It's not even noon and Francesca Eastwood is climbing the sign on the roof of theHollywood Roosevelthotel in four-inch silver heels and a bikini. The crew is nervouslywatching, standing close to catch her should she slip. She doesn't, thankfully.Instead, Eastwood keeps climbing and weaving, occasionally stopping to dangle from a beam so the photographer can get the shot.
Perhaps this actress adopted some of her fearlessness from playing Molly on the new NBC seriesHeroes Reborn,a reboot ofHeroespremiering tonight at 8/7c. Eastwood describes the character as a "tough woman with a really good heart." But we suspect she developed it earlier, being born totwo Hollywood powerhouses, Francis Fisher and, of course, Clint Eastwood.
"I've fallen in love with action," saysEastwood, every bit Clint'sdaughter. "It's a genre I never envisioned myself loving, but now I want to do so much more of it. The role of Molly is the first role for me, really, where I've gotten to play a strong woman and to tell a great story, and that is absolutely what I want to do.If I could emulate the careers of Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, and Michelle Pfeiffer, I would be thrilled. I have so much respect and admiration for them and all they have done."
Eastwood's career is taking off at the moment, with several projectssoon to be released, including next month'sWestern movieOutlaws and Angels(she playsa"strong, complex, dark character").So when we sit down with her, post-rooftop climb, we ask her what it is she wants. From her career, but also from every other part of her life. It seems like a fitting question.
On what makes a manattractive:
"What I want from a partner is someone with a good work ethic and a sense of humor. The sexiest things to me about a guy are his wit, hard work, intelligence, and tolerance. That's an absolute must in a man: to be open-minded and tolerant. That's how I was raised and what I look for in people in my life. If you're hom*ophobic, racist, super-judgmental, those are deal-breakers. And if you're someone who hits below the belt and is degrading in any way, get lost."
On not always wanting to be an actor:
"My parents never pushed me into acting and for a long time, I tried to avoid it. I was planning to go to business school and head in that direction, but I found myself coming back to acting, over and over."
On her Hollywood upbringing:
"My first role was as the baby in The Stars Fell on Henrietta[1995]...Funny story about that is I had a huge head and when they shot the photo for the poster, my head was larger than all the adults, so they had to shrink it down in post."
On her dad making her cry as a kid inTrue Crime:
"I could pretend I was such a good actress, but I got to set and I saw them shooting and I knew that I had a stand-in who looked just like me and I saw them rehearsing the scene where I fall out of the stroller with the stand-in, and I started bawling because I was like: I'm being replaced! My dad saw me crying and yelled, 'Start rolling! Start rolling!' So I'm actually genuinely crying in that scene."
On whether she would work with Clint Eastwood again:
"Of course!But I would have to audition. He's a true pro, so I might not get the part."
On staying out of the family's politics:
"Both of my parents are very involved in politics and are very different in their views. I'm not sure where I fall yet—ideally you're a bit of both—but I've thought to myself, do I want to spend my life trying to label myself and worry about politics or do I want to try to enjoy myself and focus on my work and be happy? Everyone wants to be happy and everyone has their different way of finding their happiness. My way is to not get stressed out over politics.
On men and using emoji:
"The poop emoji is 100-percentmy favorite sh*t ever."
On the best pickup line to use on her:
"None. 'Hi, my name is...'is enough, although one time a guy used a line on me that I've never forgotten. He came up to me and with a completely straight face said, 'I want to destroy all the chairs in the world so you have to sit on my face.' Let's just say it didn't work. I mean, it was hilarious in a way, and I like a guy who can make me laugh, but maybe not like that."
On how to keep her attention in a relationship:
"Don't f*ck up.As long as you are always evolving as a person, you will keep me interested. Someone that makes me want to be a better version of myself is someone I want to be with. I get bored when I'm with someone who stops trying to move forward and grow. Once people get bored with each other, fights can start and it can become this endless cycle. I was in atoxic relationship and it was addicting, in a way. You kind of get into the arguing….But I had to stop. I was exhausted and I just had to force myself to get out of it and not play that game. It was the best thing I've ever done for myself."
On compassion andhow to be successful:
"Maliciousness will only take you so far and you'll only last so long. Everyone that really has a fulfilling, happy life, is someone that is kind and compassionate."
On never reading the comments:
"Everyone has an opinion and gets to hide behind this wall. People don't come up to you in real life and say,'Hey, you look like sh*t today. I hate your outfit.'But they feel safe doing it on the net. You have to remember that when you put something out there, you're going to get criticism. But you have to let it go and do your own thing. And who has time to go talk sh*t all day, anyways?"
On the pressure for women in Hollywood:
"It's so f*cked up on so many levels—the idea that you have to be beautiful, and if you're not beautiful,you have to be funny...or that somehow funny women are funny because they're not beautiful.There are so many powerful, funny, attractive women—Chelsea Handler, Amy Schumer, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Whitney Cummings, Kristen Wiig.Butthe idea that you even have to compensate is insane. Everything is focused on how you look, and I have to remind myself when I get insecure that it doesn't matter.Everyone's going to get old, everyone's going to die. Everyone's looks will go.
"When I think about all of this, I think again and again that it's that much more important for women to support each other, particularly in this industry. I really don't get jealous. We have to fight for each other and there's room for everyone to be successful. Who cares if another woman got a job I didn't? Another woman is working.That's what's important."
PLUS: Watch Francesca Eastwood Jump on a Bed in Slow Motion
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Location: The Hollywood Roosevelt
Photographer: The Collaborationist
Makeup: Violeta Meyners/Sigma Beauty
Hair: Sarah Tintari
Stylist: Shelby Simon
