The legendary Clint Eastwood (who recently turned ninety-two years old) is best known for his Western films, including The Man With No Name (Dollars) Trilogy and Unforgiven. However, as an actor and director, he has also done other genres, including dramas and crime thrillers. These features contain essential themes such as morality, murder, guilt, and redemption.

What makes Clint so endearing is his longevity and fearless ambition to take on roles that are both tough and cool. He also has a natural ability to convey humor and raw emotion in his performances. Here are five of his best films outside the Western genre.

RELATED: 12 Best Clint Eastwood Western Movies, Ranked

Gran Torino

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In this 2008 film, Clint stars as Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran who just lost his wife, doesn't get along very well with his family (including his two sons), and is serious and grumpy towards almost everyone in his Michigan neighborhood. Walt also confronts a Hmong gang that tries to steal his car (a classic 1972 Gran Torino). When Thao Lor (a Hmong teenager who lives in the house next to Walt) admits to being pressured into stealing the car, Walt tells him to never set foot on his property again. However, Thao's sister, Sue, convinces Walt to let her brother work for him in order to make up for his misdeeds, so Walt has Thao do outside housework.

Kowalski is a very flawed character because he is a racist who grunts out ethnic slurs and insults others, but when his unlikely friendship with Thao, Sue, and their Hmong family grows, he transforms and becomes more sympathetic towards them because he sees that they are good people trying to make an honest living. Kowalski's evolving bond with Thao is the heart and soul of the film because the veteran teaches the young teenager how to work hard (especially with tools), and even gets him a construction job. Kowalski also defends Thao and his family from the Hmong gang that constantly harasses them, even going Dirty Harry on the gang members by pointing his rifle at them and grunting "get off my lawn." There are also key moments in which Kowalski confesses his sins and shares memories of war with a Catholic priest in order to find some inner peace.

Million Dollar Baby

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In this boxing feature, Clint portrays Frankie Dunn, a professional boxing trainer who is initially reluctant to train Maggie Fitzgerald (Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank), a woman who aspires to become a boxing champion. However, when Frankie and his assistant Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris (Morgan Freeman), a former pro boxer, see Maggie struggle during training and her first couple of matches under another manager who doesn't take his job seriously, Frankie and Eddie help Maggie train at their gym. Frankie is a very serious trainer, but he teaches Maggie how to punch and move better so that she can be prepared for more serious boxing fights.

Eastwood's direction is spot-on, especially when filming the intense and hard-hitting boxing scenes. However, his performance is also memorable not only as a firm boxing trainer but also as a meaningful life mentor who develops a friendly father-daughter bond with Maggie. Frankie learns to appreciate Maggie for her persistence and tenacity to transform into a tough boxer, and also recognizes that Maggie comes from a difficult family, but would do anything to pursue her American dream. The most emotional moments occur when Frankie feels regretful for training Maggie after she gets seriously injured during a title fight, and she sadly asks him to end her pain and suffering.

In the Line of Fire

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In this action thriller, Eastwood plays Frank Horrigan, a Secret Service Agent who receives a phone call from Mitch Leary (the always reliable and villainous John Malkovich), who initially calls himself Booth in reference to John Wilkes Booth (responsible for President Abraham Lincoln's assassination). Leary confesses his desire to kill the current U.S. President while giving Horrigan an opportunity to play along in his sadistic game. As Horrigan investigates Leary's true identity with his partner Al (Dylan McDermott), he also requests to return to the Presidential Protective Division despite his advanced age. Horrigan also forms an intimate relationship with fellow Secret Service Agent Lilly Raines (Rene Russo), who appreciates Horrigan's determination to protect the President.

Eastwood and Malkovich are perfectly matched as hero and villain, respectively, with Horrigan as the old veteran who wants to redeem himself after failing to protect President John F. Kennedy years ago, and Leary as a tactical assassin who uses his expertise in weaponry and facial disguises to accomplish his own mission to kill. Filmmaker Wolfgang Peterson (who directed Harrison Ford's tough and physical U.S. President in Air Force One) effectively puts Eastwood's charisma and persona to good use, including using old images of Clint from the 1960s and inserting them into archival footage of President Kennedy's assassination. There are only a handful of action scenes and chases, but the shootouts and physical confrontations are intense and thrilling.

Blood Work

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In this eerie crime thriller (released two decades ago), Clint portrays Terry McCaleb, an FBI agent investigating the crimes of an anonymous killer who leaves behind codes and Valentine's Day messages in order to get Terry's attention. As Terry chases down the supposed killer and shoots him, Terry has a sudden heart attack, and the killer escapes. After some time has passed, Terry gets a heart transplant, retires from the FBI, and lives on his private houseboat in Long Beach, California. However, Terry finds himself searching for the same killer again after the murders of a grocery store clerk and a customer during a robbery.

Terry McCaleb is another great role for Eastwood because he is an old but tough and intelligent investigator who knows how to bend the rules (like Dirty Harry) and question suspects. The way Terry argues with his former FBI partners when sharing evidence and information is both dramatic and slightly funny because Terry knows he's right about the case, but they don't believe him. There's also an additional touch to the plot that makes the story intriguing: Terry's new heart came from Gloria Torres, the female customer killed during the grocery store robbery, making Terry's mission both personal and redemptive. Terry also becomes close with Gloria's sister, Graciella, who also wants to find Gloria's killer and appreciates the physical risks Terry takes to solve the case.

Absolute Power

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Twenty-five years ago, Clint reunited with his Unforgiven co-star, Gene Hackman, to direct this political crime thriller. Clint also portrays protagonist Luther Whitney, a war veteran who is a skilled artist and a professional thief. While his heist at a mansion owned by Walter Sullivan (a wealthy politician) goes smoothly, Luther ends up witnessing the murder of Sullivan's wife, Christy, with the President of the United States (Hackman) responsible for attacking her while drunk, and his Secret Service men shooting her and covering up their crime. When the President and his men learn about Whitney and that he witnessed Christy's murder, they go after him, and Whitney considers leaving the country before realizing that he intends to take down the President for his heinous actions.

The cleverness of this thriller is Luther's ability to always stay one step ahead of the President and his conspirators, as well as the FBI on his trail. Luther is skilled in consuming numerous disguises, breaking and entering high-security facilities, and using key evidence from Christy's murder in order to make the President and the Secret Service men look guilty, so the FBI can track them down. The film is also about Whitney and his complicated relationship with his daughter Kate (Laura Linney), who always hated her father for believing that he wasn't around for her. However, when she sees the trouble he's in and that he truly does care about her, she begins to understand his struggle and determination to restart their family bond.

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