Clint still cool in front of camera

8:04am Saturday 4th October 2008

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Clint Eastwood isn't hanging up his acting hat just yet.

The veteran Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker has been focusing on directing in recent years with Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and the forthcoming Changeling, which stars Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich.

"Well, I thought about it after watching all those young actors.

"Since this picture was completed this year, I've done another film which I've performed in, even though I said I was not going to do that any more," he said at a press conference at the New York Film Festival.

"I think I started saying that a few years ago, I said 'I don't think I'll act any more, I'll stay behind the camera'.

"And then Million Dollar Baby came along and I liked that role, so I said, 'I think I'll do this role because I'm right for it', and then I did another one called Gran Torino, which we just finished and is in post-production now."

The 78-year-old admitted that he enjoys letting his younger cast do all the work.

"It's a great thing. That's one of the reasons why I, in my senior years, do this kind of thing - hide behind the camera and let the young people jump and run with the ball," he continued.

"It's a great pleasure these days to watch the talent come along and work with people who are coming along.

"I'm always amazed at how good some of them are at such young ages, because it took me forever to learn how to say my own name."