Nicholas Hoult Says Clint Eastwood, 94, Has 'Sharp Wit' and Shared This Classic Lesson onJuror #2Set (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Nicholas Hoult in Toronto on Sept. 8, 2024; Clint Eastwood in Los Angeles on Jan. 3, 2020.Photo:Olivia Wong/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Olivia Wong/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Nicholas Houltlearned a thing or two from directorClint Eastwoodon the set ofJuror #2.

Speaking with PEOPLE last month about his partnership withHeinekenand theFormula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix, the English actor, 35, said what he “learned most” from working with Eastwood, 94, is “his ability to be very easy come and easy go about the art of creating.”

“I think that’s how it flows with him,” Hoult continues. “And I think that’s a wonderful thing to witness, because he’s very calming, he’s very laid back, and I think he trusts his audience and gives them space and respects their intelligence to give a story to breathe without spelling everything out for them.”

The actor praises the"creative and talented" Eastwood’s versatility as well, pointing out the fact that he has “done the score for many of his movies, so his movies have their own rhythm and pace to them because of his musicality.”

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Nicholas Hoult and Clint Eastwood.Claire Folger

Claire Folger

“He’s just an incredibly talented and kind man,” Hoult says. “I felt very fortunate to spend time with him and work with him. He’s very funny. He’s got a sharp wit, a dry sense of humor, and so that was also great because we would laugh a lot.”

TheNosferatuactor also tells PEOPLE he asked Eastwood about acting, joking, “When you’re in the presence of a greatness like that, it’s like, ‘I’ll ask the dumb stupid question.’ "

“I’ll say like, ‘Hey, how do you act? What doyoudo?’ " Hoult adds. “And he said it’s an emotional and instinctive art form. So don’t think too much — just do.”

Juror #2is the latest cinematic effort forfilmmaking veteran Eastwood. The legal thriller follows Hoult’s character Justin Kemp, a family man who, “while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma, one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict — or free — the accused killer,” per a synopsis.

Nicholas Hoult (center) in Clint Eastwood’sJuror #2(2024).Claire Folger

Aside from Hoult, the cast includesToni Collette,Zoey Deutch,Kiefer Sutherland,Gabriel Basso,Leslie Bibb,Chris MessinaandJ.K. Simmons.

Of the film itself, Eastwood added, “It looks at the gray areas between the black and white of everyday circumstances and makes you decide for yourself.”

Juror #2is streaming onMaxDec. 20.

source: people.com