Robert Redford has doubled down on his promise to retire from acting after the release of his latest film, 'The Old Man & The Gun'.
In an interview with EW, Redford said that he would "(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. I thought, well, that’s enough. And why not go out with something that’s very upbeat and positive?"
The acting icon's first role was in the television series 'Maverick', in 1960, but wouldn't land a movie role for another two years with 'War Hunt', where he starred opposite John Saxon and Sydney Pollack. Redford's breakout role, however, was opposite Paul Newman in 1969's 'Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid', which would go on to share the name of the film festival he helped to create. Redford would also turn his hand to directing, including a co-director's credit on 'All The President's Men', widely considered to be one of the greatest thrillers ever made.
Speaking on his role in Lowery's 'The Old Man & The Gun', Redford said that he felt the movie's themes played a part in his reasons for quitting acting. "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," Redford explained. "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?"
'The Old Man & The Gun' will be released in Irish cinemas on December 7th.
