Clint Eastwood's career has spanned over 6 decades, from his big break in the TV Western Rawhide (1958) to his most recent film Cry Macho (2021).
Regarding his height, he certainly looked huge on-screen throughout the majority of his career, towering above his co-stars. In the last few decades, however, he looks shorter and has certainly lost a good chunk of height.
So let's investigate how tall Clint Eastwood was during his younger years, and also the height he stands at today, to find out his real height!
How Tall is he Really?
Clint Eastward is now over 90 years old and has lost a substantial amount of height. During his prime years he stood at 6'3.5" tall, and today he stands at 5'11.25", which is still comfortably above average height for an American man, and also very tall for someone of his age.
What Clint Says About His Height
In the book Clint Eastward Interviews (1999) (1), Clint gives some indication of his height as a teenager, and as an adult. It appears Clint was tall as a youngster too, as he mentions that in junior high, in relation to gymnastics:
"I wasn’t particularly suited for it, because I was so tall, but I liked it"
Later, he mentions that in relation to John Huston's height of 6'2", how he liked John's attitude on screen, saying:
"I wanted to recreate this kind of attitude. Being tall myself, pretty much Huston’s height"
What Others Say
Similar to Abraham Lincoln, Clint was very tall as a teenager.
In the book, Clint Eastwood: A Biography (2), it mentions that Clint was:
"always tall for his age (he was more than six feet tall when he was thirteen)".
Muhammed Ali 6'2.5" (189.2 cm)
Meeting Clint on The Carson Show in 1969, with Ali aged 27 and the heavyweight champ of the world, and Eastwood aged 39, take a look from 6.30 (View here), where Ali says:
"I'm the heavyweight champ of the world, I'm 6'2, and I'm 225 pounds and I'm considered a big fellow, but they're much taller than I am. Both these fellows look bigger than I am"
"I was surprised to see how tall he was, you know", and then points his finger, referring to Clint.
Clint then makes a joke about his height, saying Richard burton once said:
"Clint's 7 foot 1, I'm 4 foot 3. Here we go believing it for a few minutes".
Regarding Ali's statement, you can clearly see Clint has around 1 inch on Ali in the video, which could be perceived as being 'much taller' by the shorter person, backing up this claim.
Stuart M. Kaminsky
Also in the book Clint Eastward Interviews (1999) (1), American writer Stuart M. Kaminsky describes meeting Clint, saying:
"He is a nonslouching six-foot-four, as soft-spoken in life as in his movie roles".
Also in another section of the book, he is described in person as:
"six four and 190 pounds, he is physically imposing"
Compared to Celebs in Earlier Years (before aged 60)
Everett McGill 6'2.5" (189.2 cm)
Starring together in the film Heartbreak ridge (1986) Clint looks to be spot on 1 inch taller than Everett when standing face to face during an office scene in the movie.
So when next to Everett, Clint appears to be 6'3.5" tall.
Liam Neason 6'4" (193 cm)
Starring together in the film The Dead Pool (1988), there are many scenes when they are pictured together on screen throughout the movie, and on average Clint looks to be roughly 1 inch shorter than Liam.
So when next to Liam, Clint appears to be 6'3" tall.
Compared to Celebs in Recent Years
Substantial Height Loss
Clint is now into his early 90's and has lost a substantial amount of height. Studies show that men lose on average at least 2 inches of height from ages 40-80, and given Clint is aged 90+, we can expect him to have lost more than this, which the evidence below shows he has.
Leonardo Di Caprio 5'11.25" (181cm)
Pictured together at the J. Edgar movie premiere (2011), or the 12th Annual AFI Awards (2012), with Clint being in his early 80s, he looked comfortably 1 inch taller at around 6 feet, but fast forward to 2020, when pictured together at the 20th Annual AFI Awards they look identical in height.
So when recently compared to Leo, Clint looks to be 5'11.25" tall.
Bradley Cooper 6'0.5" (184.2 cm)
There are a good amount of pictures of Clint standing next to Bradley over the last few years. Starring together in Clint's 40th film as director, The Mule (2018), and wearing similar-sized footwear on the set of the film, Bradley appears to be 1.5 inches taller than Clint.
Therefore, when compared to Bradley, at almost 90 years old, Clint looks to be 5'11" tall.
The Results - When compared to other celebs, in his prime Clint stood at a grand 6'3.5", by aged 80 he was a solid 6 feet tall, and by aged 90, Clint stands at 5'11.25" tall.
The Truth
After investigating what others have said about his height, and comparing his height to other celebs, I conclude that Clint stood at 6'3.5" in his prime, and today, aged 90, he has lost a significant amount of height and stands at 5'11.25" tall.
Heights Connected to Clint Eastwood
- Francesca Eastwood, Daughter, 5'5" (165.1 cm)
- Scott Eastwood, Son, 5'10.5" (179.1 cm)
- Kyle Eastwood, Son, 6'2.5" (189.2 cm)
- Maggie Johnson, Ex-wife (1953-1984), 5'5.5" (166.4 cm)
- Dina Eastwood, Ex-wife (1996-2016), 5'6" (167.64 cm)
- John Wayne, Western Star, 6'3.5" (191.8 cm)
References
Sourced from Google Books:
1: Robert E. Kapsis CLINT EASTWARD INTERVIEWS (1999), page 175, page 222, page 59, page 171
2: Clint Eastwood: A Biography by Richard Schickel, page 26
