Cagney’s first appearance on stage was as a stand in for his brother in a community theater production. Cagney had terrible stage fright and always had to keep a bucket with him.
Growing up in California, Eastwood's favorite actor was James Cagney. "When he comes out in White Heat eating a chicken leg and blasting a guy in the trunk of a car, you go, 'Yeah, that's offsetting, but in a nice way.' The scene in Dirty Harry where I'm eating a hot dog in that shootout, that's a steal."