10 of Robert Redford's Most Iconic Movies
10 of Robert Redford's Most Iconic Movies
Kelsie Gibson, Emily KrauserSun, April 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
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Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner in 1973's 'The Way We Were'Credit: Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock -
Robert Redford's breakout movie was 1967's Barefoot in the Park
The Oscar-winning filmmaker retired in 2018, following his starring role in The Old Man & the Gun
Redford died on Sept. 16, 2025
Robert Redford cemented his Hollywood legacy in front of and behind the camera.
The filmmaking icon died on Sept. 16, 2025, at age 89, leaving behind six decades' worth of incredible movies for fans. His deep love of the West was born out of some of his earliest roles.
Redford began his career on Broadway in the 1950s. He made his film debut with a small part in the 1960 sports comedy Tall Story, starring Jane Fonda, with whom he formed a lasting bond on- and off-screen. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he achieved success as a leading man, with roles in films such as Barefoot in the Park (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), and The Candidate (1972).
While his charismatic good looks solidified his place as a bona fide movie star, his understated, natural acting talent earned him several awards and nominations, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1995 and an honorary Oscar in 2002. He also received an Oscar for Best Director for helming 1980's Ordinary People, his directorial debut.
In later years, he appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Pete's Dragon (2016) and The Old Man & the Gun (2018), the latter of which marked one of his final roles before retiring from acting.
"I can't last forever," he told Variety at the time. "The truth is that I really do feel that it's time for me to move into retirement. I've been doing this since I was 21. I've put my soul and heart into it over the years. I thought, 'That's enough. Why don't you quit while you're a little bit ahead? Don't wait for the bell to toll. Just get out.' So I felt my time had come, and I couldn't think of a better project to go out on than this film."
Look back at some of Redford's most notable roles through the years.
01 of 10
Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Robert Redford as Paul Bratter and Jane Fonda as Corie Bratter in 1967's 'Barefoot in the Park'Credit: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
Barefoot in the Park, which starred Redford and Fonda as young newlyweds, marked one of the actor's first leading roles. Redford originated the part in Neil Simon's 1963 play of the same name, and the 1967 film was well received, earning a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Not only did the film help Redford's career take off, but it was also the start of his longtime friendship with Fonda.
"It's easy," Redford told Today in September 2017 about working with Fonda. "We've done many films over the years, so it just worked out that way, that there was not a lot of discussion, we didn't have to talk about a lot. Things just kind of fell into place between us, and there wasn't much more to think about."
02 of 10
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy and Robert Redford as The Sundance Kid in 1969's 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'Credit: HA/THA/Shutterstock
The Western buddy film starred Paul Newman as Wild West outlaw Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch Cassidy, and Redford as his partner Harry Longabaugh — a.k.a. the "Sundance Kid." Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was one of the top-grossing films of 1969 and went on to receive several accolades, including four Oscar wins and a Best Picture nomination.
In December 2019, Redford told Collider that he and Newman were initially up for each other's parts, but director George Roy Hill switched the roles at his request.
"I was being put up for Butch Cassidy because I'd done the comedy. But that part didn't interest me," Redford said. "What interested me was The Sundance Kid because I could relate to that based on my own experience, and particularly my own childhood and feeling like an outlaw most of my life. So I told George, and he knew Paul really well and knew he was much more like Butch Cassidy, so George turned it all around. He went to Paul, and they argued a bit until Paul finally realized that George was right."
The California native added, "He was well known, and I wasn't, which is why they switched the title, too."
03 of 10
The Candidate (1972)
Robert Redford as Bill McKay in 1972's 'The Candidate'Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
The 1972 political comedy-drama stars Redford as Bill McKay, a left-leaning lawyer who runs for a Senate seat in California. The late author and speechwriter Jeremy Larner — a former speechwriter for Senator Eugene J. McCarthy during McCarthy's campaign for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination — earned an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for The Candidate.
Larner, who died in February 2026, told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2016 that it was Redford who reached out to him about writing the script.
"Redford said, 'We want to do a movie about a liberal politician who sells out,' " Larner recalled, "and I said, 'Well, I don't think people sell out as much as they get carried away.' A campaign is so much bigger than the candidate."
Larner continued, "I told Redford, 'It's kind of like being a movie star. The role is bigger than the person playing it.' "
04 of 10
The Sting (1973)
Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker in 1973's 'The Sting'Credit: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
The Sting reunited Redford and Newman as two professional grifters trying to con a mob boss (Robert Shaw), as well as both actors with Hill, their Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid director.
Not only was the 1973 film a commercial success, but it also received critical acclaim during award season. The Sting earned 10 Oscar nominations and seven statuettes, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Original Screenplay. Additionally, Redford was nominated for Best Actor for his role.
"We had a lot of fun together," Redford told the Salt Lake Tribune in October 2019 of his longtime friendship with Newman, who died in September 2008. "We played a lot of jokes on each other and just had such a good time."
05 of 10
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The Way We Were (1973)
Robert Redford as Hubbell Gardiner and Barbra Streisand as Katie Morosky in 1973's 'The Way We Were'Credit: Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock
The romantic drama, based on Arthur Laurents' 1972 novel of the same name, starred Redford and Barbra Streisand as two ill-fated lovers from very different backgrounds who attempt to make their relationship work amid political turmoil.
The Way We Were was a box-office success and received various awards, including the Oscar for Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Original Song for the theme song "The Way We Were," sung by Streisand.
However, the film almost happened without Redford.
The late star told Oprah Winfrey in November 2010, "I thought it was a good script. I thought it was great for Barbra. But the character in the initial script was, I felt, one-dimensional. So [director] Sydney [Pollack] and I got together, and we worked on something that felt good to me, which was a character that appeared a certain way and people would ascribe certain things to him that he didn't really know were true."
06 of 10
The Great Gatsby (1974)
Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby in 1974's 'The Great Gatsby'Credit: Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
Long before Leonardo DiCaprio took on the role of Jay Gatsby in the 2013 film, Redford portrayed the character in Jack Clayton's 1974 adaptation alongside Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan (who posed as the character in the first-ever issue of PEOPLE in 1974).
Redford told Collider that doing The Great Gatsby was a "pleasure," as he was always "very fond of the [book's author] F. Scott Fitzgerald."
07 of 10
All the President's Men (1976)
Robert Redford as Bob Woodward in 1976's 'All the President's Men'Credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
The biographical political film about the Watergate scandal, based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, starred Redford and Dustin Hoffman as the two journalists who investigated the scandal for The Washington Post.
Redford, who also served as a co-producer for the 1976 film, was largely responsible for the film being made, as he approached Bernstein and Woodward when they were still writing the book.
It was also his idea to tell the story through their perspective.
"Nixon had already resigned, and the held opinion [in Hollywood] was, 'No one cares. No one wants to hear about this,' " Redford told Today in February 2006. "And I said, 'No, it's not about Nixon. It's about something else. It's about investigative journalism and hard work.' "
Redford added, "Accuracy was the big, big objective in making the film. We had to be accurate, otherwise we would fall under that perception that Hollywood was messing around with a very vital event."
08 of 10
The Natural (1984)
Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs in 1984's 'The Natural'Credit: Tri-Star/Kobal/Shutterstock
The 1984 sports film, based on Bernard Malamud's 1952 novel of the same name, followed Redford as a baseball player named Hobbs over decades of ups and downs in his career.
The Natural was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Glenn Close.
"I loved Malamud's book, I tried to get [the film] made for 10 years," Redford told Yahoo Entertainment in August 2015. "I was told that, from a studio point of view, baseball doesn't fly commercially."
The actor also explained that when he finally got the go-ahead for the film, he knew he would likely have to change the book's ending.
"I thought, '... even though you're probably going to disappoint a lot of Malamud fans because you can't have the guy strike out at the end, you've got to go the other way completely.' But I thought it would be a better film, it wouldn't be a downer," Redford said.
09 of 10
Out of Africa (1985)
Robert Redford as Denys in 1985's 'Out of Africa'Credit: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
Out of Africa — loosely based on Isak Dinesen's 1937 autobiographical book of the same name — featured Redford and Meryl Streep as a hunter and an aristocrat who eventually develop feelings for each other despite their different backgrounds.
The 1985 romantic drama received massive critical acclaim, earning seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Pollack. The film also helped shape Redford's legacy as an environmental activist.
10 of 10
All Is Lost (2013)
Robert Redford as 'Our Man' in 2013's 'All Is Lost'Credit: The Door Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock
All Is Lost stars Redford alone as a man lost at sea. The 2013 action drama received positive reviews from critics and remains Redford's top-ranked movie on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 95% rating.
"It's a pure cinematic experience," Redford told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2013 of the film. "That was very appealing to me at this point in my life — to be able to go back to my roots as an actor, to be interesting enough to have the audience ride along with you and almost be a part of what you are feeling and thinking."
on People
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