Clint Eastwood’s son Scott saddles up for Nicholas Sparks adaptation

Scott Eastwood may have inherited his father Clint’s good looks, but what about his acting talent?

Moviegoers will have their biggest opportunity yet to evaluate how the younger Eastwood stacks up when he takes on his first leading role, a part in “The Longest Ride,” an adaptation of the romance novel by Nicholas Sparks, according to a Deadline Hollywood report.

Directed by George Tillman Jr. (“Notorious”) for Fox 2000, “The Longest Ride” will tell the stories of two seemingly unrelated couples: One is the remembered romance of a 91-year-old widower injured in a car crash, while the other is a budding relationship between a sheltered college student and a young cowboy (Eastwood).

“The Longest Ride” will mark the first major role in a studio film for Eastwood, whose acting credits include “Texas Chainsaw 3D” and cameos in a few of his father’s films, such as “Invictus” and “Trouble With the Curve.” He also has a supporting role in David Ayer’s upcoming World War II drama “Fury.”

The 28-year-old actor, whose mother is Jacelyn Reeves, first came onto the public radar last January, when he appeared on the cover of Town & Country’s “Top 50 Bachelors” issue. In the spread, he looked utterly all-American: He posed shirtless, tossing a football and even smoking a cigar like his father did in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

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“Wait,” many in the Twitterverse cried out, “Clint Eastwood has a son? And he’s attractive?” (The elder Eastwood has seven children.)

Then came the rush of gossip items about the younger Eastwood, almost all of which pertained to his relationship status. He showed up on a couple of red carpets, most recently for Ayer’s “Sabotage.” And he developed a healthy following on Instagram, where he comes across as the quintessential California surfer bro.

He’ll have a good professional opportunity in “Ride.” Movies based on Sparks’ work, while also featuring many shirtless men, have done reliable business at the box office, though recent entries such as 2013’s “Safe Haven” and 2012’s “The Lucky One” have fallen off compared with his all-time high, “The Notebook,” which took in $81 million in 2004. (Next up is reunion romance “The Best of Me,” currently in production.)

As for Eastwood, this month alone has seen him post pictures of himself remodeling his bathroom (while shirtless), fishing in Hawaii (while shirtless) and posing with a seal on the beach (while shirtless). In that regard, he should fit right in on a Sparks film, where chest-baring hunks are de rigueur.

Time will tell how he fares when flexing his acting muscles.

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