Scott Eastwood may have won the genetic lottery, but he promises that father Clint never gave him any free rides growing up.

“My dad was pretty old school,” Eastwood, shares in the latest issue of People. “I’ve had a job since I can remember and it’s not like he was like, ‘Hey, what kind of car do you want?’ ” he says with a laugh. “My first car was a ’91 Ford Crown Victoria that was $1,000. And I had to buy every car after that. I had to do it all.”

The 29-year-old actor, one of Clint’s seven children (by mom Jacelyn Reeves, a former flight attendant), spent his childhood being “dragged around to movie sets,” he recalls. Although roles followed in Clint’s pictures Gran Torino and Flags of Our Fathers, Scott remained doubtful that he truly wanted to act full-time.

“People think I just started, and I laugh,” the younger Eastwood says. “I said I would give myself 10 years, and if it didn’t work out, I would be a firefighter or something. And things just sort of took off.”

Scott got his big break after a skin-tastic photo spread in Town & Country magazine, launching him into instant sex-symbol status. And just recently he made the headlines again when photos surfaced of him during a recent workout sans shirt.

He tosses all the credit to his father, still looking good at 84, for inspiring his dedication to a healthy lifestyle.

“My dad was always super-active and got me in the gym at a young age,” Scott says. “He wanted me to be health-conscious. Healthy body, healthy mind; that’s what he preached to me.”

Father knows best.