What was the first movie where Clint Eastwood spoke in a tracheotomy whisper?
If it’s not his natural voice, and I’m kind of assuming it’s not, what is it supposed to tell us about his character?
That he’s a badass.
I’m pretty sure it *is *his real voice - he didn’t use it in **Unforgiven **or in any of his 90’s films, and while his voice was weakening in Space Cowboys, it wasn’t quite a rasp yet. As some point between 2000 and **Million Dollar ****Baby **in 2004, Eastwood lost his voice.
I don’t see why that’s so surprising - he is, after all, 79 years old.
He’s exaggerating it. It burnishes that steely one-dimensionality people love about him.
Listen to him in interviews, where he’s quietly conversational. That forced hiss, pushed out of a tight diaphragm and clenched jaw, isn’t nearly as obvious there.
It is like the wrestlers on TV. They learn a hoarse way of talking that makes them sound tough. They don’t do it in real life very often.
I think he did something like it in Heartbreak Ridge. It’s a shame, he used to have much better range and did humor quite well.
“Talk softly and carry a big stick.”