Robert Redford

One half of Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, Hooker & Gondorff, and Redford & Newman. Newman, whom I drew months ago; despite being 11 years older, has been inextricably linked with Redford as far as iconic Hollywood duos go. Two actors of a bygone era.
In terms of Redford himself, some of my favourite films – “the Sting” (’73), “Three Days of the Condor” (’75), “All the President’s Men” (’76), “The Natural” (’84), “Out of Africa” (’85) and “Sneakers” (’92). Iconic Redford; in my mind, is the pea coat wearing, turned-up collar of Joseph Turner a la Condor.
And as a director, he won the Academy Award for the critically acclaimed “Ordinary People” (’80) – a grim and heart-breaking story of a family’s gradual collapse after the death of a beloved son.
Widely credited for fostering the voice of independent American film-makers through his Sundance Institute, it continues today after over 38 years. Founded on a piece of land within the Provo Canyon which Redford purchased and named eponymously “Sundance”. Since 1985, it has been home to the Sundance Film Festival which has grown from a low-key production to an internationally recognized gathering of artists; some of whom credit the venue for their break – those such as Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, James Wan and Kevin Smith.
So, in looking up some details around Sneakers; one of my all-time favourite films (and damn what a cast – Redford, Poitier, Phoenix, Aykroyd, Kingsley, Strathairn, Jones), I came across a fascinating article called “Espionage-a-Trois: The Secret Sneakers Trilogy”, where Brian Salisbury suggests that Sneakers is really the second act in an espionage trilogy book-ended by Condor and “Spy Game” (2001). Give it a read: https://bit.ly/2M90ncV