Speaks About 50-Year Career
In Rare Public Appearance
By Sarah Tobol
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
FORT GREENE — Before Robert Redford became a champion of the independent film, before he became an international superstar, before he even had his first acting job, Redford came to New York to take art classes at Pratt.
This weekend he was back in Brooklyn, this time at BAM, for BAMcinématek’s Robert Redford: Artist & Activist, a 16-film tribute to Redford’s 50-year career in film. On Saturday he joined Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to speak about the film All the President’s Men; and on Sunday Redford was interviewed by Carrie Rickey, film critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, about his life and work.
Redford fans young and old packed into BAM’s Harvey Theater for Sunday’s conversation, some having seen screenings of his films earlier that day. Introduced by BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins, who called him “an incredible friend to BAM,” Redford stepped onto the stage to thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
Growing up in Los Angeles, Redford said, “my early thought of Hollywood was that it was artificial,” and remembered going down Olympic Boulevard with his grandmother as a kid, watching a scene filmed in front of a back drop of a sky. “I couldn’t understand why they didn’t just use the sky.”
He didn’t start out wanting to be an actor. Instead he went to the University of Colorado on an athletic scholarship, where, he said, “I kept wanting to be outside the classroom,” and was dismissed after a year. A stint studying art in Europe followed, and then Redford landed in New York, which, “next to Paris, was the most exciting city I could imagine.”
It was in New York, at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, that Redford began studying to become an actor, something he didn’t anticipate. “I made fun of actors,” he said.
He described his acting as “self-conscious,” and sensitive to artificial behavior. For actors, he said, “Listening is as important as speaking.”
Working With Paul Newman
Rickey asked Redford about his first collaboration with Paul Newman, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which would have become a very different movie had it been filmed as originally planned.
“I was set up to read for Butch Cassidy,” Redford said. “The original title was reversed because Paul was going to play Sundance.” But Redford identified more with the Sundance Kid, because “it was more interesting, I could play it well, because I could feel it ... he is a psychopath. What’s going on in his head is: ‘Should I kill that person or not?’”
Director George Roy Hill was able to convince Newman to play Butch Cassidy, and when Newman met Redford he was immediately on board. “I owe Paul and am in debt — he didn’t have to do that,” Redford said.
The two teamed up again four years later for The Sting, also directed by Hill. When it was finished, he said, “The Sting is a wonderful movie.” But “when I saw a rough cut of it I said, ‘Jesus, what is that?’ And there was this musical running through it. ”
When asked about Newman, Redford said, “My relationship with him was what it was, and it was terrific, and it was special.”
From Actor to Director and Activist
Redford made the transition from actor to director in 1980 with Ordinary People, which won four Oscars. “I’m sensitive to actors’ needs,” he said in regard to his directing style. “Some directors shoot so many takes you could go crazy.”
Because actors open themselves up to criticism, “I give [them] consideration, I give them respect,” Redford said.
Many of the films he has acted in and directed have been influenced by Redford’s activism. He explained that there is a “through line” between his activism and his work. “The involvement I had in life’s journey would find its way in film.”
Robert Redford: Artist & Activist continues at BAMcinématek through Wednesday.
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