This week, your social media feed or TV was likely flooded with pictures of who I would call the world’s most handsome man. If his luscious golden hair and striking blue eyes weren’t enough to take you in, one crack of his perfect smile would surely captivate you.
This man — this Hollywood icon — was Robert Redford.
The actor, director, industry leader and political activist died this week at his home in Utah. He was 89 years old.
The sad news of his death hit me particularly hard. Sure, he was nearly 90 and lived a full and impactful life. But I, having had my heart stolen by his many on-screen roles over the years, kind of thought he would live forever.
His movies have been a part of my life for almost as long as I can remember. From watching his westerns like Jeremiah Johnson with my dad to swooning over his passionate romance with Jane Fonda in Barefoot in the Park next to my very jealous husband, Redford is someone you just can’t take your eyes off.
Beyond his looks, which he was apparently ambivalent about (did he not own a mirror?), Redford became famous for his activism and nurturing of young film talent. He dedicated part of his life to political and environmental causes. And he famously founded the Sundance Institute, which continues to foster up-and-coming independent filmmakers by way of the Sundance Film Festival.
He was also an Academy Award-winning director for a movie that slowly ripped my heart out and left me fresh out of tissues, Ordinary People.
Although his career and life have come to a close, he leaves us with decades of films to revisit and discover. If you haven’t had the chance to fall in love with Redford yet, here’s where I recommend starting.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Robert Redford the outlaw.
Sporting a sexy mustache and slinging a smoking gun, Redford gives a career-defining performance as the Sundance Kid, alongside Paul Newman and Katherine Ross. This western buddy movie has action, romance, comedy and gave us the Academy Award-winning original song Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.
The Sting (1973)
Robert Redford the swindler.
Teaming up with Newman again, the two partners in crime abandon their cowboy hats for felt fedoras as they grift their way to the big time. Under the direction of George Roy Hill again (he brought them together in Butch Cassidy), they play a couple of con men determined to outsmart a mob boss in Depression-era Chicago.
Redford’s commendable portrayal of the character Johnny Hooker earned him his one and only Oscar nomination for Best Actor. As for the movie itself, The Sting won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Way We Were (1973)
Robert Redford the writer.
If the mustachioed cowboy and smooth-talking criminal haven’t stolen your heart yet, prepare to fall head over heels when you see Redford through the infatuated eyes of Barbra Streisand. Starting out as rival college classmates, the two eventually put their differences aside (if only for a moment) to start a life together. The ups and downs they endure will both fill your heart and bring tears to your eyes.
It must also be noted that no one has ever worn a white turtleneck better than Redford does when walking hand-in-hand with Babs on the beach.
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Robert Redford the reader.
Pairing up with his longtime collaborator, director Sydney Pollack, Redford plays a bookish CIA researcher who finds himself at the center of a deadly game of cat and mouse. Three Days of the Condor helped establish the paranoid thriller era that emerged on the heels of the Watergate scandal in the mid-'70s.
Co-starring Faye Dunaway, the film’s many exhilarating chase scenes give way just long enough for a steamy romance to boil up.
All the President’s Men (1976)
Robert Redford the reporter.
Speaking of post-Watergate paranoia: enter Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Fascinated by the journalists’ reporting on the DNC break-in, Redford became the driving force behind getting this movie made. After all, who doesn’t love a ‘70s political thriller — especially one with Dustin Hoffman and Redford risking everything so they can “follow the money?”
Out of Africa (1985)
Robert Redford the big-game hunter.
Perhaps in his most laconic role, Redford plays a dashing and adventurous hunter looking for big game and other thrills on the African safari. His sun-kissed and almost always dirty face attracts the attention of a married aristocrat, played by Meryl Streep. As this epic Best Picture-winning romance unfurls, their love affair will have you dreaming of sunsets and being swept off your feet.
