Born during the Great Depression, Robert Redford became a figure closely associated with the American character, both on and off screen. Redford died Tuesday at age 89 at his home in the Utah mountains near Provo.
Redford’s film career included roles that often placed him within iconic American landscapes, such as the Rocky Mountains in “Jeremiah Johnson,” Wyoming grasslands in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Washington, D.C., in “All the President’s Men,” and Montana streams in “A River Runs Through It.”
“From the time I was just a kid, I was always trying to break free of the bounds that I was stuck with, and always wanted to go outside,” Redford told The Associated Press in 2018.
Sydney Pollack, who directed Redford several times, described him as reminiscent of classic American actors: “He was to me a throwback to the actors that I was nuts about when I was growing up and going to movies: real, classical, traditional, old-fashioned movie stars who were very, very redolent of some kind of American essence. They were very much a part of the American landscape and they were heroic in a kind of understated way.”
Seeking space away from Los Angeles early in his career, Redford bought land in Utah. There he advocated for environmental causes as a trustee for the Natural Resources Defense Council. In the 1970s he opposed infrastructure projects like highways and coal plants proposed for rural Utah.
Redford also founded the Sundance Institute in Utah. The institute runs an annual independent film festival but is especially known for its year-round laboratory program supporting new filmmakers.
“For me, the word to be underscored is ‘independence,’” Redford once said regarding his legacy. “I’ve always believed in that word. That’s what led to me eventually wanting to create a category that supported independent artists who weren’t given a chance to be heard. The industry was pretty well controlled by the mainstream, which I was a part of. But I saw other stories out there that weren’t having a chance to be told.”
Redford’s interest in independence extended into his films. He co-produced “All the President’s Men,” focusing on investigative journalism rather than politics itself.
“Nixon had already resigned, and the held opinion (in Hollywood) was ‘No one cares. No one wants to hear about this,’” Redford said in 2006 about making “All the President’s Men.” “And I said, ‘No, it’s not about Nixon. It’s about something else. It’s about investigative journalism and hard work.’”
In films like “Three Days of the Condor,” he portrayed ordinary people caught up unexpectedly in larger political forces—roles where trust becomes uncertain and survival depends on quick thinking.
Though he remained outspoken on issues such as Indigenous rights and LGBTQ+ rights throughout his life—a model for Hollywood activism—Redford never entered politics himself.
His later work included leading roles such as 2013’s “All Is Lost,” where he played an aging sailor struggling alone against adversity at sea—a performance seen by many as emblematic of themes running through his career.
When he died after largely retiring from public life over recent years, Redford left behind an influence stretching across cinema and environmental advocacy alike.
