Getting to work under the direction of one of the legendary filmmakers of the cinematic industry, Clint Eastwood, is nothing less than a great opportunity in itself. The filmmaker’s contribution to the industry is indeed commendable, and one of his notable directorial works includes the 2003 neo-noir crime drama film “Mystic River.” The film marked the collaboration of Clint Eastwood with acclaimed actor Tim Robbins, who won the Oscars Award for Best Supporting Role for his role of Dave Boyle.
Recently, Robbins appeared in an episode of Deadline’s The Actor’s Side, where he was asked to share insight on his experience working with Eastwood. Robbins exclaimed that it was a great experience but one that required discipline and preparation—as Clint was “not going to do second takes.”
The actor said,
“[He was] amazing. Amazing. I think what you see in Mystic River, most of what you see in Mystic River is the first take…because he only would do one take. So you come prepared, disciplined, ready to work, know all your lines because you know you only have one shot at it. So, you get three shots, there are three set-ups – you get a wide, a mid, and a close. But he’s not going to do two second takes.”
Eastwood’s fascination for getting the right shot on the first take explains why Robbins was surprised by the brief working hours on set. When asked how long he would spend on set each day, Robbins replied:
“We didn’t work any day…at least I didn’t work any more than 7 hours.”
The 2003 film was based on Dennis Lehane’s 2001 novel of the same name. It was a critical and commercial success. “Mystic River” was nominated for six awards at the 76th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Penn won Best Actor, and Robbins won Best Supporting Actor.
Tim Robbins didn’t see the Oscar Trophy coming for his role in ‘Mystic River’
It’s indeed hard to predict what’s coming next, so it’s best to focus on the work and not worry about the fruit. After working for years in the film industry, Tim Robbins learned not to anticipate how a movie would be received. However, the actor believes that there is one thing that can always help a movie, and that is the belief of the people willing to market a film. He noted:
“One thing that is essential for a film to be a success is not the film itself but the belief in the film by a few very key people that are going to be able to say we are going to put money into marketing this. It’s super important. If it doesn’t catch that person’s imagination or heart it can be a great film and not be seen. So we got very lucky with that. And I was super fortunate to catch the tail end of the idea that a film can be art and a film can be made for adults that are interested in watching something that might they might not have seen before.”
“Mystic River” was both commercially and critically successful and is considered as Robbins and Eastwood’s one of the greatest movies of all time.
