As Gran Torino opens, Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (played by Clint Eastwood) has just buried his wife -- and with her, his remaining interest in the world around him.

An unapologetically racist, judgmental and foul-tempered misanthrope, the only thing Walt cares about is the cherry 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in his garage, a car he helped assemble decades ago as an autoworker for Ford Motor Co. You can imagine his reaction, then, when he catches Tao (Bee Vang), the teenage son of the Hmong family that has moved in next door, trying to steal it as part of a gang initiation ritual.

The relationship that ensues between the young man and the cranky coot forms Gran Torino, which opens Christmas Day and marks what may well be Eastwood's final screen performance.

As far as acting swan songs go, Gran Torino is hard to beat. Walt is a taciturn, flinty, furious man -- he's so angry at the world, he literally growls when displeased -- and he's also haunted by a violent past that he refuses to speak about with anyone.

In other words, it's a part tailor-made for Eastwood, who has built his career playing men of few words with restless souls who find redemption in the unlikeliest of places.

Eastwood recently talked on the phone with The Miami Herald about Gran Torino, his return to acting and his thoughts about the possibility of finally winning a Best Actor Oscar.

Q:The character of Walt Kowalski is in a way a summation of many of the iconic characters you've played in the past -- men with violent pasts at odds with the world around them. What was your reaction when you first read the script?

A: I liked the whole message of it, the whole idea that you're never too old to learn tolerance and take an interest in other people. I've met a lot of people like Walt in my life, older people who were set in their ways and didn't want to be a part of anything or anyone new. At the same time, that's an obvious message, so you have to bring it in from a really far distance and make it dramatic. Otherwise it's just a guy who goes ``Oh, they're just people, too.''

Q:You had said in interviews after Million Dollar Baby that was probably going to be it for you as an actor.

A: I've said that a few times, and I always renege on my promise [laughs]. When Million Dollar Baby came along, I thought this was a character I could play, I was the right age, etc. After Baby, I thought ``That's enough of that. I'll stay behind the camera from now on.''

But then this came along, and I couldn't think of anyone who was more right for this character than I was, at least on the surface of it. Because of the history of the characters I've played -- [Million Dollar Baby's] Frankie Dunn or [Heartbreak Ridge's] Gunnery Sergeant Highway -- this one sort of sums it all up, one old bigot and his family. So I decided I'd play him and live with him for a while and see how things go.

Q: Walt wants nothing more than to be left alone, but he's also extremely lonely, even though he's constantly driving people away.

A: He seems to be an equal opportunity insulter, doesn't he? [laughs] I liked the way [screenwriter Nick Schenk] showed how Walt's family didn't have much time for him. They give him lip service on the day of his wife's funeral, but they don't want to hang with him too much. They'd much rather ship him off to an old folks' home, which is typical here in America. When he tells his son ''Your wife went through your mother's jewelry,'' we know what he's talking about -- attacking the jewelry boxes when the matriarch of the family dies. Walt understands all that. So he'd rather just be left alone.

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