Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1121
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Robert Redford represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 57 years in, and Robert is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Robert Redford appears in 36 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Robert. Avengers: Endgame is the clearest case: a film rated 8.5 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for documentary, comedy, adventure. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Julian Starks, Jean Lauritano, Dylan Redford and others, Robert Redford helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) as Alexander Pierce · The Sting (1973) as Johnny Hooker · Paul Newman: The Restless (2023) as Self
Career snapshot
Ranked #1121 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
36
1966–2023
Career length
57 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.5
Avengers: Endgame
Average Nutevio score
6.3
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.2
Avengers: Endgame
Most frequent director
Sydney Pollack
5 films together
Longest collaboration
5×
With Sydney Pollack
Most common genre
Drama
22 titles
Average runtime
1h 58m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.0
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
7.0
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1980s
7.1 average MV
The 1980s are where the work and the material meet. Out of Africa — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1980s
7.1
Across 1 catalogue film in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1980s
7.2
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1960s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Barefoot in the Park, Inside Daisy Clover.
Most productive era
2010s
11 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.01 film | 7.06 films | 7.11 film | 6.84 films | 6.33 films | 6.36 films | 4.61 film |
| Action | — | — | — | — | 6.73 films | 8.12 films | — |
| Thriller | — | 7.32 films | — | — | 6.63 films | 6.32 films | — |
| Comedy | 6.91 film | 7.12 films | — | 6.91 film | 6.21 film | 6.32 films | 4.61 film |
| Crime | — | 7.91 film | — | 6.91 film | 6.91 film | 6.41 film | — |
| Romance | 6.52 films | 6.53 films | 7.11 film | 6.72 films | — | 6.31 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Wade Lewis / Lewis Wade.
Career peak
1973The Sting
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
8.5 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
The current state of the argument, as Self.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
36 of 36 films
as Alexander Pierce
Directed by Anthony Russo
as Johnny Hooker
Directed by George Roy Hill
as Lt. Gen. Eugene Irwin
Directed by Rod Lurie
as Bob Woodward
Directed by Alan J. Pakula
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Alexander Pierce
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Performance score8.2
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Alexander Pierce gives Robert Redford a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Johnny Hooker
The Sting (1973)
Performance score8.2
The Sting asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Johnny Hooker is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Lt. Gen. Eugene Irwin
The Last Castle (2001)
Performance score7.8
The Last Castle asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Lt. Gen. Eugene Irwin is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Bob Woodward
All the President's Men (1976)
Performance score7.8
All the President's Men asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Bob Woodward is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Alexander Pierce
Start here. Avengers: Endgame is the clearest statement of what Robert Redford does — accessible, 181 minutes, and rated 8.5 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Robert at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
A deliberate change of key after Avengers: Endgame — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
The Sting (1973)
Same director as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
All the President's Men (1976)
Keeps the drama register of The Sting but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Last Castle (2001)
Keeps the drama register of All the President's Men but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Sydney Pollack
Director
5 films together
Notably Out of Africa
Robert Redford
Director
4 films together
Notably A River Runs Through It
George Roy Hill
Director
2 films together
Notably The Sting
David Lowery
Director
2 films together
Notably The Old Man & the Gun
Anthony Russo
Director
2 films together
Notably Avengers: Endgame
Robert Mulligan
Director
1 film together
Notably Inside Daisy Clover
Gene Saks
Director
1 film together
Notably Barefoot in the Park
Jack Clayton
Director
1 film together
Notably The Great Gatsby
Alan J. Pakula
Director
1 film together
Notably All the President's Men
Richard Attenborough
Director
1 film together
Notably A Bridge Too Far
Phil Alden Robinson
Director
1 film together
Notably Sneakers
Adrian Lyne
Director
1 film together
Notably Indecent Proposal
Tony Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably Spy Game
Rod Lurie
Director
1 film together
Notably The Last Castle
Pieter Jan Brugge
Director
1 film together
Notably The Clearing
Ken Kwapis
Director
1 film together
Notably A Walk in the Woods
James Vanderbilt
Director
1 film together
Notably Truth
Charlie McDowell
Director
1 film together
Notably The Discovery
Dylan Redford
Director
1 film together
Notably Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia
Jean Lauritano
Director
1 film together
Notably Paul Newman: The Restless
Julian Starks
Director
1 film together
Notably A Journey to Sundance
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Sydney Pollack
Director
5 films together · 6.8 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 5 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Out of AfricaRobert Redford
Director
4 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 4 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
A River Runs Through ItAnthony Russo
Director
2 films together · 8.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Avengers: EndgameGeorge Roy Hill
Director
2 films together · 7.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The StingDavid Lowery
Director
2 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Old Man & the GunJean Lauritano
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Paul Newman: The RestlessAlan J. Pakula
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
All the President's MenRod Lurie
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Last CastleRichard Attenborough
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Bridge Too FarTony Scott
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Spy GamePhil Alden Robinson
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SneakersGene Saks
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Barefoot in the ParkJames Vanderbilt
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TruthAdrian Lyne
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Indecent ProposalJack Clayton
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Great GatsbyCharlie McDowell
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The DiscoveryKen Kwapis
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Walk in the WoodsRobert Mulligan
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Inside Daisy CloverPieter Jan Brugge
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The ClearingDylan Redford
Director
1 film together · 4.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Omniboat: A Fast Boat FantasiaJulian Starks
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Journey to SundanceSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
The Sting
as Johnny Hooker
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Out of Africa
as Denys George Finch Hatton
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Avengers: Endgame
as Alexander Pierce
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Avengers: Endgame
as Alexander Pierce
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Avengers: Endgame
as Alexander Pierce
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Robert Redford has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
57 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Drama Legend
Awarded
22 catalogue titles in drama, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Avengers: Endgame
as Alexander Pierce
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Avengers: Endgame
as Alexander Pierce
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Buttons
as Narrator (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Three Days of the Condor
as Joseph Turner
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Avengers: Endgame
as Alexander Pierce
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Avengers: Endgame
as Alexander Pierce
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Sting
as Johnny Hooker
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Inside Daisy Clover
as Wade Lewis / Lewis Wade
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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Have your say
Community
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Reference
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