“You’re in a hell of a lot of trouble.” Clint Eastwood was fired by the movie studio on the same day as Burt Reynolds, for a crazy reason
Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds were fired by Universal Pictures on the same day. The reason was crazy.
At the beginning of his career, before Clint Eastwood made a name for himself as a western star with a distinctive, slow-talking manner, he was a young up-and-coming actor who encountered various difficulties before he was able to establish his own position in the industry. It was no different with Burt Reynolds.
At one time they were both employed by Universal Pictures. At the time, they weren't as famous and apparently didn't have any luck either. Eastwood and Reynolds were fired on the same day by the studio. The reason was crazy, especially in Eastwood's case.
During an interview with Conan O'Brien, Burt Reynolds recounted an adventure from the early days of his career, when he met the same fate as Clint Eastwood, albeit for a very different reason.
Well, Clint… They said, “You know, you talk too slow and your tooth is chipped and you won’t get it fixed and you don’t listen to anybody. You just want to do things your way” and I said, Why are you firing me?” And they said, “You can’t act.”
Despite being fired for crazy reasons, Reynolds had no problem joking about the situation he and Eastwood found themselves in. When they both returned after being fired by Universal Pictures, Reynolds said Eastwood had a much bigger problem than him.
We're walking to his truck afterwards and I said, “You're in a hell of a lot of trouble.” And he said, “Why?” and I said, “I can learn to act, you'll never get rid of that Adam's apple.”
Despite a lack of faith on the part of Universal Pictures, the two actors managed to build careers and become successful. The past experience did not discourage them from continuing to fight for their place in the industry, which paid off for them.
Eastwood and Reynolds share more than just a similar unpleasant experience they had on the same day. The actors starred together in the 1984 crime comedy City Heat. It tells the story of a nonchalant former detective who plays with two dangerous gangs and gets into trouble. The man is helped by an old friend, a police lieutenant.