Robert Redford was his own kind of Hollywood icon

Summary

Podcast Summary: Robert Redford Was His Own Kind of Hollywood Icon

Podcast: Consider This from NPR
Host: Ari Shapiro
Guests: Linda Holmes (NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour), Bob Mondello (NPR Film Critic)
Date: September 16, 2025
Episode Length: ~10 minutes

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Overview: Celebrating a Hollywood Legend

This episode commemorates the life and legacy of Robert Redford, who passed away at age 89. The discussion, led by Ari Shapiro with insights from Linda Holmes and Bob Mondello, examines Redford’s enduring mark on cinema as an iconic actor, director, and advocate for independent film. They reflect on his ability to challenge Hollywood norms, his nuanced relationship with fame, and the groundbreaking influence of his Sundance Film Festival.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Redford’s Personality and Early Stardom

• Complexity and Humor: Recalling how Jane Fonda described Redford as "complicated, profound and deeply creative," while Redford himself jokingly added, "I would use the word beauty in terms of myself." (Robert Redford, 00:22)
• Understated Performer: Critic Cary Rickey notes Redford’s minimalist acting style: “He tended to be a minimalist on screen, often interrupting himself to make it sound like actual speech.” (Cary Rickey via Linda Holmes, 00:48)
• Ambivalence About Celebrity: Redford acknowledged the downside of stardom, emphasizing, “Celebrity is overdone in our society… I think that people should be paying a lot more attention to other issues rather than who’s the top 10 this or … the sexiest or the most beautiful…” (Redford, 01:02)

2. Using Celebrity for Change

• Activism and Sundance: Redford was an early Hollywood advocate for environmental causes and independent cinema. He founded the Sundance Film Festival to promote stories that Hollywood often ignored:

  "I wanted to tell stories about the America that I grew up in. I was not interested in the red, white and blue part of America. I was interested in the gray part, where complexity lies." (Redford, 01:39)

3. Signature Roles and Career Evolution

• Transition to Stardom:
  • Redford’s breakout came with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), marking a shift from romantic comedies to subversive westerns and “bromance” dynamics (04:19).
  • Linda Holmes highlights his earlier roles in “Barefoot in the Park” and as “a handsome lug opposite Natalie Wood in This Property is Condemned.”
  • Butch Cassidy is cited for its ambiguous ending, breaking genre expectations (Bob Mondello, 04:25).
• 1970s Fame:
  • Major films: Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, The Sting (his only Best Actor Oscar nom), and All the President’s Men.
  • Bob Mondello lauds his trilogy of thrillers—All the President’s Men, Three Days of the Condor, and later, Sneakers (1992):

    “Sneakers… is a really, really fun movie with an incredibly stacked cast… and Redford did a kind of a callback to Three Days of the Condor when he appeared in Captain America: Winter Soldier.” (Bob Mondello, 05:29)

4. Redford’s Relationship with Fame and Image

• Weaponizing Handsomeness:
  • Redford’s looks became central to roles, such as playing “Death” in The Twilight Zone (1962) and “the charming million-dollar man” in Indecent Proposal:

    “He was good at times in sort of weaponizing that element of his physicality…” (Bob Mondello, 06:18)

• Struggles with Perception:
  • Redford objected to being seen only as a glamorous star:

    “The notion is that, well, you’re not so much of an actor. You’re just somebody that looks well. And that was always hard for me because I always took pride in whatever role I was playing.” (Redford, 07:24)

5. Directorial Achievements

• Acclaimed Debut:
  • Ordinary People (1980), his first film as a director, won Best Picture and Best Director.
    • Bob Mondello credits Redford’s restraint for the film’s impact on viewers (07:47).
  • The film sparked conversations about mental health and featured a transformative role for Mary Tyler Moore.
• Other Noteworthy Films:
  • The Milagro Beanfield War, A River Runs Through It, The Horse Whisperer, and Quiz Show (which garnered more Oscar nominations).

6. Lasting Industry Impact: The Sundance Legacy

• Championing Independent Film:
  • Holmes: “He championed the kind of movie that he was too big to star in himself… He liked these independent, scrappy, experimental, issue-driven films.” (Linda Holmes, 08:44)
  • Sundance gave a platform to filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh and Ava DuVernay.
  • Mondello acknowledges Sundance’s revolutionary role in film discovery (09:03).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Redford’s Appeal:

  “The truth is he was beautiful and bankable, a go-to leading man. But as Fonda said, he was also complicated.” (Ari Shapiro, 00:29)

• On Fame:

  “Celebrity is overdone in our society. I think it’s got a dangerous side to it.” (Robert Redford, 01:02)

• On Directing & Legacy:

  “He championed the kind of movie that he was too big to star in himself. His presence would have sort of morphed it into something else.” (Linda Holmes, 08:44)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:22: Redford’s humor and self-awareness, Fonda’s tribute
• 01:02: Redford’s critical views on celebrity culture
• 01:39: Redford on his storytelling interests and perspective on America
• 03:47 – 06:10: Discussion of major acting roles, influence on genres
• 07:24: Redford discusses pressure of being seen as “just beautiful”
• 07:47 – 08:19: Impactful directorial debut with Ordinary People
• 08:44 – 09:17: Creation and significance of the Sundance Film Festival

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Episode Tone and Takeaway

Throughout the episode, the hosts maintain a thoughtful, sometimes playful, but always respectful tone, mirroring Redford’s own understated approach to his fame and career. They emphasize his quiet complexity, creative risks, and transformative influence on Hollywood and independent cinema, leaving listeners with a renewed appreciation for how Redford reshaped American film, both onscreen and behind the scenes.

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For those who haven’t listened:
This episode offers a compact, rich tribute to Robert Redford—icon, artist, and advocate. It’s a journey through his remarkable career, highlighting the enduring impact of a man who truly was his own kind of Hollywood icon.

Transcript

[Ari Shapiro]

A while back, NPR asked Jane Fonda and Robert Redford to sum each other up in three words. The old friends had just co starred in the movie Our Souls at Night. This is how Fonda described complicated, profound and deeply creative. But Redford jumped in to add one more word.

[Robert Redford (archive clips)]

I would use the word beauty in terms of myself.

[Ari Shapiro]

No, I'm kidding.

[Linda Holmes]

He's funny too. That's another thing.

[Ari Shapiro]

Redford died early Tuesday morning. According to his publicist, he was 89 years old. The truth is he was beautiful and bankable, a go to leading man. But as Fonda said, he was also complicated, an understated performer who never won an acting Oscar. Here's critic Cary Rickey.

[Linda Holmes]

He tended to be a minimalist on screen, often interrupting himself to make it sound like actual speech.

[Ari Shapiro]

He eventually became an Oscar winning director, but he never seemed completely comfortable with celebrity. Here he is on NPR in 2003.

[Robert Redford (archive clips)]

I'm certainly grateful for what it's done for me, but I do think that celebrity is overdone in our society. I think it's got a dangerous side to it. I think that the people should be paying a lot more attention to other issues rather than who's the top 10 this or who's the top five or who's the sexiest or the most beautiful or this or that.

[Ari Shapiro]

Redford used his celebrity as a platform for environmental activism before that became a Hollywood cliche and for independent filmmakers. He founded Sundance as a way to highlight the kinds of movies he thought the industry wasn't interested in, the kind that had defined his life. As he told WHYYY's Fresh Air in.

[Robert Redford (archive clips)]

2013, I wanted to tell stories about the America that I grew up in. And for me, I was not interested in the red, white and blue part of America. I was interested in the gray part that where complexity lies.

[Ari Shapiro]

Consider this Robert Redford was his own kind of Hollywood icon. Ahead, our critics break down a career that shaped the movie industry. From npr, I'm Ari Shapiro.

[Bob Mondello]

Military commanders, intelligence officials, diplomatic power players. They know things you may not about where the world is headed. And we will pull back the curtain on what the Thinking on sources and methods. NPR's new National Security podcast. Our team will help you understand America's shifting role in the world. Listen to sources and methods from npr.

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[Ari Shapiro]

It's consider this from NPR. Robert Redford once said, to climb up the mountain is the fun, not standing at the top. We're gonna look back at a life spent scaling the mountain of cinema. And for that I'm joined by Linda holmes, host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, and film critic Bob Mondello. Thank you both for being here.

[Linda Holmes]

Good to be here.

[Bob Mondello]

Hello, Ari.

[Ari Shapiro]

Let's start back in the 60s, Redford became a huge star with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starring opposite Paul Newman. What version of Robert Redford did we see in that western?

[Linda Holmes]

Well, audiences at that point knew him as a handsome lug oppos. Natalie Wood in this Property is Condemned. Jane Fonda in Barefoot in the park, which he'd also played on Broadway. That was a light Neil Simon comedy. So transitioning those partnership skills to a western and to a what we would later call a bromance with Paul Newman was kind of a big jump. As in the most famous scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when they're cornered on a ledge high above a river.

[Robert Redford (archive clips)]

Ready?

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

No, we'll jump.

[Robert Redford (archive clips)]

Like hell we will.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah.

[Bob Mondello]

And. And as a buddy movie and as an adventure movie, this is a little bit subversive. I think without spoiling it fully, I'll just say the ambiguity of the ending, it's kind of lack of a clear triumph, are not really what a contemporary audience would expect if you sat them down with a film like this. Right. They would expect that you guys, like, trade some quips at the end. They had a long day. That's not what this, this movie is. And so in that way, it really is kind of a. It was a little bit striking out from the norm.

[Ari Shapiro]

Love your sensitivity to spoilers for a movie that came out in the 60s. Moving ahead to the 70s, he was the centerpiece of so many huge movies. Can you just like, go down a list of some of them?

[Linda Holmes]

Well, there was Jeremiah Johnson in 1972. He sort of tamped down his beauty a bit with that beard. He was rugged in that one the way we were in 73. Pauline Kael said that he was never more easy on the ey than when you saw him through Barbra Streisand's eyes in that one. The sting, also from 73, where he reprised his bit with Paul Newman, and it was his only nomination for Best Actor.

[Bob Mondello]

Yeah. And I particularly love a trio of thrillers that he made. All the President's Men and Three Days of the Condor are kind of classics. But I would also mention Sneakers, which is from 1992, which is a really, really fun movie with an incredibly stacked cast. Sidney Poitier is in this. David Strathearn, River Phoenix, who was very funny in one of his last movie roles. And Robert Redford, he did a kind of a callback to Three Days of the Condor, in particular when he appeared in Captain Winter Soldier, which was very much influenced by those 70s paranoid thrillers. And the fact that Redford kind of stepped back into that part was, I thought, very cool.

[Ari Shapiro]

Such a huge range. But he wasn't fully comfortable being a glamorous Hollywood star. How did he relate to that niche?

[Bob Mondello]

Well, you know, I think without reducing him to his handsomeness, he was good at times in sort of weaponizing that element of his physicality. Right. In 1962, he was in an episode of the Twilight Zone called Nothing in the Dark, where he played death. But part of what the episode is about is that death is not ugly or scary, and you don't need to fear it because it comes in this very kind of charming young man package. You could actually say a similar thing about Indecent Proposal, which is a film from the 90s that's about a rich man played by Redford, who pays a couple a million dollars to spend one night with the wife. And the insecurity of the husband in that film really requires Redford to be so charming and handsome that you kind of believe maybe she's genuinely tempted by him.

[Ari Shapiro]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

Now, if Redford were moderating this conversation, he would at this point, want us to talk about his directing and about Sundance because he was really uncomfortable with role as this beautiful actor, of course, and he said. So here he is on Fresh Air talking about that in 2013.

[Robert Redford (archive clips)]

So suddenly you're seeing yourself in kind of in a glamour category, and you're saying, well, wait a minute. You know, the notion is that, well, you're not so much of an actor. You're just somebody that looks well. And that was always hard for me because I always took pride in whatever role I was playing. I would be that character.

[Ari Shapiro]

Okay, well, let's talk about who was he as a director?

[Robert Redford (archive clips)]

Yeah.

[Bob Mondello]

His directorial debut was a huge one, ordinary people in 1980, which won best Picture, and he won Best Director for this story about this kid played by Timothy Hutton.

[Ari Shapiro]

I'm supposed to take care of it. And that wasn't fair, was it?

[Linda Holmes]

No. And then you say, hang on, hang on. And then you let go.

[Bob Mondello]

Yeah, that's a really tough story. It's about a family that's extremely experiencing a lot of grief. And it could be just a lot of crying and sobbing and there's some of that. But I think the direction is one of the things that kind of keeps it under control.

[Linda Holmes]

And it also made people think about psychiatry in a way they hadn't before, at least in the films. And he saw something in Mary Tyler Moore that no one had ever seen before him. And he followed up with Milagro, Grebenfield, War and River Runs through it and Horse Whisper and quiz show about TV quiz show scandals in the 1950s. And he got more Oscar nominations for that one.

[Ari Shapiro]

And of course, you can't talk about Redford's legacy without talking about the Sundance Film Festival.

[Linda Holmes]

That's right. He championed the kind of movie that he was too big to star in himself. His presence would have sort of morphed it into something else. He liked these independent, scrappy, experimental, edgy, issue driven films. And he made space for filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh and Ava DuVernay.

[Bob Mondello]

Yeah, I think anybody would acknowledge that Sundance has its own big money relationships to Hollywood stuff at some point times, but it has definitely been a place for movies to get discovered that would have had a hard time getting discovered before.

[Ari Shapiro]

That's NPR's Linda Holmes and Bob Mondello remembering Robert Redford, who has died at age 89. Thank you both.

[Linda Holmes]

Good to be here.

[Bob Mondello]

Thank you.

[Ari Shapiro]

This episode was produced by Mallory Yu and Connor Donovan. It was edited by Sarah Handel and Claire Lombardo with audio engineering by Jay Siz and Ted Mebane. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigun. It's consider this from npr. I'm Ari Shapiro.

[Linda Holmes]

On the Throughline podcast from npr. Immigration enforcement might be more visible now, but this moment didn't begin with President Trump's second inauguration or even his first, a series from Throughline about how immigration became political and a cash cow. Listen to Throughline in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ari Shapiro]

Hey, everybody, it's Ian and Mike, the.

[Linda Holmes]

Hosts of how to Do Everything.

[Ari Shapiro]

That's the show where we take your questions and find overqualified experts to answer them.

[Linda Holmes]

Alex asked us to write his out of office email message, but we don't know how to write.

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So we called up US Poet Laureate Ada Limon.

[Bob Mondello]

Is this National Public Radio?

[Ari Shapiro]

Sort of technically, yes. Season two just dropped. Listen to the how to Do Everything podcast from npr.

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