After next film, Redford to ‘move towards retirement’
The sun appears to be setting on the Sundance Kid’s acting career.
In an interview published this week, Robert Redford tells Entertainment Weekly retirement is on his mind, and that his new movie, “The Old Man & The Gun,” will likely be his last acting job.
“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,” Redford, 82 this month, said. “I thought, Well, that’s enough. And why not go out with something that’s very upbeat and positive?”
In what could be his last film, Redford portrays Forrest Tucker, a real-life career convict, who reportedly boasted he was better at escaping than Harry Houdini. Elisabeth Moss and Sissy Spacek are also featured in the film, which is set for a Sept. 28 release.
“To me, that was a wonderful character to play at this point in my life,” Redford told EW.
“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?”
As to whether his days as director are done, the outlet reports Redford seemed more on the fence and “indicated ‘we’ll see about that.’ ”
Similarly “Old Man & the Gun” director David Lowery shared his doubts as to whether Redford could really walk away.
“I don’t know if [Redford] will [retire],” Lowery said. “He says it’s his last leading role, at the very least, the last time he’ll star in a movie, but I don’t think he can stop. He just loves it too much.”