As an actor, the number of awards that Clint Eastwood has received is undeservedly low. While he does have a handful of awards stashed away somewhere, many of them are for his directorial efforts. There are many roles for which his acting has been lauded, particularly by moviegoers, however.
Here are some of the awards that highlight Clint Eastwood's storied career.
1. "Unforgiven" (1992)
With an acting career that began in the 1950s and included many iconic roles — such as "The Man with No Name" in director Sergio Leone's acclaimed Spaghetti Western trilogy, and as "Dirty" Harry Callahan — it is somewhat surprising to find that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science did not nominate Eastwood for an acting role until 1993 for "Unforgiven," where he plays rancher Will Munny.
He lost the Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar to Al Pacino that year, but made up for it by winning both the Best Director and Best Picture awards for "Unforgiven."
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He also won the Golden Globe for Best Director for "Unforgiven" that year as well.
2. "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)
The actor/director force was again nominated for Academy Awards in 2005 for "Million Dollar Baby." He was nominated, but lost, as Best Actor in a Leading Role, but again won for both direction and Best Picture for "Million Dollar Baby."
3. Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (1995)
As a way to honor his incredible career, and possibly make up for some acting award oversights, Eastwood was the recipient of the Academy Award's Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, nominated by the Academy's board of governors.
He joined a prestigious list of Thalberg Award recipients, including Alfred Hitchcock, Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas. Eastwood was the first honoree who was more known for his acting career, however.
About receiving the award, Eastwood joked with presenter Arnold Schwarzenegger about how heavy it was, saying, "You're probably the only guy who can haul this for me." He also said that if he found himself in "Dirty" Harry's sights and "he said, 'Do you feel lucky?' I'd say, 'You're damn right I do."
4. Other Acting Awards
Eastwood has been nominated and even won a few other lesser known acting awards. For example, for his role as Frank Corvin in 2000's "Space Cowboys," which he also directed, he won the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films' Saturn Award for Best Actor.
For his role as Frank Horrigan in 1993's "In the Line of Fire," he won the Jupiter Award for Best International Actor.
As Walt Kowalski in 2008's "Gran Torino," he won the Best Actor award from the National Board of Review.
In addition, he won four People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture Actor in 1981, 1984, 1985, and 1987.
In 1988, he was given the award for the Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Star by the People's Choice Awards.
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