Academy Award winner Robert Redford has announced that he is retiring from acting after nearly 60 years. Since 1960, Redford has had close to 80 acting credits, 50 producing credits, and 10 directing credits. During this time, he has earned 4 Academy Award nominations, with one win, in addition to an Honorary Award win in 2002. He's also earned 10 Golden Globe nominations, with 6 wins, along with two Emmy nominations. Without a doubt, Robert Redford's career has been an absolute success.
In 2016, Robert Redford announced that he was planning on retiring after two more movies. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Redford has confirmed that he is indeed retiring. His next movie, The Old Man & the Gun, releases next month, and it will be the last movie that he intends to act in. Here is what Redford had to say on the matter.
"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?"Redford went on to explain how his decision actually connects to the narrative of The Old Man & the Gun, which is a true story about the criminal Forrest Tucker who followed a criminal career his entire life, before retiring himself. Here is Redford's explanation for how his decision connects to the role.
"To me, that was a wonderful character to play at this point in my life. The thing that really got me about him - which I hope the film shows - is he robbed 17 banks and he got caught 17 times and went to prison 17 times. But he also escaped 17 times. So it made me wonder: I wonder if he was not averse to getting caught so he that could enjoy the real thrill of his life, which is to escape?"Fortunately, Redford has explained that he may still be open to directing down the road. Even though he is best known for acting, he does have quite a bit of directing experience. In fact, he earned his Oscar for directing rather than acting. However, it is not set in stone that Redford will continue to direct after his retirement from acting. He is 81 years old, after all, so he may be anxious to spend the final years of his life simply watching movies rather than working on them.
All things considered, Robert Redford will be a truly missed presence in Hollywood. He has given a number of fantastic performances over the years in movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Sting, and All is Lost. This news from Entertainment Weekly may be sad for Robert Redford's fans, but at 81, can we really blame the actor for wanting to retire? You can see Robert Redford's final acting performance when The Old Man & the Gun hits theaters on September 28, 2018.
