Sydney Pollack was one of Redford’s best friends in the film industry. They worked together often and made many spectacular movies. The two actors first met while filming ‘War Hunt’ in 1962. As Pollack moved his efforts toward being a director, Redford was his first pick for lead roles. Redford starred in seven of Pollack’s films. Besides ‘Out of Africa’, he also starred in ‘This Property is Condemned’, ‘Jeremiah Johnson’, ‘The Way We Were’, ‘The Days of the Condor’, ‘The electric Horseman’, and ‘Havana’.
When asked at the 2019 Marrakesh Film Festival which director most impacted him, Redford responded, Sydney Pollack, because they shared a “deep and lasting friendship.” Sadly, in 2008 he lost another friend, Sydney Pollack.
The Newman/Redford Bromance
Robert Redford first met Paul Newman at the screening of 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. Newman legendarily secured Redford in his role as the Kid, and they developed a special lifelong friendship. One story Redford likes to share of his lively friendship with Newman is the Porsche gag. For Newman’s 50th birthday, Redford found a beat-up Porsche, wrapped a bow around it, and sent it to Newman’s house. The sportscar did not even have an engine!
Newman sent the Porsche back, but not before he crushed it into a cube. Redford responded to Newman’s prank by having an artist fashion it into garden décor, and back it went to Newman’s yard.“We Played these tricks on each other and the idea was you would never acknowledge the trick played on you,” Redford said. Unfortunately, Newman passed away tragically in 2008.
Collaborating is the Name of His Game
Redford worked with Newman on several projects, but he liked to collaborate with many others in the industry too. He is known for being loyal to film professionals who have garnered success in the past.
Screenwriter William Goldman is one person Redford relied on for excellence and worked well with. Redford starred in five of Goldman’s films, starting with 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. The others are 'A Bridge Too Far', 'All the President’s Men', 'The Great Waldo Pepper', and 'The Hot Rock'.
A Friend to the Environment
Before most people heard of global warming, Redford was talking about the ramifications. By 1989, he was already voicing his concern about the effects on the environment. As a trustee for the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), he went on television with an ad that asked for President Obama’s help with reducing carbon pollution from power plants.
Redford has been an advocate for the environment and a leader of the cause longer than most Hollywood activists have been saving the world.
The Roots of an Environmentalist
His love of nature started at age 11 when his mother took him to a national park as a reward for surviving a two-week bout with polio. Living in the L.A. area, he loved the ocean and surfing. To escape the freeways and skyscrapers of Los Angeles, he “went into the mountains, into the Sierras and worked at Yosemite National Park and fell in love with nature.”
When he met and fell in love with his first wife Lola, whose family was from Utah, he fell in love with the area too. After purchasing land near Salt Lake City, he saved the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and he helped save old-growth redwood in California.