Happy Birthday, Clint Eastwood!

From the beginning, Clint Eastwood, who turns 82 today, seemed bigger than life. A nurse at the hospital where he was born nicknamed him Samson because he was 11 pounds, 6 ounces. At age 21, he was in a plane crash off the California coast and swam three miles to shore. And he’s created two of the most enduring film archetypes of the past several decades: the aggressive cop and the morally ambiguous cowboy. Here are some things you might not know about Dirty Harry.

He Made an Embarrassing First Movie

Eastwood's first acting role was an uncredited bit part as a laboratory assistant in the 1955 film “Revenge of the Creature.” Luckily for the future tough guy, no pictures of him in that role seem to have survived.

They Hated the Way He Talked After being signed to do the TV series “Rawhide” in the early 1960s, series executives criticized Eastwood for his squint and his habit of hissing his lines through his teeth – both of which would become his trademarks.

He's Thinks for Himself Eastwood's politics can't be easily categorized. Although the first president he voted for was Eisenhower, and he supported Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan (at left), Eastwood is a libertarian and has voiced his support for the right to abortion, same-sex marriage and the Equal Rights Amendment for women.

He Could Have Been James Bond After Sean Connery said he wouldn’t be playing James Bond anymore, Eastwood turned down the role because, he said, it should go to a British actor. Too bad. Bond’s gun looks at least as big as Dirty Harry’s.

The Duke Had a Problem with Him Eastwood broke ground with his Westerns ("A Fistful of Dollars," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "High Plains Drifter"), which portrayed a morally ambiguous universe unlike the traditional good guys/bad guys horse operas. One of those good guys, John Wayne, was so upset with "High Plains Drifter" that he wrote Eastwood a letter saying, "the townspeople did not represent the true spirit of the American pioneer, the spirit that made America great."

His Cops Don't Have Halos The five movies Eastwood’s made as the macho cop Dirty Harry Callahan were the first in what critics have called “the loose-cannon cop” genre. In other words, don’t expect them to follow the rules, even though they’re basically good guys. With big guns.

His Realtionships Didn't Always End Well A ladies’ man, to say the least, Eastwood had affairs with a number of actresses, including Catherine Deneuve. One of his longest-term relationships was with Sondra Locke (in photo), his costar in the movie “Every Which Way but Loose.” But in 1989, after fourteen years with her, Eastwood put her stuff in storage and locked her out of the house. The resultant palimony suit Locke filed got ugly.

He Takes Care of Himself In his early 80s, Eastwood looks great, probably because of his lifelong habit of eating well and exercising. He also meditates daily. Wanna make something of it?

He's Been Honored in Japan With his movies “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima,” (photo left) Eastwood portrayed both the American and the Japanese experiences in World War II. As a result, Emperor Akihito of Japan awarded him with that country’s Order of the Rising Sun for improving understanding between Japan and the U.S.

His Wife's Got a Reality Show In 1996 Eastwood married his present wife, Dina Ruiz, an anchorwoman 35 years his junior. Now she has a reality show, “Mrs. Eastwood and Company, airing on the E! network (home to the Kardashians). So far the show has featured scenes of Dina’s hoarding addiction as well as one of their daughters’ destroying a $100,000 bag. Eastwood has kept his presence confined to a voice on the phone or a far-away shot in a restaurant. We always knew he was a smart guy.