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Robert Redford, who passed away at the age of 89, graced over 50 Hollywood productions, earning an Academy Award for his directorial work. A staunch advocate for independent cinema, he established the Sundance Film Festival, a pivotal platform for emerging filmmakers.
His prominence afforded him the ability to curate his projects, often selecting those aligned with his progressive political leanings. He was a vocal activist for environmental protection and the rights of Native Americans.
Redford’s quintessential American handsomeness was undeniable, once famously described as “a chunk of Mount Rushmore levered into stonewashed denims.”
Another critic lauded his “fluid physical grace and an inner radiance that sometimes makes it seem as if he’s lit from within.”
Despite his celebrated appearance, Redford often felt his looks were more of an impediment than an advantage, suggesting that personal tragedies were a form of karmic retribution for his physical blessings.
Charles Robert Redford Jr. was born in Santa Monica, California, on August 18, 1936, the son of a milkman who later transitioned to an accounting role with Standard Oil.
During his school years, he became involved with a street gang, leading to an arrest for unauthorized use of a vehicle containing stolen jewelry.
His baseball talent secured him a scholarship to the University of Colorado, but he was expelled after 18 months due to issues with alcohol. Concurrently, he faced the loss of his mother at the young age of 40.
Overwhelmed by grief, he spent time working in the Californian oilfields before embarking on a journey to Paris and Florence, where he pursued artistic studies.
His time in Europe fostered a renewed perspective on his homeland. “I began to look at my country from another point of view,” he later reflected.
Upon his return, he enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, initially aspiring to be a theatrical designer, before transitioning to acting.
Like many actors in New York during the late 1950s, he secured various minor roles in theater and television, including appearances in popular series like The Untouchables, Perry Mason, and Dr. Kildare.
His cinematic debut occurred in 1960 with a small part in “Tall Story,” where he shared the screen with Jane Fonda.
This initial foray into film was not particularly successful, with the film underperforming at the box office. Time magazine noted that “nothing can save this picture.”
However, it marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Fonda, who later expressed that she fell in love with him each time they collaborated.
“There was always a mystery because he didn’t reveal anything. He’s got an aura about him,” she remarked.
His initial significant success on stage was portraying the pompous lawyer Paul Bratter in Neil Simon’s romantic comedy “Barefoot in the Park,” a role he reprised in the 1967 film adaptation alongside Fonda.
In 1965, he received a Golden Globe award for most promising newcomer for his performance in the film “Inside Daisy Clover” with Natalie Wood.
He was considered for the role of Benjamin Braddock in “The Graduate” but was ultimately passed over because director Mike Nichols believed he was too conventionally attractive, making Redford wary of being typecast due to his appearance.
Worldwide recognition came in 1969 with “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”
Redford’s portrayal of the laid-back Sundance Kid, in contrast to Paul Newman’s fast-talking Butch Cassidy, established one of Hollywood’s most iconic partnerships.
Ironically, Redford almost lost the role after a studio executive dismissed him as “just another Hollywood blond.”
The studio actively resisted hiring Redford until Newman, an established star, intervened and insisted on his casting.
The two actors discovered a shared passion for theater and remained close friends until Newman’s passing in 2008.
“We’d play tricks on each other,” Redford said of his relationship with Newman. “The more sophisticated the joke, the better.”
In 1973, their on-screen chemistry led them to reunite in “The Sting.”
Redford received an Oscar nomination for his role as Johnny Hooker, a small-time con artist who joins forces with Newman’s character to defraud a ruthless crime boss.
The film, known for its ragtime soundtrack, won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, although Redford lost the Best Actor award to Jack Lemmon.
It marked Redford’s sole nomination for Best Actor at the Oscars, although he later won for directing and received an honorary Oscar in 2002.
Redford continued to take on numerous acting roles throughout the 1970s, though his performance as the enigmatic Gatsby in “The Great Gatsby” received mixed reviews, and he was somewhat overshadowed by Barbra Streisand in “The Way We Were.”
In 1974, Redford acquired the film rights to “All the President’s Men,” a narrative of the Watergate scandal by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post reporters who uncovered it.
“The Washington Post were very nervous about us – that this was Hollywood and it could hurt them,” he recalled.
Released in 1976, with Redford portraying Woodward alongside Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein, the film garnered critical acclaim, securing four Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Jason Robards.
Four years later, Redford made his directorial debut with 1980’s “Ordinary People,” which explored the disintegration of a middle-class family following the death of their son. It earned him his first and only Oscar for directing.
Success brought considerable wealth.
Redford used a substantial portion of his earnings to purchase a ski resort in Utah, his wife Lola’s home state, which he renamed Sundance after one of his most celebrated roles.
Around the same time, he established the Sundance Institute to offer creative and financial support to independent filmmakers. He subsequently became chairman of the Utah/US Film Festival, later renamed the Sundance Film Festival.
Over time, the festival became a key event in the film calendar, showcasing the work of many directors who went on to become household names, including Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.
In acting, the latter decades of the 20th century brought a mix of successes and failures. “Brubaker” was both a commercial and critical success, and “The Horse Whisperer” and “Indecent Proposal” were positively received.
“Out of Africa” won several awards, but “Havana” was poorly received and underperformed at the box office.
Concurrently, Redford continued to direct films, including “A River Runs Through It,” which significantly boosted Brad Pitt’s career, and “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” the last film to feature Jack Lemmon.
“Lions for Lambs,” which reunited him with Meryl Streep, received a muted response. However, he was highly praised for his role in “All is Lost,” a film about an elderly yachtsman stranded alone on his damaged boat in the Indian Ocean.
“There’s no dialogue, none at all. And I’m the only actor on screen in the whole movie,” Redford explained. Many critics hailed his performance as the best of his career.
He also portrayed S.H.I.E.L.D agent Alexander Pierce in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” a departure from his typical roles.
“I like the idea of stepping into new territory,” he told the LA Times in 2013. “This is the kind of film I would love to have seen as a kid.”
Outside of the film industry, Redford became a prominent environmental advocate. “Ours is a sick planet because of our behaviour on it,” he stated in a 2014 interview.
Redford married Lola Van Wagenen in 1958, and they had four children.
Their first child, Scott Anthony, tragically died of sudden infant death syndrome at two months old.
In interviews, Redford expressed his belief that karma had punished him for his charisma and hedonistic lifestyle as an actor.
“It felt like retribution,” he said. “I always had this thing that death was on my shoulder, 24/7. My dogs, as a kid. My mum. My firstborn.”
The couple divorced in 1985, and Redford had long-term relationships with Brazilian actress Sonia Braga and costume assistant Kathy O’Rear. He married Sibylle Szaggars, a German-born artist, in 2009.
In 2020, his son James passed away in his fifties from complications related to bile duct cancer, after battling health issues and undergoing two liver transplants.
In 2019, Redford announced his retirement from acting shortly after his cameo in “Avengers: Endgame,” but he found it challenging to stay away from the spotlight.
As he approached 90, he reversed his decision to appear in several episodes of “Dark Winds,” a series about two Navajo police officers investigating a double murder.
Redford frequently avoided the Hollywood mainstream, opting instead to forge his own path.
Despite never winning an acting Oscar, the Academy acknowledged his contributions with a lifetime achievement award in 2002.
Ultimately, Redford preferred characters that were unconventional, reflecting his passion for independent cinema.
He consistently maintained that his good looks were a hindrance rather than an advantage in his acting career.
“The notion that you’re not so much of an actor, you’re just somebody that looks well. That was always hard for me,” he confessed.
“I always took pride in whatever role I was playing; I would be that character.”
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