“My agent and everyone else begged me not to do.” Clint Eastwood was advised against taking part in this $104 million movie, because he didn't fit in it
Clint Eastwood defied his agents by appearing in a film that reportedly didn't suit him. “That’s not you.”.
Clint Eastwood is most associated with westerns and more serious cinema. In the late 1970s, however, he began to ponder his acting identity and further career direction. Eastwood didn't know whether he wanted to continue doing the same thing he was doing, or whether he should take a risk and try something else. In the end, he was tempted to take the second option, taking a part in Every Which Way but Loose, a film that no one believed in.
In appearing in this film, which is unusual for him, the actor was taking quite a risk, which his agents, among others, advised him against. They pointed out to him that such a comedy does not fit his film identity, but Eastwood did not want to listen to them. He wanted to try something new and star in a film that could also be seen by the children. In 2003, he told the story during an interview with The Guardian.
I’ve made some strange choices along the way. That was a film my agent and everyone else begged me not to do. This is after Dirty Harry and I’d done a lot of action and adventure films and they said “That’s not you” and I said “Well, what is me? I don’t know.” To me it was about reaching out to a younger generation, making a movie that kids could see, with a little less mouth.
Eastwood made his bet, and his decision did not hurt his career at all. In addition, it turned out that he bet on a good film, because even though others didn't believe the story of a man and an orangutan in Every Which Way but Loose, the production was a success, earning $104 million (via The Numbers) on an estimated budget of $5 million (via IMDb).