<\/p>\n
Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood legend whose career has spanned parts of eight decades. During that time, he’s done more movies and TV shows than we can count, including plenty of incredible Westerns<\/a>.\u00a0But one role that made him an instant pop culture icon was the lead in 1971’s “Dirty Harry,” as 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, and only took the part after Paul Newman declined because he didn’t agree with the film’s message.<\/p>\n “[‘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\u00a0Rolling Stone.<\/a>\u00a0According to Eastwood, Newman had 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.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n