Eastwood won't be back as Dirty Harry

CANNES, France, May 22 (UPI) -- U.S. actor and director Clint Eastwood said at the Cannes Film Festival that he won't be playing his film character "Dirty Harry" again, as has been rumored.

Eastwood played the iconic tough-guy cop in a series of films in the 1970s and 1980s.

Asked at a press conference for his new film "The Exchange" if he planned to reprise his "Dirty Harry" role in a new installment in the franchise, Eastwood, 77, told reporters, "That rumor is incorrect."

Pregnant actress Angelina Jolie, sitting beside Eastwood at the conference, joked, "I am."

"'Dirty Harriet.' And the 'Tomb Raider' will play it," Eastwood countered. "No, I have no intention ... There are certain things you have to be realistic about. Dirty Harry would not be on a police department at my age."

Eastwood recalled how when the first "Dirty Harry" film opened in 1971, it was unusual for its time.

"It was more of an adventure story," he said. "But it also showed a tenacious police officer who wanted to fight against political bureaucracy, all for the defense of the victim, and at the particular time that picture was made there weren't too many pictures being made concerning the victims of violent crime."