In 2010, Clint Eastwood directed the film “Hereafter,” starring Matt Damon, which begins with a scene of a near-drowning during a tsunami. Eastwood’s personal experience provided an extra layer of realism. Then in 2016, Eastwood directed “Sully,” a film based on the memoir of commercial airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who safely landed an airliner in the Hudson River in 2009. Tom Hanks, who played the lead, believed Eastwood was the only man for the job.
“He almost died! He almost froze in the water!” Hanks told The Hollywood Reporter. “I mean, no one else but Clint could have or should have made this movie.” Eastwood recalled his harrowing experience while working on the film, but said it didn’t play a part in his decision to direct it. “I definitely did think about it when I was shooting this,” he said. “I’m probably the only director who’s actually been in a water landing. But it had no bearing on me making this movie. I would have shot this movie anyway.”
