Scott Eastwood is in the difficult position of having a superstar for a dad. If he embraces it — in the past he’s talked openly about how “hard” Clint is on him on set — then he’s dragged by the media for moaning about Hollywood privilege. If he stonewalls the dad questions (his approach in our interview) then he risks seeming ungrateful. It’s a tricky situation and not one I would welcome. That said, Scott lives a luxurious lifestyle in sunny San Diego and his net worth is in the millions. Does that mean he should suck it up?
One way to silence the critics is to focus on his own career. Scott’s new movie, robots vs. monsters smash-em-up Pacific Rim: Uprising, hits cinemas today. It’s an epic, battle-stuffed blockbuster and Eastwood’s turn as military golden boy Nate is professional and accomplished. The man’s clearly got talent.
So, we dropped by posh London hotel The Corinthia to find out what makes him tick. Cue questions about Eminem, karaoke with John Boyega and the dark side of Hollywood. Get stuck in.
At the start of your career, you almost packed it in and became a firefighter?
“Yeah, I thought about it. It was in my mid-20s when I decided, ‘If nothing happens in the next few years, I’m pulling the ripcord on this whole acting thing and doing something else.’ I was tired of being broke, working as a bartender and parking cars for a living.”
Before that you spent time in Australia?
“I did. I went solo too. That way you’re forced to meet people you might not have if you travel in a group. There was something very freeing about stepping out of my little echo chamber. I was sick of the bullshit in Hollywood.”
What would you change about Hollywood?
“How do I say this? With a lot of people in Hollywood, you’d never invite them over to dinner at your house. 100% of people are very narcissistic and it’s about who you know, what you know and how they can use you to benefit their career. I like the creative process of making films. I don’t even mind promoting a film, that’s fine. It’s the bullshit hierarchy and the catty fakeness that I don’t like. There’s a lot of backstabbing and no one has any honour.”
Jake (Boyega) and Nate (Eastwood) share a
difficult but entertaining relationship in
‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’
Tell me about doing karaoke with John Boyega
“Ooh yeah, that was fun. We were in Qingdao, China, and there was a bar downstairs in the hotel. We had a big crew staying and none of us spoke Mandarin so we were almost forced to hang out together. I’m a sucker for Whitney Houston, but John went straight in with Eminem, which was random.”
In a recent interview, John says he had some creative concerns while you were filming Pacific Rim: Uprising — did you speak about that?
“The proof is in the pudding, right? We had a cut, it didn’t test that well. So you go back and do reshoots, you know? But they cost money and take time.”
What did you add in?
“So one scene we shot after wrapping was the ice cream sequence with me and John [Boyega] in the base. We wanted to make the film feel a little lighter and that bit was frickin’ hysterical. We were both on the same page in that we wanted to make it funnier, like a buddy movie.”
The Stone Roses Made Of Stone Men’s Tee
“Yeah yeah, I remember that. I don’t remember the audition, but I shot The Longest Ride instead which spring-launched my career a little. Most people don’t know, but I’d been working for 10 years by that point. It didn’t happen overnight, I really worked my ass off.”
