'The Outpost' star Scott Eastwood has come a long way in Hollywood, from Private Lundsford to Clint Romesha
I'll be honest. The first time I saw Scott Eastwood was on a poster in a mall. I was waiting in queue to get my things billed and I saw him flaunting an intense look with the gorgeous Elyes Knowles in this huge banner for Davidoff Cool Water, a classic, luxury cologne brand. For a long time, the feeling of "I've seen this dude on TV" persisted, and then it occurred that he was the guy from 'The Fate of the Furious' where he played a law enforcement agent called Eric Reisner / Little Nobody.
There's something about Scott Eastwood. It's like he's earnest. He's hardworking and yet he always somehow manages to be the sidelines. Watching him play Eric and Nate Lambert in 'Pacific Rim: Uprising' led to watching some of his previous works, his interviews and his philanthropy. While it is easy to predict that this article is operating on fan-boy mode right now, it actually isn't. All of us at some point stumble across someone who we feel is interesting and we need to know more about it. For me, it was Scott Eastwood.
These thoughts raced again while reviewing his latest work, 'The Outpost' where he co-starred with Orlando Bloom. Eastwood plays Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha in Rod Lurie's action war drama based on Jake Tapper's 'The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor'. Lurie manages to recreate the Battle of Kamdesh and the fact that it is releasing just before Independence Day adds a more patriotic feel to the film. For Eastwood, this makes it his third war film role.
My dad was a huge Clint Eastwood fan. 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', 'Dirty Harry' and 'A Fistful of Dollars' were all films that he grew up watching and to make sure I didn't miss out on some of the golden classics, I watched them on DVD too. There was an interview where Scott said he began his career by using his given last name to avoid nepotism, although there is another actor named Scott Reeves. And it was understandable. Plus, he wanted to make his mark.
At some stage, we've all seen kids of superstars struggling to cope under pressure in their attempts to fill the gigantic size 15 shoes their parents leave. I guess Eastwood could be associated as one of them. So, going back to his first film, 'Flags of our Fathers,' a war drama where he played Private Roberto Lundsford. The 2006 film may have received favorable reviews from critics but was a Box Office failure. Then came 'Gran Torino' (2008), 'Invictus' (2009), 'The Forger' (2012), 'Trouble with the Curve' (2012), 'Texas Chainsaw' (2013), and 'Fury' (2014).
It was clear from this that Eastwood was experimenting. Of his 23 films, where he's alternated between supporting and lead roles, eight films have seen a healthy rating on Rotten Tomatoes. He's been part of Hollywood for a good decade now and it's safe to say, with 'The Outpost' he's managed to come into his own. Playing Romesha saw him slip into the comfort zone as he's played a role in two war dramas already. His performance as a marine with a steady head and never-say-die attitude further compliments the film's success.
His interview with Men's Health in 2017 was an early indication of how the 34-year-old had evolved as an actor, and as a person. Talking to Paul Kita and Peter Flax, Eastwood spoke about the family code where he wasn't raised a brat. He had to earn everything he asked for and that is enough to shoot the respect level 10x. Here are a bunch of his quotes from that interview: "You show up on time. When you say you're going to do something, you try to do your best at it. You don't backstab people. You don't b***h and complain about what you're doing. Being compassionate is big. And it's always important to act like a gentleman."
"He made me work for everything. My dad is a machine about food and exercise. He showed me how to lift when I was 14 or 15—the bench press and other basics. He made it clear it was more important to do the moves correctly than to put on more plates."
It all just led to respecting the man more and it's always nice to see someone doing their own thing without relying on others. Still a fanboy story you say? Not really, because my favorite Hollywood actor has always been Chris Evans. Coming back, Eastwood's come a long way from Lundsford to Romesha. He's starred in horrors, rom-coms, a DC film, and now it does appear that war dramas are where his strengths lie. With this, there's hope that I see him succeed again in another epic role, whichever that is and whenever that comes.
'The Outpost' is available on VoD.