The Late Movies: Happy Birthday, Clint Eastwood!

Today, Clint Eastwood turns 81. We're celebrating with clips from some of his best work on the silver screen—from spaghetti westerns to dark dramas and everything in between. Eastwood has won four Academy Awards and one honorary Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, which is given at the yearly Oscar ceremony. In short: the guy's a living legend, so settle back with some popcorn and enjoy the look back at his career. And if we left off your favorite clip—and let's face it, Eastwood's had 66 acting roles on TV and in movies, so we've skipped a bunch—please leave a link in the comments.

Revenge of the Creature

Eastwood appeared in an uncredited role in this film in 1955. See it here, through the lens of Mystery Science Theatre 3000

A Fistful of Dollars

This 1964 spaghetti western was one of the first of the genre to be released in America. Eastwood was not the first person director Sergio Leone wanted for the role. Initially, he'd hoped Henry Fonda or Charles Bronson could pay "The Man With No Name."

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The third and final installment of "The Dollars Trilogy," this film began production shortly after Eastwood's TV series, Rawhide had ended.

Every Which Way But Loose

In one of his few comedic roles, Eastwood plays Philo Beddoe, a trucker roaming the American West in search of a lost love with his pal Orville and his pet orangutan, Clyde. Eastwood was reportedly advised against taking this role after years of working in spaghetti westerns. This film and its sequal, Any Which Way You Can wound up being two of the actor's highest-grossing movies.

Sudden Impact

The fourth film in Eastwood's well-known Dirty Harry series, Sudden Impact is the only Dirty Harry film to be directed by Eastwood himself. The film is probably best remembered for Harry's catch phrase, "Go ahead, make my day."

Unforgiven

Clint Eastwood produced, directed, and starred in this 1992 thriller. The film won four Academy Awards and in 2004, was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Million Dollar Baby

Despite being rejected by many studios, this film, which also starred Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, went on to win four Oscars as well as many other important film awards. In addition to producing, directing, and acting, Eastwood also composed the music for this movie.