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When the iconic western film was released, the billing included Paul Newman, Katharine Ross, Robert Redford. Today, the order is different—it’s Redford second only to Newman. Robert Redford, the Sundance Kid, has become among the biggest male leads since Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Surprisingly, while somewhat thankful, fame means little to him.

“Not a Hollywood Man”

“I don’t consider myself,” he says determinedly, “tied to the industry. Recall that guy who walks in and out William Saroyan’s that celebrated story, who says, ‘There’s no foundation—from top to bottom’? Well, that’s how I see regarding the film industry. You can’t run a creative medium like manufacturing nowadays, but studios keep attempting exactly that. To them, film are just like household appliances. I find it repulsive.”

A Passion Project’s hurdles

Of course, actors often claim such sentiments in Hollywood. But Redford, who talks very quietly, and honestly doesn’t seem to know at the interest in him, sounds as if he means it. Much of it stems due to he put almost two years into making his skiing project realizing taking on studios proved more difficult than making a difficult movie.

His project, which hasn’t yet been shown here, despite early screenings occurred well before Christmas, is out in the US and has received reviews which suggest that it is far beyond a simple sports film. “In fact,” says Redford, “the focus is sport and sportsmen. Which is why I want to open it in the UK since this is not a skiing country. It’s more likely that it will be appreciated as an examination of character depth as opposed to sports footage.”

“Studios preferred to premiere it among ski experts, showing it to all the experts. But, really… here is a movie which shows an American competitor getting a gold medal on the slopes. Wouldn’t that going to wow them? Wow, just as long as I’m not there. It would be brutal.”

Why This Sport?

“What drew you to skiing? To me a unique combination of poetry and danger, an excellent means through which to show what sport sometimes does to men. One must be a kind of kamikaze pilot to participate. Having tried it, you are never quite the same again.”

“Consider former champions hanging about around the boys doing it now. They are pathetic. Restless constantly. Nervous habits show nonstop. Physically depleted. Competition proves very cruel, both to the sophisticated and the unsophisticated. Frequently it fits you only for the wrong things, even breaks you utterly.”

From Sports to Stardom

Redford should know, he was once a top-tier football and baseball athlete, and might have succeeded on the court too. “Goodness, I really hated to lose,” he says, “but in the end it got to where continuing was impossible, win or lose. I used to look at the guy over the net and wonder—goodness, his attire is messy. His footwear will chafe that bare ankle before long, and he is so worried about the game that he won’t even feel it. Next, I’d spot an audience member, wondering: ‘What the hell is he thinking right now? Am I merely his proxy?, fighting his fantasy? By which time the game was gone!’”

A Secret Love: Painting

An earlier interest, maybe his true calling, was art. He traveled across Europe for more than a year back then, mixing with bohemian crowds, some authentic, some not. He ran out of money in Florence, but met a teacher who arranged displaying his paintings covering getting back to the US. Back home, his restlessness resurfaced. He ended up an actor, starting in theater, later TV, and finally in films.

Projects like Daisy Clover, Barefoot in the Park, Willie Boy, the western, his passion project followed in quick succession. Next is Little Fauss and Big Halsey, centered on bike racing co-starring Pollard. Later, possibly a movie on latter-day rodeo riding. Competition appears dogging him for a while longer.

What of his art? He seems hesitant. “So,” he says, “I’ve not painted for two years. That’s the reason I’d like to take a rest from filming return to it. Is it possible to restart? Unlikely. It’s not for fun, you see. It’s got to be a lifelong commitment. Mind you, my first visit to London has stunned me regarding art. I feel compelled to create.”

“Look at the light here in London. It’s absolutely fabulous. Every day since arriving I wake early strolling with my mouth open. It’s unlike anything anything like it. I need to return someday. Maybe once Downhill Racer finally opens—should that happen.”

Respect for a Colleague

“Wish I was as shrewd a cookie like Newman. He would have ensured that the film wasn’t messed around this way. What about Rachel, Rachel?? “Yes, of course. However, Newman struggles against the bloody system.”