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Agence France-Presse

The legendary Robert Redford, who is retiring from acting, has done it all: from romantic leads to westerns to playing the Great Gatsby.
The 81-year-old may yet continue his impressive career behind the camera, but his days in front of it appear to be over.
Robert Redford: #MeToo is ‘tipping point’ for Hollywood
The actor, director and founder of the Sundance Institute and its film festival began his career on stage 60 years ago, before moving into TV and film, and eventually into directing. From Barbra Streisand’s lover in The Way We Were to a renegade cowboy in The Electric Horseman to a 70-something voyager adrift at sea in All is Lost, Redford has had dozens of memorable turns.
Here is a look at the classic performances that made Redford an American film legend.


1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids (1969)
“Do not tell me how to rob a bank. I know how to rob a bank!”
Redford uttered the phrase as the Sundance Kid to Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy – the pair played affable outlaws in perhaps the grandaddy of all buddy films.
Tracked by a posse, the handsome, quick-witted and quick-drawing leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall gang split to Bolivia, where their illicit antics ultimately prove their demise. The glib humour did not sit well with critics, but the hippy western was a huge hit with moviegoers and it made Redford a bankable star.


2. The Sting (1973)
Redford and Newman reunite, this time as con artists in 1930s Chicago where they seek revenge on a big-league mobster by setting up an ambitious scam.
Redford plays a charming but novice grifter in a blockbuster film.

His memorable performance as Johnny Hooker is optimistic and believable as he tries to pull off the big con, and it led to the only best actor Oscar nomination of his career. He lost to Jack Lemmon, but the crime caper won seven other Academy Awards, including best picture.


3. The Great Gatsby (1974)
This Francis Ford Coppola adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterful 1925 novel was intended to cement Redford’s role as a leading man in Hollywood romantic dramas. The film earned mixed reviews, though it was a financial success. He played the mysterious and decadent Jay Gatsby opposite Mia Farrow’s Daisy Buchanan.

The sparks between the two were muted at best, and Redford caught flak for being too dull in a role critics said he should have nailed. The film nevertheless won two Oscars for costume design and best original score.


4. All the President’s Men (1976)
Redford bounced back in full force in a stunning portrayal of a presidency in turmoil.
He took on the role of Bob Woodward and Dustin Hoffman played Carl Bernstein in the adaptation of The Washington Post journalists’ book about how the pair uncovered Watergate, which proved to be the biggest political scandal of the 20th century.

Many critics point to this classic as one of Redford’s most important roles. It was not his first foray into politics, though. His satirical turn as a hapless US Senate hopeful in The Candidate in 1972 raised eyebrows, and Redford had contemplated a run for Senate in the 1970s.

5. The Natural (1984)
Redford emerged as a sporting star in this classic hero’s story about a rising baseball phenomenon whose lifelong love of the game helps him overcome tragedy and mount a spectacular comeback.
The big-budget spectacle is overindulgent at times, but Redford shines in his scenes in the ballpark.

And while the feel-good Hollywood ending – a Redford home run to win the pennant gives the actor almost mythic status – is the stuff of dreams, author Bernard Malamud’s novel from which the movie was adapted has a far darker ending: the slugger strikes out.


6. Out of Africa (1985)
Redford portrays untameable and aloof hunter/adventurer Denys Finch Hatton, who engages in a steamy, ill-fated affair with plantation-owning baroness Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep).
The film, which draws from the writings of Denmark’s Isak Dinesen, was a sweeping cinematic spectacle, scooping up seven Oscars including best picture.

Redford and Streep play headstrong, independent spirits contending with a changing Africa and Blixen’s dissolving personal life.
Jane Fonda relishes sex scenes with Robert Redford
When Streep’s character asks Redford what is wrong with marriage, his answer is devastating: “Have you ever seen one you admire?”


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American cinema

Robert Redford: the six best films the US screen legend starred in, after he announced his retirement

The 81-year-old actor began his career on stage 60 years ago and is founder of the Sundance Film Festival. Although he may carry on in film – behind the camera – he says he’s done with acting. We recall his most memorable roles

In this file photo provided by Warner Bros., actors Robert Redford, right, and Dustin Hoffman appear in their roles as reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, respectively, in the 1976 film "All the President's Men." Personal details about the film and Watergate enliven a Discovery network documentary, "All the President's Men Revisited" which airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. (AP Photo/Warner Bros., file)

DXK141 OUT OF AFRICA. Image shot 1985. Exact date unknown.

GH8MXN DER GROSSE GATSBY / The Great Gatsby USA 1974 / Jack Clayton ROBERT REDFORD, MIA FARROW Regie: Jack Clayton aka. The Great Gatsby. Image shot 2008. Exact date unknown.

BPBT6R ROBERT REDFORD THE NATURAL (1984)

F4PG4D Robert Redford / The natural / 1984 realise par Barry Levinson

***ONE TIME USE ONLY*** Robert Redford in the The Sting. [01JUL2015 PICK OF THE DAY BROADSHEET]

Robert Redford and Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, one of Redford’s most famous roles. Photo: AP

Film review: Truth – Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford shine in journalistic drama

Cate Blanchett as Mary Mapes and Robert Redford as Dan Rather in Truth (category IIB). The James Vanderbilt film also stars Dennis Quaid.

--lead image-- This handout image shows Cate Blanchett as Mary Mapes and Robert Redford as Dan Rather in the film Truth. [20APRIL2016 FILM FEATURES]

--Secondary image-- This handout image shows Cate Blanchett as Mary Mapes and the team in the film Truth. [20APRIL2016 FILM FEATURES]

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The 81-year-old actor began his career on stage 60 years ago and is founder of the Sundance Film Festival. Although he may carry on in film – behind the camera – he says he’s done with acting. We recall his most memorable roles


The actor, now 81, began his career on stage 60 years ago and is founder of the Sundance Film Festival. Although he may carry on in film – behind the camera – he says he’s done with acting. We recall his most memorable roles.
