There are certain films—and certain actors—that, no matter when you stumble upon them, you stop flipping the channels, drop the remote, and watch. Long before that became known as a “remote drop,” Robert Redford was one of the very few actors who seemed to dominate my family’s shelves of VHS tapes and DVDs. His films were always there for the nights when “nothing good” was on—making him the original “remote drop.”
Some of my early favorites were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and All the President’s Men. These movies were box office hits that helped solidify Redford’s place in Hollywood history, but more importantly, they kept this kid entertained. In a career as long as Redford’s, it’s not surprising that he made a lot of films—but the sheer number of classics and blockbusters he made is astounding.
Given the volume of Redford’s work, it’s impossible to pick a single favorite, but one film I keep coming back to every few years is the 1975 spy thriller Three Days of the Condor.
In that film, Redford plays a low-level CIA analyst whose job is simply to read books and report on them. (Is it any wonder this appealed to my younger self?) When his character stumbles into a deadly internal conspiracy, the quiet book-reader is forced into a desperate fight for survival. Redford made it feel real—he always did.
Of course, his career stretched far beyond thrillers. Films like The Natural, A River Runs Through It, Out of Africa, and The Way We Were showed his range, his charisma, and his uncanny ability to connect with audiences.
He wasn’t just a movie star. Redford’s contributions weren’t limited to what he did in front of the camera. In the early 1980s, frustrated by Hollywood executives taking too much creative control, he founded the Sundance Film Festival. That single act reshaped the industry, giving independent filmmakers a stage and helping launch the careers of directors like Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, and many more. He believed in the power of fresh voices, and thanks to him, Americans got to know a diverse group of filmmakers.
He was also a philanthropist, deeply committed to environmental and social causes. Redford leaves behind not only a remarkable body of work but also a legacy of advocacy and cultural impact that will be hard for anyone to rival.
Even late in his career, he continued to amaze me with his work. In his 2013 film All Is Lost, Redford was alone on screen for the entire movie. He played a sailor stranded at sea after his boat collided with debris, fighting to survive. Few actors could carry a film with no co-stars and no dialogue and keep you riveted. But Redford could.
If you were making a list of Hollywood icons, Robert Redford’s name would always be near the top. For me, his movies have always been part of my life, and his passing leaves me deeply saddened. Fortunately, I have his lifetime of work to revisit—and to find both comfort and inspiration in.
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