There are certain actors whose mere presence in a film confers a certain level of esteem and prestige. Robert Redford is one of those actors. Over his half a century in Hollywood, Robert Redford has starred in some all-time great films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, The Sting and Out of Africa. Now the legendary actor has decided to hang it up. Robert Redford will be retiring from acting after his next film, The Old Man & the Gun. He explained his decision, saying:
Never say never, but I pretty well concluded that this would be it for me in terms of acting, and [I'll] move towards retirement after this 'cause I've been doing it since I was 21. I thought, Well, that's enough. And why not go out with something that's very upbeat and positive?
The 81-year-old actor has decided that it is time to walk off into the sunset at this point and get that happy ending that Sundance never did. As he told EW, Robert Redford has been acting for a very long time, and nobody could blame him that he has had enough of it and is ready to be done. He seems content with his decision and it sounds like Robert Redford found the perfect film to go out on too with The Old Man & the Gun.
The Old Man & The Gun reunites Robert Redford with his Pete's Dragon director David Lowery. The film tells the true story of Forrest Tucker, a career criminal who would rob banks, get caught and sent to prison, only to escape and do it all over again. He did this into his 70s. The film appears to have a fun sort of Catch Me if You Can vibe to it, and it sounds like the nature of this story helped Robert Redford to be comfortable with his retirement decision. The film is also something of a poetic end to the actor's onscreen career considering that so much of it was defined by his roles as charming criminals.
Robert Redford stars as Tucker in the film, opposite a cast that includes, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck and Elisabeth Moss. You can check out the trailer for The Old Man & the Gun in the video below:
While Robert Redford didn't entirely close the door on acting again, he seems pretty firm on it. However, he is not quite so definitive when it comes to directing. In addition to his storied career in front of the camera, Robert Redford has had success behind it as well. His directorial debut, Ordinary People, netted him his first and only Academy Award win. In his interview with EW, Robert Redford was noncommittal about his future as a director, not ruling out a tenth film.
So although he is done in front of the camera, there is always the possibility he could return behind it. If not, I don't think anyone could say that he hasn't earned a well-deserved retirement. Beyond just the films he acted in or directed or produced, Robert Redford founded the Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival, the yearly event that advances smaller, independent films into the public consciousness.
You can see what is likely Robert Redford's final role as an actor when The Old Man & the Gun breaks into theaters on September 28. For all the biggest movies still heading to theaters this year, check out our premiere guide.
