Clint Eastwood learned how to be a better director through his friendship with Don Siegel

When Don Siegel met Clint Eastwood, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the two men. Eastwood starred in a handful of films directed by Siegel, including Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) and Dirty Harry (1971). While on set, however, Eastwood wasn’t just acting; he was also learning the art of directing by Siegel’s example.

During an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Eastwood said that Siegel was an excellent teacher. “The thing I learned from him the most is ‘always trying for the shot,’” said Eastwood, who would go on to direct his own films like Play Misty For Me (1971). “Sometimes you get the feeling with some directors that they are not trying for it. Maybe after eight or 10 takes they will start kind of getting serious about it. Don was always serious about it from the beginning. The actors had to be on their toes. You had to be ready to go. But that was sort of the style then. Nowadays, people get much more wrapped up in details. I always took on the philosophy [as a director] that I was always trying for it.”

Eastwood admired Siegel, not only as a student, but as a fan. The actor cited the director’s 1956 film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as “one of the best movies he ever made.”

“It is very simple, because obviously they had very little money to get that production rolling, but Don could make a lot out of a little, and that’s where his expertise was,” said Eastwood. “He was mostly doing B-movies, but he worked very fast and efficiently and had a concept and made it work.”