Clint Eastwood's Allergy This Animal Will Change How You See His Movies
Despite having played dozens of different roles in many genres, Clint Eastwood will forever be associated as the archetypal Hollywood cowboy. In collaboration with the legendary Italian director Sergio Leone, Eastwood's "Man with No Name" in the "Dollars Trilogy" broke Hollywood with its Spaghetti Western genre, marking the transition from the traditional American Western that moviegoers were accustomed to, according to the British Film Institute.
"Sergio was a visual from the very beginning," Eastwood told Empire magazine about the director (via the Independent). "He used an interesting approach. He tied things up very well ... He was a big fan of John Ford, people like that." While there was quite a big language barrier between the two — with Eastwood knowing no Italian and Leone speaking very little English — the two formed a bond that would last through two more films in their trilogy of Westerns.
While the actor and director didn't struggle so much on that front (thanks to the help of an interpreter), there was one thing Eastwood had to deal with a lot during filming — his allergy to horses.
Clint Eastwood had to limit his time around horses on the set of his Western films
Horses are a staple of the American West, so it makes sense that Clint Eastwood was almost always somewhere near one on set. But while it may seem like the actor and his horse are tied at the hip in his Western films, the actor made sure to keep his distance when he could, according to "American Film" (via The Vintage News).
Similar to an allergy to cats and dogs, which Eastwood also has, a horse allergy can be brought on by its salvia and skin cells which can trigger an immune response, per Healthline. This can result in anything from itchy eyes and a stuffy nose to a more serious reaction, like asthma symptoms.
If Eastwood were ever to appear in a film with a horse again, though, there may be one breed of horse he could work with. Per Horse Nation, Bashkir Curlies — named in part for their curly manes — are hypoallergenic, at least, according to some with horse allergies. However, according to one research study, this isn't actually true. As reported by EQUUS Magazine, those who conducted the study actually discovered that the hair from these so-called "Curly Horses" has the same amount of allergens that other horses have. Maybe this is a sign that Eastwood should stick to his work behind the camera — or, at least, on a set sans horses — for a while.