MOVIE NEWS – “I thought he looked a lot like a cat”: Clint Eastwood was chosen for the film that made him famous because of his looks. A fan of series, horror, sci-fi, crime, and true crime, the actor wasn’t Sergio Leone’s first pick—just the cheapest.

At 94, Clint Eastwood is one of the last remaining giants of the Western film genre. After debuting with a minor, uncredited appearance in 1955’s Revenge of the Monster Man, he rose to fame in 1959 through his role in the TV series Rawhide. That opportunity paved the way for the film that would catapult him to global recognition.

The Birth of the Dollars Trilogy and a Cinematic Icon

Though hesitant at first, Eastwood ultimately agreed to star in A Fistful of Dollars in 1964—a decision that marked the beginning of both the spaghetti western craze and Sergio Leone’s now-legendary Dollars Trilogy. “I liked [A Fistful of Dollars], and thought maybe a European approach would give the Western a new lease on life,” Eastwood said in a 1977 interview with BBC journalist Iain Johnstone.

However, Leone hadn’t originally wanted Eastwood for the lead role of the Man with No Name. His first choice was James Coburn, known for films like The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven, but he was too expensive: “I really wanted James Coburn, but he was too expensive,” Leone told the BBC in the same interview.

Though now regarded as one of the greatest westerns ever made, even Eastwood himself wasn’t sure the film would succeed. What ultimately sealed the deal was the budget: Eastwood cost $15,000, whereas Coburn wanted $25,000. Leone was also struck by Eastwood’s physicality: “I didn’t see any character in ‘Rawhide,’ just a physical figure. What impressed me most about Clint was his indolent way of moving. I thought Clint looked a lot like a cat.”

A Fistful of Dollars was inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, and featured Eastwood as Joe, a lone gunslinger wandering through a crumbling Mexican town plagued by fear and lawlessness. His life—and the town’s fate—takes a turn when he witnesses a harrowing event that forces him to act.

Eastwood recalled the on-set language barrier fondly: “I knew ‘arrivederci’ and ‘buongiorno,’ and [Leone] knew ‘goodbye’ and ‘hello,’ and that was it. Then he learned a little English, I learned a little Italian, and in between, a little Spanish, and we sort of got by.”

Following the success of A Fistful of Dollars, Eastwood and Leone reunited for two more iconic entries: For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly—films that remain defining works of Western cinema to this day.

Source: 3djuegos