A timeline of some of Robert Redford’s best films

By Staff reporter
Published 16th Sep 2025, 18:42 GMT
Updated 16th Sep 2025, 18:55 GMT
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Hollywood star Robert Redford was regarded as the godfather of independent cinema and graced screens both as an actor and director over the course of his decades-long career.

Following his death at the age of 89, here is a brief timeline of some of his most prominent films over the years.

1969 – Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid

Redford’s rise to fame was kickstarted after starring in the 1969 Western, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.placeholder image
Redford’s rise to fame was kickstarted after starring in the 1969 Western, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.

Set in 1890s Wyoming, the film follows two free-spirited gang leaders, Butch Cassidy, played by the late Paul Newman, and The Sundance Kid, played by Redford, on their journey to South America with the hopes of evading the law after a robbery goes wrong.

1969 – Downhill Racer

Directed by Michael Ritchie, the film follows a young and quietly cocky Olympic skiing champion, David Chapellet, as he joins the US ski team in a bid to break all existing records.

Redford’s performance won him a Bafta in 1971 for Downhill Racer as well as for Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.

He also took home the best actor Bafta for Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here that same year.

1972 – The Candidate

The political comedy-drama was made on the cusp of president Richard Nixon’s re-election, an irony that was difficult to overlook as the film follows a hopeful democratic candidate, Bill McKay, whose campaign for the US senate begins to take its toll at the expense of his real values and ideals.placeholder image
The political comedy-drama was made on the cusp of president Richard Nixon’s re-election, an irony that was difficult to overlook as the film follows a hopeful democratic candidate, Bill McKay, whose campaign for the US senate begins to take its toll at the expense of his real values and ideals.

The result is a tired and watered down candidate that appears to become more popular the less he gives and stands for.

1973 – The Sting

Redford reunited with Newman, swapping the wild west for the Great Depression, as two con men team up to avenge the death of a friend by swindling the fortune of a big-time mobster.

Redford received his first Academy Award nomination for his performance, with the film taking home seven Oscars, including for Best Picture.

1973 – The Way We Were

The romantic-drama follows two radically politically different students, Katie Morosky, played by Barbra Streisand, and Hubbell Gardiner, played by Redford, as their love for each other is strained when their worldviews clash, putting them to the test to see if they can truly make their relationship work.placeholder image
The romantic-drama follows two radically politically different students, Katie Morosky, played by Barbra Streisand, and Hubbell Gardiner, played by Redford, as their love for each other is strained when their worldviews clash, putting them to the test to see if they can truly make their relationship work.

1974 – The Great Gatsby

The actor starred in the film adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel as Jay Gatsby, the extravagant millionaire next-door neighbour to Nick Carraway, played by Sam Waterston, who momentarily enters his life and observes it in all its obsession and tragedy.

1976 – All The President’s Men

Starring alongside Dustin Hoffman, the pair portrayed The Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Hoffman) to recount how the journalists uncovered the details of the Watergate scandal that led to President Nixon’s resignation.

1980 – Ordinary People

Taking on the role of director, Redford went on to win an Academy Award for Ordinary People – a psychological drama which stars Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Judd Hirsch.

The film follows an affluent family in the aftermath of the death of their other son with the strain taking its toll on each of them and their relationships with each other.placeholder image
The film follows an affluent family in the aftermath of the death of their other son with the strain taking its toll on each of them and their relationships with each other.

1984 – The Natural

The film adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s novel of the same name stars Redford alongside Robert Duvall and Glenn Close in a story that follows a struggling baseball team until an unknown mysterious player appears and turns their luck around.

1994 – Quiz Show

Returning to the director’s chair, Redford received two Academy Award nominations including for best directing and best picture in 1994 for the thriller which follows a young lawyer, Dick Goodwin, as he investigates a gameshow and one of the programme winners, Charles Van Doren, played by Ralph Fiennes, to expose the truth behind its apparent success.

2013 – All Is Lost

The one-man survival drama follows a solo voyager (Redford) as he is adrift in the middle of the ocean after a shipping container damaged his boat.

Lost at sea he is forced to face extreme conditions and make do with what little he has left in order to survive.

Related topics:Hollywood
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