Feelin' lucky

The grin, the brow, the ‘do-I-feel-lucky’ stare: Scott Eastwood is very clearly Clint’s son. But after a decade as a struggling actor, the Fate Of The Furious star is finally ready to step out of his old man’s shadow.

Like most struggling actors, Scott Reeves needed another job. He hammered nails, parked cars. For a while he worked behind a bar, learning lines when he wasn’t fixing drinks. At 3am he’d go home and sleep for a few hours. He’d wake up early and drive from San Diego to Los Angeles for an audition, usually a small part in a small movie, a part he rarely got. Reeves would be back behind the bar later that night – fixing drinks, learning lines, another long drive, another failed audition.

It’s the same story for thousands of struggling actors all over California. Difference is, this struggling actor is the son of one of the 20th century’s most iconic actors, one of the 21st century’s highest-grossing directors. Reeves was hiding his real surname: Eastwood.

“It was only a little over five years ago that I was going to quit acting and become a firefighter,” Scott Eastwood says. “But then I thought I’ll give it another year before I throw in the towel. People always talk about bartending, but I did lots of other stuff as well – I worked in construction, I was a parking valet for a while.

“My father is not the kind of guy who will just give me handouts. And I’m grateful for that. It’s given me a good work ethic. So much of it is hard work and perseverance. This business is all about momentum: one big role can open up a lot more.”

It’s difficult to say which of 30-year-old Eastwood’s recent roles opened things up for him. This year, he earned parts in Snowden, Oliver Stone’s biopic of CIA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, and in David Ayer’s comic-book blockbuster Suicide Squad. He’ll appear in Ben Affleck’s new movie, Live By Night, at the beginning of next year. He recently finished filming the eighth Fast And The Furious movie and is about to start work on the second Pacific Rim.