Burt Reynolds on Clint Eastwood, Wasting Power & What Dinah Shore Taught Him About Life (1994)
FILM DISCUSSION
6,837 views
We take a look at the past to shape our future.
In 1994, Burt Reynolds sat down with Charlie Rose to discuss his autobiography "My Life," his friendship with Clint Eastwood, and what he learned from Dinah Shore about truth and class.
On why he loves teaching actors: "I wanted to be a teacher before I decided to be an actor. The hardest thing to teach a young actor is to listen. Most actors have no idea how many laughs you can get just by reacting."
On handling rejection: "Every good actor I've ever known has been told, 'Get out of the business, you stink.' And has taken that and used it as fuel. This is not a profession for people who can't handle rejection. You thrive on rejection and you thrive on stress."
On screwing up success: "Power corrupts. I didn't even realize how much power I had. Five years as the number one box office star. But I didn't use it the right way. I could have said, 'I want to work with just Scorsese.' But I didn't think they wanted to work with me. And I never asked."
On Clint Eastwood's brilliance: "Has he managed his career brilliantly? Brilliantly. He is not as accessible as I am. I'm a fool in terms of that. I'll sign wet napkin wrappers. Did he take the profession more serious? Not harder. Smarter. I have 43 broken bones because I did things I didn't want people to think, 'It was a lousy performance, but boy, he jumped out of that window.'"
On the studio rejection story: "They told Clint his Adam's apple stuck out too far, he'd never make it. They told David Janssen that too. I said, 'What's my problem?' They said, 'You can't act.' I told Clint, 'You're in a hell of a lot of trouble because I can learn to act. You'll never get rid of that damn Adam's apple.'"
On Dinah Shore's lesson: "She took somebody who never read very much to someone who read two and a half books a week, someone who wasn't interested in art galleries to someone who could spend all day in one. Most importantly, I learned the greatest lesson: the truth will rise to the top like the cream in that old bottle of milk. And a lie will die its own death."
GUEST: Burt Reynolds, Actor, Director, Author
Interview from 1994
0:00 Introduction: Movie star, author
0:17 Teaching actors to listen
1:14 Knowing who needs what motivation
2:00 Can you spot talent in acting?
2:38 Using rejection as fuel
3:15 Screwing up success
4:11 "I didn't realize how much power I had"
4:32 Studio rejection: Clint and Burt
5:23 Clint managed his career brilliantly
5:45 43 broken bones
6:10 Pauline Kael never writes about courage
6:33 Josey Wales vs. Unforgiven
7:01 Evening Shade as comeback
7:25 Clint's bodies in the closet
8:09 Dirty Harry saves an ant
8:32 Clint's temper in San Francisco
9:11 Why write this book now
24:11 The divorce and lawyers
25:43 What would Dinah Shore say?
28:01 Dinah's greatest lesson
29:09 "Truth will rise to the top"
29:48 Cut out five chapters
30:22 Evening Shade family
31:17 Ossie Davis: "I thought better of you"
32:15 First villain role
33:10 Wishes her luck
This interview captures a movie star reflecting on how he failed to use his power wisely and what the wisest woman in his life taught him about truth and class. History offers the clearest roadmap for our future.
#BurtReynolds #ClintEastwood #1994Interview #CharlieRose #DinahShore #EveningShade #Hollywood #MyLife #Autobiography #FilmDiscussion #LookingBack
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Burt Reynolds on Clint Eastwood, Wasting Power & What Dinah Shore Taught Him About Life (1994)
FILM DISCUSSION
6,837 views
We take a look at the past to shape our future.
In 1994, Burt Reynolds sat down with Charlie Rose to discuss his autobiography "My Life," his friendship with Clint Eastwood, and what he learned from Dinah Shore about truth and class.
On why he loves teaching actors: "I wanted to be a teacher before I decided to be an actor. The hardest thing to teach a young actor is to listen. Most actors have no idea how many laughs you can get just by reacting."
On handling rejection: "Every good actor I've ever known has been told, 'Get out of the business, you stink.' And has taken that and used it as fuel. This is not a profession for people who can't handle rejection. You thrive on rejection and you thrive on stress."
On screwing up success: "Power corrupts. I didn't even realize how much power I had. Five years as the number one box office star. But I didn't use it the right way. I could have said, 'I want to work with just Scorsese.' But I didn't think they wanted to work with me. And I never asked."
On Clint Eastwood's brilliance: "Has he managed his career brilliantly? Brilliantly. He is not as accessible as I am. I'm a fool in terms of that. I'll sign wet napkin wrappers. Did he take the profession more serious? Not harder. Smarter. I have 43 broken bones because I did things I didn't want people to think, 'It was a lousy performance, but boy, he jumped out of that window.'"
On the studio rejection story: "They told Clint his Adam's apple stuck out too far, he'd never make it. They told David Janssen that too. I said, 'What's my problem?' They said, 'You can't act.' I told Clint, 'You're in a hell of a lot of trouble because I can learn to act. You'll never get rid of that damn Adam's apple.'"
On Dinah Shore's lesson: "She took somebody who never read very much to someone who read two and a half books a week, someone who wasn't interested in art galleries to someone who could spend all day in one. Most importantly, I learned the greatest lesson: the truth will rise to the top like the cream in that old bottle of milk. And a lie will die its own death."
GUEST: Burt Reynolds, Actor, Director, Author
Interview from 1994
0:00 Introduction: Movie star, author
0:17 Teaching actors to listen
1:14 Knowing who needs what motivation
2:00 Can you spot talent in acting?
2:38 Using rejection as fuel
3:15 Screwing up success
4:11 "I didn't realize how much power I had"
4:32 Studio rejection: Clint and Burt
5:23 Clint managed his career brilliantly
5:45 43 broken bones
6:10 Pauline Kael never writes about courage
6:33 Josey Wales vs. Unforgiven
7:01 Evening Shade as comeback
7:25 Clint's bodies in the closet
8:09 Dirty Harry saves an ant
8:32 Clint's temper in San Francisco
9:11 Why write this book now
24:11 The divorce and lawyers
25:43 What would Dinah Shore say?
28:01 Dinah's greatest lesson
29:09 "Truth will rise to the top"
29:48 Cut out five chapters
30:22 Evening Shade family
31:17 Ossie Davis: "I thought better of you"
32:15 First villain role
33:10 Wishes her luck
This interview captures a movie star reflecting on how he failed to use his power wisely and what the wisest woman in his life taught him about truth and class. History offers the clearest roadmap for our future.
#BurtReynolds #ClintEastwood #1994Interview #CharlieRose #DinahShore #EveningShade #Hollywood #MyLife #Autobiography #FilmDiscussion #LookingBack