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Did he ever truly give of himself as an actor?

posted 8 years ago by felstein
5 replies | jump to latest

There is no denying that Redford is a very competent performer and projects an appealing and likable persona, but I can't think of a single time where he really dug deep into the guts of a character and allowed himself to be vulnerable and display a wide range of emotions. He always kept himself at arm's length, as though he were afraid of tarnishing his carefully crafted image. I kept hoping that his breakthrough performance might someday be realized, but now that he is retiring it looks like it will never happen.

Ironically, the only time I remember him being unreservedly raw and real was as a director (Ordinary People).

[–] Justin1-2 8 years ago

You bring up some good points. I am actually a huge fan of his work and have been for many years. That being said I do see where you are coming from. He just doesn't seem to play the types of roles where you dig deep. I thought he might have went there for the movie Truth when he was portraying Dan Rather, but it didn't seem he cared about imitating the man and his characteristics. That being said I very much enjoyed the movie. However, I will say this...if you go back and watch Jeremiah Johnson I have to say he does seem to go deeper in that character than most. It's also interesting to watch him in All Is Lost. He obviously isn't given much to do vocally because thats not the point. But if you look at the performance and the way he is reacting throughout the movie it does make for a very different kind of performance from him.

[–] daflaminga 8 years ago

Robert Redford is a very understated actor and quite frankly, that's what makes him so special. There are few actors who can pull of a beautifully subtle performance like he can. It's often all in his mannerisms and facial expressions. Now that takes talent.

[–] JaneThree 8 years ago

I think part of his appeal is he's supposed to seem untouchable in a way. He's a movie star. He's not a great actor. These are the qualities that made him appealing in "the Way We Were" and made him stand out in "Daisy Clover".

I actually thought Ordinary People was overly "studied". How is he in comedy, like Barefoot in the Park?

[–] Cookie.L.A. (2117) 7 years ago

He's gorgeous and dependable, a very vanilla leading man. I don't think anyone's ever wanted anything else from him.

It would have been interesting to see him as the husband who makes a deal with the devil in ROSEMARY'S BABY. He was the first choice for that part.
.

[–] LTUM (1037) a year ago

old thread, but

i agree with you. i have noticed this countless times in various movies of his. he has this, i dunno, affectation thing he does? i can point it out when i see it but i don't think i could type an explanation of it here.

but yes i agree, he seems like he is always holding something in reserve. you put it perfectly when you said 'trying to protect his cultivated image' ...that sums it up perfectly.

i have my favorites of his which i tend to rewatch regularly. i see these same moves, lines in each of them and it is noticeable every time. it almost seems like he is trying too hard to 'sell' himself in certain roles where he instinctively knows he doesn't really fit. sorry, but he is just not believable as a tough guy imo. but still, he is one of my favorite actors and i love his content.

side note: a friend of mine years ago said (of redford) 'he may be too good looking to be taken seriously as an actor.' ...i think there's some truth to that.

no one will probably see this in this old thread lol. damn i miss the heady days of the imdb boards. those were great times, really fun and way better than the 'social media' options available today. (gag) I will never forgive them for killing the boards in Feb of 2017. 'sigh'

(hi dr emm. i know you see this post lol)