Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood legend whose career has spanned parts of eight decades. During that time, he’s appeared in more movies and TV shows than we can count, including plenty of incredible Westerns. But one role that made him an instant pop culture icon was the lead in 1971’s *Dirty Harry*, where he played a disgruntled cop with a big gun who takes on criminals while pushing at the edge of the law.
Eastwood, however, wasn’t the first choice for Harry Callahan. He only took the part after Paul Newman declined because he didn’t agree with the film’s message.
“[‘Dirty Harry’] was offered by an executive who said that Paul Newman had told him about it and had said it’s a great script, but he couldn’t do it,” Eastwood said in a 1992 interview for *Rolling Stone*. According to Eastwood, Newman turned down the role because of the political ramifications of a police officer violating a criminal’s civil rights.
Eastwood was happy to take the part, but not because he agreed with the film’s politics.
“It’s a lot more challenging for me to play someone who I really have nothing in common with. That to me is acting,” Eastwood explained. “And the fact that people think you really are someone is really not an uncomplimentary thing. Because if you’ve affected them that much that they think you are this guy and that you have this guy’s philosophy, then you have done your job.”
Some actors are known for their most famous movie lines, and thanks to the role of Harry Callahan, Clint Eastwood has at least two unforgettable quotes, even if one is from a less memorable movie.
In the same *Rolling Stone* interview, he recalled how, as soon as he read it in the script, he knew that “Go ahead, make my day” was going to be his new catchphrase. But what he didn’t know was just how popular the phrase from the fourth *Dirty Harry* film, 1983’s *Sudden Impact*, would become.
“I didn’t know it would go like it did,” he said. “People flew banners with it here, above the golf course. After a while, I really got sick of hearing it.”
In a separate interview with *Esquire* magazine in 2008, Eastwood was once again asked about “make my day.” The actor admitted he saw it coming because it had happened before.
“I kind of had a feeling ‘make my day’ would resonate, based upon ‘Do you feel lucky, punk?’ in [*Dirty Harry*]. But ‘make my day’ was just so simple. I still get it a lot.”
https://www.looper.com/2006661/why-clint-eastwood-starred-dirty-harry-after-paul-newman-rejection/
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