London, Oct 13: Clocking air miles in support of his new release, "Mystic River," Clint Eastwood charmed a packed house during a screening of the drama at London's National Theater last Tuesday. The 73-year-old star -- who said he has no plans to retire, intending to "go on like Methusalah" -- dismayed fans of Western movies, however, by confirming that his 1992 Oscar winner "Unforgiven" was his swan song as a gunfighter.
"Barring someone coming along with a brilliant script, and I haven't seen one yet, yeah, that was it," Eastwood confessed. "The story drives everything. To just put on the boots and jump in the saddle without the things that give life to drama, you don't have it."
He also said that he was grateful that spaghetti Westerns gave him his start, adding: "If I'd stayed on being a cowboy on the plains of Spain, I'd have been retired long ago."
Bureau Report