Robert Redford’s exclusive scoop to Entertainment Weekly that he’s probably retiring after his latest movie “The Old Man & The Gun” starts what’s sure to be many reviews of the on- and off-screen highlights of his Hollywood career and personal life – like how does the actor who turns 82 this month account for such a headful of beautiful copper-colored hair?
For other starters, here are eight Robert Redford on and off-screen highlights that pique interest – not that they’re unknown; they’re overlooked, glossed over and forgotten because he’s done so much stuff over so many years.
1. The early days: Redford attended the University of Colorado on a baseball scholarship, but his destiny obviously wasn’t athletics. “I became the campus drunk and blew out before I could ever get going,” he said, according to Biography.com. Before completing his studies, Redford moved to Europe to become an artist.
2. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”: Many critics say the 1969 western film inspired by real-life adventures of two outlaws that paired him with Paul Newman ultimately defined Redford’s career and paved the way for his success. Redford and Newman remained lifelong friends until Newman’s death in 2008, The Guardian reported.
3. Heartthrob years: With his boyish good looks and charm, and as his movies dominated the box office over the years, it was inevitable that Redford would become one of Hollywood’s leading heartthrobs as well as a leading man. The topic has always been a sore spot for the actor.
“I did not get in to this business to be known as a 'good looking film actor',” he said in an interview, The Express reported.
4. Difficult divas: A leading man has to work with sometimes-difficult leading ladies. Barbara Streisand, for example, is notorious as someone who is tough to work with, but Redford navigated his role with ease when the two performed together in the 1973 classic “The Way We Were.” He even had words of praise for her, but when Streisand was eager to film a sequel, Redford quickly dismissed the idea, Oprah.com reported.
5. Best New Star Golden Globe: Perhaps the luster of the Golden Globes has diminished over the years, but when Redford was awarded one for his sterling performance in the 1965 film “Inside Daisy Clover” with Natalie Wood it set him on the trajectory for starring in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” according to The Vintage News.
6. “The Sting”: In 1973, Redford explored new depths when he took on the challenging role of a con man who teams up with other criminals to target a mob boss in 1930 Chicago in the George Roy Hill film. The movie earned Redford his first and only Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Female First noted.
7. Medal of Freedom: In 2016, Barack Obama awarded 21 recipients with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, considered to be the nation’s highest civilian honor, according to USA Today. Redford was recognized alongside entertainment great Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Diana Ross, Robert DeNiro and Cicely Tyson.
8. “Jeremiah Johnson”: Named one of Newsmax's Top 50 Movies Celebrating American Values, this 1972 film sees Redford portray a mountain man who wishes to live the peaceful life of a hermit but becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by Indians, then proves to be a match for their warriors in one-on-one combat on the early frontier. Johnson’s character reflected what was needed to perpetuate the American frontier way of life: courage, physical prowess, knowledge of the land and nature, and self-sufficiency.
In ‘The Old Man & The Gun’ Redford portrays real life convict Forrest Tucker, who claimed to have been a greater escape artist than Harry Houdini, USA Today reported.
“Never say never, but I pretty well concluded that this would be it for me in terms of acting, and (I’ll) move towards retirement after this ’cause I’ve been doing it since I was 21,” Redford said in his first of what will surely be many retirement interviews.
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