
2. [Eastwood, Clint, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/film-and-television-biographies/clint-eastwood)
3. [Your Summer Project: Watching These Movies, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/06/film-viewing-projects-guide-what-to-watch/683312/)
4. [Clint Eastwood, Oscars.org collection highlights](https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/clint-eastwood?page=1)
5. [Clint at 90: how Dirty Harry sealed Eastwood's superstardom, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/clint-90-how-dirty-harry-sealed-eastwoods-superstardom)
6. [Actor/Director Clint Eastwood Served During Korean War, U.S. Department of Defense](https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2837081/actordirector-clint-eastwood-served-during-korean-war/)
7. [Juror #2 Reflects the Major Themes of Clint Eastwood's Career, Time](https://time.com/7106837/juror-no-2-clint-eastwood-ending-explained/)
8. [The Straight Shooter: DGA interview with Clint Eastwood, Directors Guild of America](https://www.dga.org/craft/dgaq/issues/0601-spring-2006/dga-interview-clint-eastwood)
9. [Clint Eastwood – The Filmography, clinteastwood.net](https://www.clinteastwood.net/filmography/)
10. [Eastwood on Eastwood, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/80139/eastwood-on-eastwood)
11. [Clint Eastwood, American Film Institute](https://www.afi.com/laa/clint-eastwood/)
12. [Book reviews: 'Clint: The Man and the Movies', The Week](https://theweek.com/culture-life/books/clint-eastwood-shawn-levy-wrong-with-men-jessa-crispin)
13. [Where to begin with Clint Eastwood, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-clint-eastwood)
14. [How Clint Eastwood has continually defied expectations, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/independentpremium/culture/clint-eastwood-dirty-harry-unforgiven-oscar-sergio-leone-trump-90-a9546591.html)
15. [All Clint Eastwood Movies Ranked, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-clint-eastwood-movies-ranked/)
16. [Go Ahead, Make My Career: Clint Eastwood, Time](https://time.com/archive/6722799/go-ahead-make-my-career-clint-eastwood/)
17. [I Had No Idea The Outlaw Josey Wales Had So Many Controversies, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/no-idea-the-outlaw-josey-wales-had-many-controversies-until-watched-it-recently-clint-eastwood)
18. [Unforgiven (cineclub essay), CCC Grenoble](https://ccc-grenoble.fr/cineclub/informations/item/download/261_80992cfd56848a1472c250e77b389ee0.html)
19. [Together, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood (thesis), Newcastle University](https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/216/1/durham04.pdf)
20. [Unforgiven at 25: the legacy of Clint Eastwood's last word on the western, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/unforgiven-clint-eastwood-western)
21. [LIFE With Dirty Harry: Rare Photos of Clint Eastwood, 1971, Time](https://time.com/3686483/life-with-dirty-harry-rare-photos-of-clint-eastwood-1971/)
22. [Clint Eastwood: Evolution of a Filmmaker, John H. Foote](https://cultureinjection.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/john-h.-foote-clint-eastwood-evolution-of-a-filmmaker.pdf)
23. [Clint Eastwood, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/clint-eastwood/)
24. [Hace 22 años, Clint Eastwood ya sabía cuál era su mejor película, AS](https://as.com/meristation/cine/hace-22-anos-clint-eastwood-ya-sabia-cual-era-su-mejor-pelicula-soy-mi-propio-critico-f202609-n/)
25. [Eastwood, Clint, Senses of Cinema](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/eastwood/)
26. [Oscars 2015 Nominations Analysis, Time](https://time.com/3668960/oscars-2015-nominations-analysis/)
27. [Adiós, Harry: Clint Eastwood se retira del cine, El País Cinco Días](https://cincodias.elpais.com/smartlife/smart-tv/2026-06-06/clint-eastwood-retira-cine-ver-peliculas-fin-semana.html)
28. [Adiós al Clint Eastwood director y actor, LOS40](https://los40.com/2026/06/05/adios-al-clint-eastwood-director-y-actor/)
29. [Revenge of the Creature, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/revenge-creature)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Actor filmographies and performer list articles › Surnames A to F*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license