Clint Eastwood has inevitably been regarded as one of the greatest actors ever, a mastermind with all the wit, talent, and brains anyone could ever ask for. Not only has he gifted cinemas some of the best masterpieces of all time through his acting and directing, but he has also inspired quite a few acting gigs of some widely renowned A-listers.
Two of these top-rated stars who based their performances on Eastwood are none other than Hugh Jackman and Angelina Jolie. While Jackman took inspiration from the Unforgiven actor for Logan, Jolie based her first-ever comic book character from Wanted on quite a few of the legendary actor’s star-studded performances that many fans are unaware of.
Clint Eastwood Inspired Angelina Jolie’s Wanted Performance
While Clint Eastwood has influenced quite a lot of male actors throughout his decades-long career with his impeccable charm and epic performances, it seems female actresses weren’t immune to his charisma either. This comes after observing Jolie’s performance as Fox in Wanted.
For those who may not know, the 2008 widely loved masterpiece was based on a limited comic book series of the same name by Mark Millar, which was released and included in the Millarworld in 2003 and 2004. In the comic series, Fox is more of a bloodthirsty and brutally promiscuous woman.
However, in the movie, Angelina Jolie transformed her into a lot more than just a ruthless assassin. While she was still a peerlessly brutal assassin in the film, Jolie added a few more features that made the fan-favorite character seem “distant and unattainable” and further enhanced her.
As it turns out, that praiseworthy performance may have been motivated by Eastwood, with whom she worked right after Wanted on Changeling. During an interview with USA Today, she expressed the same while revealing the subconscious motivation behind letting her silent actions do the talking:
“Maybe it was my attempt at being Clint Eastwood. Maybe I was secretly trying to channel the coolest person who says nothing.”
That being said, those who may be acquainted with the cult classic comics must know how changed the character of Fox was in Wanted. Inevitably enough, it was all thanks to Jolie, who had the bullet-riddled masterpiece tailored to what she had in mind for the character, all because of (perhaps) Eastwood.
Hugh Jackman Also Based One of His Performances on Clint Eastwood
On the one hand, while Jolie did an absolutely remarkable job in Wanted after being inspired by Eastwood to result in a character widely commended by critics and general audiences alike, Hugh Jackman, on the other, did something similar to sweeten his performance in and as Logan.
As he expressed during an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, the Wolverine portrayer was “really inspired by Unforgiven” — the Oscar-winning film starring Eastwood as William Munny, which is easily regarded as one of Eastwood’s greatest works ever — for his performance in the 2017 film.
“It’s more powerful that Munny doesn’t die at the end,” Jackman explained. “You assume he’s going to die, but by taking that final action and shooting everyone down, he embraces all the darkness he’s tried to put outside him. Now he’s got to live with it, and it’s almost more devastating.”
Just like that, not only did Eastwood himself serve some of the best and most critically acclaimed masterpieces ever to the cinema, but he also acted as a major influence to some of the greatest actors of all time in delivering exceptional performances in masterworks like Logan and Wanted!
