Clint Eastwood's 10 Best Movie Characters, Ranked

Clint Eastwood is typically regarded as one of the best actors of all time, especially when it comes to the Western genre. Over the course of his long and illustrious career, Clint Eastwood’s filmography is quite impressive, which includes some of the best Westerns ever made. Spanning nearly 7 decades, there is something in his filmography that just about anyone can love, making him an incredibly accessible actor to get into.

Although he is primarily known for his Westerns, Clint Eastwood had roles in a variety of different genres, bringing the same gravitas and power that he has always had to each character he plays. While not every role of his was a hit, there were more that were. Clint Eastwood has played some of the coolest characters around, with quite a few being among the most iconic ever put to film.

10

Preacher

Pale Rider (1985)

Clint Eastwood has played some incredible characters over the years, and one of his best is The Preacher in the 1985 film, Pale Rider. Like most Clint Eastwood Western roles throughout his career, The Preacher is a mysterious figure who arrives at a small mining village and protects them from a greedy mining company. The stoicism on display by Eastwood in Pale Rider is incredible, showing just how well he understands the character and the genre.

A collage image of three shots of Clint Eastwood as Preacher in the 1985 movie Pale Rider, created by Tom Russell

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What really stands out about The Preacher are his supernatural qualities, raising the question of whether he was actually a flesh and blood human or something more. Clint Eastwood himself believes that The Preacher is a ghost, and while there is not an explicit answer within the film itself, it’s nice to see that Eastwood wants to lean into that idea, given it makes the character even more mysterious.

9

Robert Kincaid

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

While Clint Eastwood is a phenomenal actor, he stayed in his lane for most of his career, with a steady offering of Westerns and action films with some dramas thrown in for good measure. Still, when he tries his hand at more romantic films, they can be great too. Perhaps his best is The Bridges of Madison County, where he plays Robert Kincaid, a National Geographic journalist who begins a short love affair with a married woman played by Meryl Streep.

It’s against type compared to most of Eastwood’s best roles, but that is also what makes it so good, showing how capable he is as an actor with any type of material.

What makes Robert Kincaid such a great character is how warm and understanding he is toward Streep’s Francesca and the two characters’ decision to engage in a romance that is destined to fail is heartbreakingly tragic. It’s against type compared to most of Eastwood’s best roles, but that is also what makes it so good, showing how capable he is as an actor with any type of material.

8

Walt Kowalski

Gran Torino (2008)

Sitting firmly as a late-career drama for Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino is a compelling look at racism, class, and the belief in an America that can contain a multitude of cultures. Channeling the same type of expression as some of his most iconic characters, Eastwood’s Walt Kowalski is a hard-edged Korean War veteran who goes on to befriend his young, Hmong neighbor, whose friendship is the beating heart of the entire film.

There is a certain likability to Walt Kowalski despite the obvious flaws of his character. Underneath that hardened exterior, Eastwood is able to show some real warmth to the character. This is especially true with his interactions with the other main characters in the film, particularly with Bee Vang and Ahney Her’s characters. By the end of the film, Walt Kowalski is a much more complex character than initially thought, and his final act is tragically heroic in the only way his character might have known how.

7

Frank Horrigan

In the Line of Fire (1993)

In the Line of Fire feels like a forgotten gem of the 1990s, but it is one of the strongest Clint Eastwood performances of his entire career. Eastwood plays Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, who failed to protect President John F. Kennedy from assassination and makes it his mission to stop another assassin from taking out the current president. It’s a tense political action thriller, and Eastwood’s talents as an actor are on full display.

Unforgiven,-The-Bridges-of-Madison-County,-&-The-Rookie

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The way Frank Horrigan’s past failures continue to haunt him is one of the strongest aspects of the character, creating a complex person whose motives are clear from the moment you meet him. He will do his job and doesn’t care what happens to him to accomplish it. Striving for redemption for his failures is also something he holds close to himself in this film, and it is a joy to watch Eastwood imbue the character with his signature gravitas.

6

Gunnery Sergeant Thomas “Gunny” Highway

Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

Clint Eastwood plays Gunnery Sergeant Thomas “Gunny” Highway in the 1985 war film, Heartbreak Ridge, a U.S. Marine nearing retirement who is tasked with whipping an undisciplined platoon of soldiers into shape to lead them in the American invasion of Granada. It’s an incredible film that really plays to the strengths of Clint Eastwood as an actor while allowing him to subtly dig a bit deeper.

Clint Eastwood doesn’t have too many war films to his name, but the ones he does have are incredible, with Heartbreak Ridge being one of the standouts.

Highway embodies the older soldier persona well, as he is gruff, strict, and uncompromising, which fits right into Clint Eastwood’s wheelhouse as an actor. There is so much more to the character, though, as he is shown to care deeply for the men he leads as well as his country. Eastwood is able to play him as tough but also vulnerable in ways that aren’t typically associated with that type of character, making him one of the most impactful characters in the war film genre.

5

Josie Wales

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

Set during the American Civil War, the 1976 film The Outlaw Josey Wales is a revisionist Western that centers on the titular character Josey Wales, played brilliantly by Clint Eastwood. Wales is a Missouri farmer who joins the Confederate army following the death of his family. Once the war is over, and his group surrenders, Josey Wales becomes an outlaw, pursued by bounty hunters and soldiers alike.

It’s hard to root for a character like Josey Wales at first, given the nature of who he fights for, but there is so much to him that seeing his progression throughout the film is fascinating to watch. Clint Eastwood channels Josey Wales’ loneliness and internal conflict so well, and the way he is shaped by the people he meets along his journey allows him to grow as a complex character.

4

Frankie Dunn

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

While Million Dollar Baby is a Hilary Swank masterclass, Clint Eastwood’s Frankie Dunn is one of the best characters in his career. As a later Clint Eastwood film, Million Dollar Baby feels a lot like him reflecting on his career. Frankie Dunn is a boxing trainer who is reluctant to take on Swank’s Maggie Fitzgerald for several reasons, but primarily due to her being a female boxer.

Clint Eastwood with a shotgun in Gran Torino

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Much like he would explore in other films like Gran Torino, Frankie Dunn is a character that is very much stuck in his ways but begins to open up and show a level of vulnerability after he builds a relationship with someone he thought he never would. The end of the movie is enough to turn anyone into a sobbing mess, and Eastwood’s performance as Frankie Dunn is a massive reason for that.

3

William “Will” Munny

Unforgiven (1992)

Released in 1992, Unforgiven is one of the best movies in Clint Eastwood’s legendary career, and also one of the best Westerns ever made. In the film, Eastwood plays William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job despite spending the past few years of his life as a farmer. Munny is the culmination of everything that Clint Eastwood did throughout his career in Westerns, making him one of Eastwood’s most complex characters.

Unforgiven is a masterpiece and the last traditional Western that Eastwood would ever be in again, as he had said everything he needed to say within the genre.

Clint Eastwood leans into the moral conflict of William Munny, who wrestles with the idea of violence and his role in perpetuating it throughout his life. It’s a poignant look at an aging man who wants to be better and actively chooses to be, despite every impulse he has going against that notion. Unforgiven is a masterpiece and the last traditional Western that Eastwood would ever be in again, as he had said everything he needed to say within the genre.

2

Harry Callahan

Dirty Harry (1971)

Harry Callahan could probably be considered Clint Eastwood’s most popular role, given its prominence in pop culture and how the first film, Dirty Harry, was so successful that it resulted in four more sequels for the iconic character. Dirty Harry is probably the best movie in the franchise as well as the best portrayal of “Dirty” Harry Callahan, as the film heavily leans on its neo-noir action sensibilities to craft a tense thriller where Eastwood’s titular character attempts to track down a relentless killer.

What makes Harry Callahan work so well is how morally complex he is as a character, given his position as a San Francisco Police Department Inspector who will disregard protocol to suit his needs. In fact, he could be considered an anti-hero throughout Dirty Harry, whose methods to track down the killer become increasingly controversial. Harry Callahan also has one of Clint Eastwood’s most famous lines in Dirty Harry, a true masterpiece.

1

Man With No Name

The Dollars Trilogy

Although there are a plethora of Clint Eastwood characters that have been incredible throughout his career, none can really compare to his “Man with No Name” character that he plays throughout all three films in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy. Loosely connected between A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Eastwood’s Man with No Name is the main character throughout, and although it is not exactly cut and dry if Eastwood’s character is the exact same person in all three films, the character remains largely the same in terms of personality and demeanor.

Man With No Name’s Nicknames in The Dollars Trilogy

Movie

Nickname

A Fistful of Dollars

Joe

For a Few Dollars More

Manco

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Blondie

To set each of his three performances apart, his Man with No Name actually gets a nickname in each film; Joe, Manco, and Blondie. All three iterations of the character are incredible, with that classic Clint Eastwood stoicism kicking into overdrive. A good Western typically features an incredibly cool main character, and Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name might just be his coolest.