He was a contract player at Universal International. He and another young actor named Burt Reynolds were released from their contracts and left the studio on the same day. They were both fired by the same director.
Eastwood was fired when the director didn’t want to use him in a movie because “his Adam’s Apple was too big.” Reynolds, who was serving as a stunt man, was fired after he shoved the director into a water tank during an argument over how to do a stunt fall.
I’m enjoying reading all the various movie lines. It’s amazing just how many memorable quotes there are in Clint’s films.