Clint Eastwood

Dirty Harry's cynical ending is perfect for the movie, but Clint Eastwood himself originally refused to film it, fearing it would hurt the story.

He also felt [Dirty Harry had franchise potential](https://screenrant.com/dirty-harry-clint-eastwood-movie-franchise-ranked/), and thought the character quitting the force could jeopardize that. Eastwood returned to the role a further three times with The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and On the day, however, Eastwood changed his mind and decided the character should throw his badge after all. After stars like Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra and [John Wayne passed on Dirty Harry](https://screenrant.com/dirty-harry-john-wayne-clint-eastwood-reject-cast/), Eastwood signed on as the titular character. [Dirty Harry](https://screenrant.com/tag/dirty-harry/) is a perfect note to close on - but Clint Eastwood himself very nearly ruined it. [Dirty Harry's (whose partners were often ill-fated)](https://screenrant.com/dirty-harry-movies-every-partner-death-survival/) - ending, however, and lobbied to drop it.