Robert Redford (1936-2025)

When I was a kid, we went to church every Sunday, and though I don't remember every sermon, one (because it was about film actors) stands out to me.  The pastor was talking about life not being fair, and his analogy was "if all of life was fair, all the men would look like Robert Redford and all of the women would look like Bo Derek."  At that point in my life, I didn't quite know who Bo Derek was (it was a conversation topic for the drive home), but Robert Redford...I knew about Robert Redford.  Even for a 10 or 11-year-old, I knew that Redford was synonymous with the concept of male sex appeal, a "perfect ten," if you will.

Redford's surreal, almost mythical beauty is the stuff of legend now (with that Mike Nichols' anecdote being mentioned on repeat the last 48 hours on social media), but it's worth noting that, even when he didn't need to do so (plenty of pretty people have no talent & have successful film careers), he's always had an ability to act.  Think of that terrific Twilight Zone episode of a 26-year-old Robert Redford appearing as death opposite Gladys Cooper, a triumphant performance from both.  Or his sexy newlywed in Barefoot in the Park charming everyone in his path even if he's not sure how to navigate it himself.  Redford's always been a brilliant actor, and was a fixture of my childhood through three films that were regulars in our Saturday Family Movie night rotation (The Sting, Sneakers, & The Natural, for the record), but even when he took the backseat, such as his haunting narration in A River Runs Through It, he was still captivating despite being deprived of those looks.

Redford, though, seemed to think he had something to prove, and did so (twice).  First, he made the jump to directing, making the Oscar-winning masterwork Ordinary People, and then continuing to make confident, interesting pictures as varied as Quiz Show, The Horse Whisperer, and my personal favorite (the aforementioned) A River Runs Through It.  In fact, Redford's off-kilter filmography coincides with his long championship of thoughtful, independent cinema, which his Sundance Film Festival has championed for nearly 50 years.  While other actors today bemoan the state of cinema, that we don't have a place for new voices to emerge and we are drowning in a sea of IP and blockbuster CGI, Robert Redford actually did something about it, yet another pioneering moment in a career filled with him proving that he was more than a pretty face.