Robert Redford Had Some Short But Sage Advice For Young Filmmakers

Robert Redford, 86, received his first acting credit in a 1960 episode of "Maverick" and racked up an additional nine credited TV appearances just that year. He would also break into film in 1960 with an uncredited role in a basketball romance film called "Tall Story," starring Jane Fonda and Anthony Perkins. The world, it seems, was ready for Redford. In the following three years alone, Redford would appear on television an additional 11 times. In 1967, Redford appeared in "Barefoot in the Park," also with Fonda, in his first leading role. The actor has been working above the banner ever since. 

Beginning in 1980, Redford also began directing, starting with the suburban drama, "Ordinary People," for which he won Best Director and Best Picture at the Academy Awards. His next directorial effort, 1988's "The Milagro Beanfield War," won an Oscar for Best Music, and his 1996 film "Quiz Show" would be nominated for both Best Picture and Best Director. Redford has directed nine feature films, all told, many of them halcyon, nostalgic, and possessed of a gentle streak of political outrage, as Redford has never been shy about his left-leaning politics. His last film as director was 2012's "The Company You Keep," with Shia La Beouf, Anna Kendrick, and Julie Christie. 

His career as an actor or as a director also speaks nothing to his work as a champion of independent cinema. In 1981, Redford founded the Sundance Institute, an extensive festival, scholarship, and film archiving initiative.

In 2019, Redford appeared in "Avengers: Endgame", one of the most successful films of all time. To mark the event, Redford reflected on his career in an interview with Collider about his 50-year career (to date), and pondered his place in the Hollywood firmament.

Throughout his career, Robert Redford has played a lot of bright-faced, principled, and stalwart characters. It's rare that you'll find him playing someone villainous, wicked, or slovenly. Even if he is playing a character of dubious morals, he tends to present them as being deeply principled, or at least relatively harmless (his con man in "The Sting" and his gun-slinging robber in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," for example, are incredibly charismatic). When Redford appears, one can rest assured that he will be trustworthy, or at least likable. 

This trustworthiness extends from Redford's natural on-screen charm, of course — he is, after all, notoriously handsome — but also from a long-held personal belief toward authenticity and cooperation. In the Collider interview, Redford was asked if he had ever had to make any notable compromises in his career. Redford, rather than find regrets, touted the open-mindedness required to make compromises, saying: 

"I'm sure I have at times. I've been very rigid about not compromising, but at some point you realize that if you refuse to compromise that means you're getting more and more narrow-minded. So maybe there are times when I should keep myself open."

When it came to giving guidance to future directors, Redford's answer was to-the-point and extended directly from his words on compromise. His advice to young filmmakers was: 

To pay attention to the world around you and to avoid having a narrow point of view.

In order to be a good filmmaker, you must be observant — of the world, of people, of the way the world operates — and also open to other perspectives. It seems simple, but it is indeed quite profound. After 50 years and countless credits, he seems to be on to something.