Robert Redford’s legacy is full of phenomenal movies, from All The President’s Men to The Sting and so many more. His body of work also features many great westerns, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and he was a long-time environmental activist. When you mix all that together, it makes sense why The Madison, which just premiered on the 2026 TV schedule, was dedicated to the late actor and filmmaker. However, the show’s director, Christina Alexandra Voros, told me exactly why they chose to pay homage to him with this specific show from Taylor Sheridan.

For context, The Madison, which is the latest show from Sheridan, follows a grieving family as they go from New York City to rural Montana after a devastating loss. It’s beautifully shot and highlights the gorgeous nature of this area very well. It also stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell as the matriarch and patriarch of this family that’s trying to understand what they’ve lost and what this land means to them.

At the end of the first episode, which sees unexpected deaths and this big trip West, a card was placed in the credits that dedicated the work to Robert Redford. Take a look:

After seeing this, I had to ask director Christina Alexandra Voros why they decided to honor Redford, who died in September of 2025. In response, she told me:

In terms of the tone of the show, this makes perfect sense. Redford’s work, as the director said, had a “profound influence” on The Madison. Taylor Sheridan has also always been a fan of the actor. In fact, Redford almost played John Dutton in Yellowstone.

Along with the card dedicated to Redford, the show also features a scene about his movie, A River Runs Through It. The film, which he directed, starred Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer, it was set in Montana and featured a lot of fly-fishing. The Madison also takes place in Montana, plus Kurt Russell and Matthew Fox’s characters, Preston and Paul, have an affinity for fly fishing. So, during the show, Pfeiffer’s character Stacy and her family sit down to watch A River Runs Through It, which was Preston’s favorite film.

So, not only was the episode dedicated to Redford, but it also paid tribute to a movie of his that shows off the parallels between his work and The Madison.

It’s also worth noting that Robert Redford has a history with The Madison’s star, Michelle Pfeiffer. Back in 1996, they starred in the romantic drama Up Close & Personal, where the actor played a news director, and the actress was his protégée.

When he died, Pfeiffer was one of many to pay tribute to Redford as well. She posted a photo of them walking together, as the actor had his arm wrapped around her. Her Instagram caption read:

Overall, between the show's similarities to Redford’s work and his connection to The Madison’s star, this was the perfect project to dedicate to him.

Now, to see the rest of the series that is dedicated to Robert Redford, you can stream the second half of The Madison’s first season with a Paramount+ subscription on Saturday, March 21.

It’s been 50 years since All The President’s Men was released in 1976, an incredible year in film. It’s a movie I’ve watched a few times over the years. As a political science major in college (and a film buff), it was in my semi-regular rotation, and I still think it’s the best political thriller of all time. That it came out so soon after the events of Watergate that took down President Nixon is just as impressive. On a recent rewatch (with my HBO Max subscription), my first in at least a decade, I was struck by a couple of things that I’ve never put much thought into before.

Everything Was So Polite On One Level

As someone born in the ‘70s and raised in the ‘80s, the Watergate era is pretty familiar to me. I wasn’t born early enough to remember the events as they unfolded, but the era isn’t weird. Rotary dial phones, cigarettes everywhere, stylish corduroy… I do remember all of that. So All the President's Men doesn’t feel as “old-timey” to me as it might to people younger than me. However, I was really struck by how polite, almost genteel, so much of the investigation was.

Whenever Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) or Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) needed information, it was often just a phone call away. Woodward even calls John Mitchell, the former Attorney General, at home like it’s no big deal, and Mitchell answers! There is such a big difference in how people treat phone calls today. Like most people, I don’t answer my cell phone if the call is from an unknown number. Back in the early ‘70s, when the events in the movie occurred, that wasn’t an option. Everyone answered the phone, because you never knew if it was going to be important or not.

Everyone answered the door, too. There are so many times where Woodward and Bernstein knock on the door of someone they want to interview, and the person answers and often invites them in for coffee (and more cigarettes). It’s incredible how much social norms in this regard have changed over the years. Here were two reporters working on what would become one of the biggest stories of the century, and everyone was opening their doors to them. It doesn’t bother me that things have changed, but this movie highlighted to me just how much they have.

How The Most Famous Quote Is Always Relevant

I am not going to get political in this story; that’s not what this is about. However, one of the most famous lines in All the President's Men, coming from Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), is still, and really has been since the dawn of time, incredibly relevant. Corrupt governments from the time of Nero up through today have always been about the money first. If you want to find the real motivation for corrupt politicians, always “follow the money.”

One reason All the President’s Men has aged like fine wine, and what makes it one of the best movies of the ‘70s is that at its core, Watergate was no different than many political scandals over the centuries, making the lessons timeless. The money is always the key to unlocking the conspiracies. 25 years later, Lester Freamon would use the same line when uncovering all the corrupt politicians in Baltimore in The Wire (one of the best shows on HBO Max).

The Movie Is So Well Constructed

The other reasons the movie has aged so well are because of how well it flows, explains the dense amount of information it presents, and, of course, the performances. It's crazy that Redford wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar, nor was Hoffman. Both are just great at portraying young reporters who make mistakes along the way, but triumph in the end. At least Jason Robards, who plays the legendary Ben Bradlee, won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (one of four Oscars that the film won). Jane Alexander was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as “The Bookkeeper,” based on the real-life Judy Miller.

The pacing of the movie is top-notch. Despite having very little action, the movie is tense and moves along at a perfect clip. It is also remarkable just how well it presents the material. Remember, most of this investigation was through paperwork and interviews, and it was complicated. All the President’s Men nails all the critical information and serves it up to viewers in an easily digestible manner. You can go way deeper into the Watergate Scandal with books (or even Wikipedia), but here, you get all the really important points of the investigation, and the movie is still snappy and fun.

It Really Made Me Miss Robert Redford

I don’t remember what the first movie was that I saw Robert Redford in, but I have a hunch it was The Natural. Over the years, he’s always been one of my favorite actors, and while he certainly lived a full, amazing life, it was still hard to digest his death last year. I watched a couple of his movies in the wake of his death, including The Natural, but this was my first revisit of All the President’s Men since then. Watching him at what was really the height of his career really made me miss him.

Even though Redford's playing a somewhat prickly character in Bob Woodward, he’s still so utterly charming at all times. He also looks so sharp in that brown corduroy suit he wears in much of the movie. His rapport with Hoffman is fantastic, especially when they are doing a “good cop/bad cop” routine with people they are trying to interview. The style of the movie, with overlapping dialogue, plays really well because of their chemistry.

Political thrillers, or really any movie about politics, are tricky to make, especially when they are based on real events, and doubly so for events that had happened so recently as was the case in All the President’s Men. Director Alan J. Pakula, who was nominated for Best Director, and screenplay writer William Goldman, who won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, along with all the actors, really pulled a rabbit out of a hat here.

There is a good chance that most people don’t know the story behind a famous meme featuring a nod of approval by the late Robert Redford, and have no idea about the greatness that is Jeremiah Johnson. That’s a shame, because not only is this one of the late actor’s best movies, but it’s also a wonderful western film that withstood the test of time.

I recently went back and rewatched Sydney Pollack’s 1972 epic about a veteran of the Mexican War who decides to leave society behind to brave the elements as a trapper high up in the Rocky Mountains. This was an incredibly powerful and meaningful rewatch in 2026 for a variety of reasons, and not just because of that clip of Redford’s iconic smile and nod that has been shared countless times over the years. Let me explain…

Despite Being Over 50 Years Old, This Movie Holds Up Really Well

I am not going to sit here and act like Jeremiah Johnson, a movie that came out more than 50 years ago, looks like it came out today. However, I also can’t sit here and say that this movie doesn’t hold up really well, especially on a technical level. Filmed in Panavision, Sydney Pollack’s film adaptation of the life and legacy of mountain man Jeremiah Johnson is epic in every sense of the word.

This movie is filled with incredible shots that make you feel like you’re right there with Redford’s character as he goes from an inexperienced trapper to a man in a bitter war against a vengeful Native American tribe. I’ve never experienced the life of a trapper living off the land high up in the mountains, but I felt like I was there, breathing the cold thin air with Johnson and trying to survive the harsh elements and even harsher locals. No need for the 4DX experience here, the visuals and scope of this western capture that enough already.

I’m Still Blown Away By Jeremiah Johnson’s Transformation

Before going into Jeremiah Johnson, it had been a good 15 years since I last saw it (I had a buddy in college who was obsessed with this movie). Though I did remember most of the broader details – man goes off into the mountains, tries to survive, ends up in a blood feud with a tribe – there was a lot about Johnson’s massive change and journey that I had simply forgotten about.

Sure, some aspects of this movie haven’t aged well (painting a white actress’ face so she looks more Native American being the biggest), but the protagonist’s journey to leave society and the “civilized” world behind for a simpler and more meaningful experience is something that should be championed. The resilience and drive of the human spirit are explored multiple times through the stories of various people attempting to survive the harsh and unforgiving nature of the wilderness.

If you’ve never seen Jeremiah Johnson or it’s been so long that you forgot what happens, you can stream this classic Robert Redford movie with a Kanopy account. Just make sure you have a library card, pilgrim.

Stream Jeremiah Johnson on Kanopy.

Megyn Kelly is known for her no-holds-barred opinions, but it was still surprising when she outed a whole slew of the most "unhappy” celebrities she’s interviewed in Hollywood. The list was varied and included a-list actors all the way down to one beloved journalist. Yes, I’m talking about Al Roker. And no I didn’t see his name coming, but they do have a past.

Some A-Listers Megyn Kelly Claims Are More Naughty Than Nice

Kelly was asked by The Daily Mail about some negative interactions she’s had over the years. Unsurprisingly, she had opinions, but it was still a bit surprising to see her openly name drop some of her bad interactions, one of which came from Jane Fonda and Robert Redford when they were promoting Our Souls at Night. She said she had a tough time navigating through the fact Redford refused to talk about their sex scenes, but Fonda wanted to:

Both Fonda and Redford are Hollywood legends, but she also told the outlet they weren’t the only legends to really be tough on her during her time on the air. Bruce Willis has been more out of the public limelight and has retired from acting since his Aphasia diagnosis (though wife Emma Heming Willis has been a champion of research for the cause, and has been candid about the 'blessing and curse' with Willis' diagnosis).

However, in his heyday, he was apparently not-so-easy to deal with. Megyn Kelly said Bruce Willis agreed to go on Fox News, despite having a different political take than many of the anchors there, and she noted it was awkward overall. Said Kelly:

However, of all the people Kelly name-dropped as having a bad attitude toward her, I did not see one fellow broadcaster coming.

NBC's Al Roker Made Megyn Kelly’s List

Al Roker is one of America’s Darlings. He’s known for being well-liked and affable on NBC’s Today. He publicly weathered a health scare that kept him from the show for a while, and kept a positive attitude throughout the ordeal. He’s a cheery guy… at least when on camera. Kelly was a little reticent to be as specific about Al Roker’s specific issues, but she made a comparison most people could understand.

Megyn Kelly currently runs her own podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show,” but prior to these she was an anchor for Fox News from 2004-2017 during an era where people’s political opinions became more polarizing. She left Fox for NBC News after the scandal with Roger Ailes, working for the same network Al Roker worked for at the time. From her Dershowitz (a conservative) bumping into Larry David (a liberal) comment, it sounds like Kelly felt Mr. Roker was not super warm or welcome to her.

We do know that Al Roker publicly called out Ms. Kelly amidst the backlash after she claimed blackface within the context of Halloween costumes is OK. She later left NBC to go it alone.

In my personal experience, celebrities run the gamut. They can be consistently nice or consistently not, though many might have different moods on different days. I’ve experienced celebrities who are totally nice and engaged for one movie and irritated for others, and we don’t know if the experiences Kelly had with certain celebrities might have changed over time. We also don’t know if she interacted with some of these people multiple times. Suffice to say, we all have had exchanges with people that may not have gone as planned. Yet, in the journalist’s case, there’s more tea simply because she’s dealing with famous people on a day-to-day basis.

Hollywood legend Robert Redford died at the age of 89 last week, and since then, a ton of emotional tributes from other actors have poured in. One of the latest comes from Bryce Dallas Howard, who worked with the late Redford on the Disney's 2016 remake of Pete’s Dragon. Howard shared some really sweet memories of working with the iconic actor in New Zealand, and I love how her sentiments provide a better sense of the man he was.

Redford died in his sleep on September 16 in his home in Sundance, Utah. Eventually, Howard posted a tribute to him on her Instagram, which featured some of her sweetest memories of her co-star. Howard explained that she didn’t post her thoughts right away because it took her “a moment to find the right words of gratitude.” As she wrote:

Earlier in the post, Bryce Dallas Howard recalled the first time meeting Robert Redford was on the set of the movie where they played father and daughter. She said she “almost knocked him over” while rolling on a scene in which she was supposed to run into his arms, which led Redford to burst out laughing and quip, “You came at me like a cannonball!” As she continued:

In addition to Redford being an accomplished actor, he also directed many movies across his career, including a movie called The Horse Whisperer, which even had a 12-year-old Scarlett Johansson in it. (In fact, she recently spoke about her experience on it and the nickname she gave Redford). The story shows how much Redford cared about animals, as he didn’t hesitate in rescuing one in between shooting Pete’s Dragon. As Howard also shared in her tribute:

When their movie came out in 2016, our Pete’s Dragon review was glowing, calling the Disney movie with our own Eric Eisenberg calling it a “beautiful, earnest family film with wonderful emotion.” Maybe it’s time we revisited it on Disney+?

Robert Redford had over 80 credits across his career starting in the 1960s. His career really started to blow up when he starred in Barefoot in the Park and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in the late ‘60s. By the 1970s, Redford amassed a plethora of films that eventually became beloved like The Candidate, The Way We Were, The Sting and All The President’s Men. It’s wild that his sole Oscar win was for his directing work on Ordinary People in 1981!

When it comes to Bryce Dallas Howard’s tribute, it's truly wonderful and celebrates the man as she knew him. Here at CinemaBlend, we're sending our love to Redford's family, friends and fans following his death.

In the days since the death of Robert Redford, a lot of people have taken the time to remember him. Fans have talked about their favorite films, and those who knew and worked with Redford have discussed what that experience was like. We even learned about an interesting connection between Redford and the Universal Studios theme park. Now Scarlett Johansson has talked about her time spent with the late actor, which may be unique among Hollywood stars.

Scarlett Johansson was directed by Redford and acted alongside him, but saw him in a way that few others did at the time. This is because she was all of 12 years old when they worked together. Johansson appeared in The Horse Whisperer and on a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, she revealed that she even had a special nickname for her director, saying…

The nickname apparently had no origin beyond the silly mind of a 12-year-old, though I think I can see how a kid might get introduced to somebody named Bob and decide to start calling them Booey. It’s completely adorable.

It's easy to forget that Scarlett Johansson was a child actor. While she had a couple of significant roles at a young age, she wouldn't become a household name until later in her career.

Johansson talked about the conversations that Redford would have with her, talking through their scenes together and putting her at ease on the set. She clearly appreciated the time that he took with her. She also credits the experience of The Horse Whisperer for starting her interest in directing, a goal she has now achieved with the film, Eleanor the Great. Johansson continued…

Scarlett Johansson would become a star five years after her role in The Horse Whisperer, thanks to her performance in Lost in Translation. Still, it seems clear that this particular film, and its incredible director, had a profound impact on her. Robert Redford clearly meant a lot to a lot of people, but I’m not sure anybody will remember “Booey” quite the way that ScarJo will.

The death of Hollywood legend Robert Redford hit a lot of fans and friends hard yesterday. Redford was an absolute icon of the industry who made more great films than almost anyone to ever do the job. Many who knew the man, or simply loved his work, have been sharing thoughts about their favorite Redford films or other moments from his life.

I never expected one of my favorite theme parks to be included in a remembrance of Robert Redford, but then I suppose I wasn’t thinking about the fact that Universal Studios Hollywood is part of an actual film studio, one where Redford obviously worked over the years. John Murdy, who is currently the lead designer for USH’s Halloween Horror Nights, took to Twitter to mention a period when he saw Redford in the park daily, making one of my favorite of his films. Murdy said:

For the uninitiated, the Starway is the path between the upper and lower lots of Universal Studios Hollywood. It requires multiple escalators connected by platforms to raise and lower guests 18 stories between the two halves of the park. Nearly all guests, of course, use the escalators, but there are stairs available, 345 of them. We knew Robert Redford was an exceptional actor, but to be able to jog the Starway day after day, he was clearly also in exceptional shape.

The hillside that separates the two halves of Universal Studios Hollywood is unusable for almost anything theme park-related. The Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster is currently being constructed around the Starway, as it’s just about the only attraction that could go there.

A couple of years ago, mostly just to say I did it, I walked up the Starway using the stairs. If somebody had asked me to go down them again, I would have used what energy I had left to punch them. The idea that Robert Redford was jogging these stairs in both directions every morning just impresses the hell out of me.

The fact that this all surrounded the making of Sneakers, one of my absolute favorite Robert Redford movies, and best heist movies ever, makes the anecdote all the more special. After jogging these steps, he would go to work with an incredible cast to make an incredibly fun movie.

The next time I visit Universal Studios Hollywood and travel down the starway, I know I’ll think of Robert Redford jogging those steps. Maybe I’ll even walk them again one day. Going downhill, and probably just the once more.

It was a sad day when it was announced that filmmaker/actor Robert Redford passed away in his sleep at the age of 89. He started acting in the 60s, and spent his career starring in movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All The President's Men and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (to name a few), directing films like Ordinary People and Quiz Show, among others, and founding and working on the Sundance Film Festival. He truly left behind a legacy that will be remembered forever, and now, A-list stars like Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and more have taken the time to pay tribute to the late actor and the effect he had on them.

You can thank Robert Redford for Scarlett Johansson’s acting debut. As a child star, she starred in one of the best horse movies, The Horse Whisperer, in which Redford directed and starred alongside her. The former MCU star made a heartwarming statement to EW, honoring the late actor/director and noting the impact he had on her:

Scarlett Johansson credited Redford in her tribute for first teaching her about acting and walking her "through all of the beats" of her Horse Whisperer character. As the JoJo Rabbit star walks in the shoes of a director with Eleanor the Great, Johansson made sure to credit the Santa Monica native for founding Sundance as a space for filmmakers to learn from each other.

Another Marvel alum, Samuel L. Jackson, also had the pleasure of working with the one-time Oscar winner. Robert Redford made his way into the MCU as S.H.I.E.L.D. head Alexander Pierce, sharing screentime with Nick Fury in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Pulp Fiction actor took to Instagram to share kind words about meeting one of his “heroes” on the MCU set, writing:

Such kind words to send the five-time Golden Globe winner’s way. As heartbreaking as his death is, it appears Jackson looks back on feeling lucky he had the chance to work with a skilled actor he admired. As one of the Snakes on a Plane actor’s 2025 movie releases had him starring in the Western The Unholy Trinity, it feels fitting that one of his latest roles connects back to Redford’s beginning within that same genre.

Among the long list of talented stars who worked with the award-winning star/filmmaker was Jennifer Lopez. She took to her Instagram stories to write about the effect Redford had on her as they worked together in An Unfinished Life:

Jennifer Lopez’s tribute really highlights what a loving impact Robert Redford had on his co-stars. It’s clear that even though An Unfinished Life wasn’t directed by him, he admirably still took the time to bring his “wisdom” to the Hustlers actress to ensure they made a great project together.

Last but not least, Demi Moore took to her Instagram to throw back to Indecent Proposal, the ‘90s box office hit she and Robert Redford starred in. Her moving caption to the All is Lost actor is sure to leave you in tears:

It’s easy to want to go back to the last moment you shared with a beloved figure and repeat it all over again. But, even as the world mourns for Redford, those who knew him can celebrate the many ways he touched their hearts and the endearing memories he left behind.

Based on the many tributes that talented stars left for Robert Redford, it's clear the BAFTA winner left a huge mark on many who were lucky to know him as well as those who admired his work. Through his countless works of film and the knowledge he brought to his co-stars, I know Redford will forever be remembered.

It’s incredible to me that Robert Redford only won one Oscar in his iconic career that spanned almost six decades. His lone win came for Best Director for 1980’s Ordinary People. Redford, who died this week at 89, did win an Honorary Oscar in 2002 for his work in Hollywood over his career, but that doesn’t make up for all the snubs over the years. He was only nominated in an actor category once, for Here are nine times Robert Redford could have won an Oscar for his acting performance or his directing.

The Sting (Best Actor)

This might blow your mind: Robert Redford was only nominated for one Oscar in an acting category in his whole career. It came in 1974 for his performance alongside Robert Shaw and Paul Newman in one of the best gambling movies of all time, 1973’s The Sting. The beloved film took home seven Oscars that year, including for Best Picture and Best Director (George Roy Hill), but Redford lost out to Jack Lemmon in Save the Tiger. I mean no offense to the late Jack Lemmon, but The Sting and Redford’s performance are far more iconic all these years later.

Quiz Show (Best Director)

I may be biased here, as Quiz Show is one of my all-time favorite movies. It gets lost in the shuffle in the debate over what is the best film from 1994, as it was nominated for Best Picture alongside Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Four Weddings and a Funeral and the eventual (and controversial) winner, Forrest Gump. Quiz Show didn’t break new ground like Pulp Fiction, and it didn’t become what CinemaBlend calls the best movie of the ‘90s, like Shawshank, but it is an incredible, perfectly constructed movie.

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (Best Actor)

1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was Redford’s true breakout moment, though his career started in the early ‘60s. It was teaming up with Paul Newman in Butch and Sundance that launched him into superstardom, a lofty position he would maintain for the rest of his career. Not only is it one of the best Westerns ever made, but the chemistry between the two lead actors is off the charts.

Redford thought so highly of the part and the movie that he named his now-legendary film festival, The Sundance Festival, after it.

The Natural (Best Actor)

For many in Gen X, including myself, our first real introduction to Robert Redford was in 1984’s The Natural. The actor stars as Roy Hobbs, a baseball phenom in the 1920s whose career is derailed after he is shot by a jealous fan of “The Whammer.” He returns to baseball 16 years later, hitting an epic home run into the lights of the stadium, thus creating one of the most iconic moments in film history. It’s performances like this one that made Redford beloved to every generation since the post-war baby boom. It wasn’t enough for the Academy, though, which didn’t even nominate him.

Glenn Close, his co-star in the movie (and another actor too often snubbed by The Academy), even called Redford her “best onscreen kiss” recently. That alone should tell you how badly his performance was ignored!

A River Runs Through It (Best Director)

The third movie of Redford’s directorial career came in 1992 with the magnificently beautiful A River Runs Through It. The stunning cinematography was rewarded with a well-deserved Oscar for Philippe Rousselot, but Redford didn’t even get nominated for Best Director. For shame, Academy. It’s such a wonderful movie, and though beating Clint Eastwood for his direction of Unforgiven would have been a tall task, not even being nominated really stings.

All Is Lost (Best Actor)

One of Robert Redford’s last great performances of his career, in 2013’s All Is Lost, is one of his truly unique roles. Not only was the role incredibly demanding on the then-77-year-old actor, but the role, which can be watched with an Amazon Prime subscription, also had almost no dialogue and no co-stars. Redford was literally a one-man show in the amazing movie.

Despite the lack of dialogue, Redford’s performance is one of the most gripping of his career, and it’s astounding to me that he didn’t get more accolades for it. Matthew McConaughey won the Oscar in 2014 for his amazing performance in Dallas Buyers Club, but one can say that they’d have been disappointed to see Redford win.

All The President’s Men (Best Actor)

I’ll admit that I grew up a political junkie who dreamed of working in political journalism, and the Watergate Scandal fascinated me, going back to high school. I can only assume that was in large part due to seeing the political thriller All the President’s Men. Not only did the movie do an incredible job of telling the story of Woodward (Redford) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), but it took what could have been a very dry story and made it exciting and tense.

The entire cast puts in career-defining performances, and while Hoffman and Jane Alexander were nominated for Oscars, Jason Robards won for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Washington Post editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee; Redford was again snubbed completely.

Out Of Africa (Best Actor)

Out of Africa may be another example of showing my bias, as I first saw it in 1990 when I was a teenager about to travel to Kenya, where the movie is set. It’s not the kind of movie you’d expect a young guy to like, but I loved the scenery and the performances from both Redford and his co-star Meryl Streep. The film, directed by Sydney Pollack, crushed the 1986 Oscar Awards, taking home seven awards, including Streep for Best Actress in one of her most best roles, Pollack for Best Director, and Best Picture. Redford didn’t even get a nomination for his excellent performance. It would be comical if it weren’t so absurd.

To Mr. Redford, I say rest in peace knowing that your many iconic performances touched the lives of millions, including me, even if the Academy never seemed to appreciate them as much as audiences did.

Those in the film industry have a way of affecting audiences and becoming part of their lives forever. Oscar-winning director Robert Redford definitely that that type of legacy, even being named one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world. And his generations of fans are collectively mourning, as Redford has died at the age of 89. Let's break it all down.

This news comes to us from the New York Times, which has written a long story about Redford's life and death. That outlet learned of his passing from Cindi Berger, the chief executive of the publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK. She claimed that he died peacefully in his sleep, but didn't offer an official cause of death. He is survived by two children, his wife Sibylle Szaggars, and seven grandchildren.

Redford leaves behind a legacy, including a wildly successful acting career. He was one of Hollywood's leading men for years, with roles in projects like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Way We Were, and Out of Africa. He was able to succeed in both action and drama, and was nominated for an Oscar for The Sting. Younger audiences might recognize him from the following meme, a GIF of him nodding in the Western Jeremiah Johnson that has gone viral on social media. Additionally, fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order will recall his role in the as Alexander Pierce (streaming with a Disney+ subscription).

Eventually, Redford began working as a filmmaker, making his debut in 1980's Ordinary People. It was a wild success, winning four Oscars, including Best Director. From there on, he'd work on more acclaimed titles as a filmmaker, such as The Natural, Quiz Show, and The Horse Whisperer. His last full-length directorial effort was The Company You Keep, which he also starred in opposite Shia LaBeouf.

Aside from his work as director, producer, and actor, Robert Redford also leaves behind a legacy of advocacy work, as well as involvement in politics. He famously supported LGBTQ+ right, Native American rights, and environmentalism. He also supported both democrats and republicans throughout the years, including openly criticizing Donald Trump in recent years.

As previously mentioned, the cause of Redford's death has not yet been revealed to the general public. Those closely following the actor/filmmaker's life will recall he's had some medical issues, including primary sclerosing cholangitis, which resulted in him getting multiple liver transplants.

There were some notable medical issues in Redford's family, with his son James dying in 2020 at the age of 58 to bile duct cancer. He also lost his son Scott to sudden infant death syndrome at just two months old.

Our thoughts are with Robert Redford's family and generations of fans during this difficult time. And we encourage cinephiles to explore his resume and re-watch the beloved films he's brought to life as both a director and actor.

It never ceases to amaze me when an actor is the spitting image of the real person they are selected to play. I do not think a historical portrayal necessarily lives or dies by the performer’s resemblance to the subject, but I think it is something to appreciate, especially when you consider the amount of biopics starring actors who bear absolutely no resemblance to their role. Here are a few notable examples of actors who were clearly hired for their talents above anything else.

Michael Shannon As Elvis Presley (Elvis & Nixon)

The most requested photo in the National Archives depicts Elvis Presley shaking hands with Richard Nixon in the Oval Office, and the events surrounding this historic meeting at the White House are dramatized in 2016's Elvis & Nixon. Kevin Spacey makes for a visually believable depiction of the 37th United States President, but the otherwise wonderfully talented Michael Shannon simply does not cut it as the one many call the King of Rock 'n Roll, even with a decent jumpsuit and wig.

John Wayne As Genghis Khan (The Conqueror)

Oh, boy, where do we begin with this one? The only visual evidence we have of what Genghis Khan looked like is artist renderings, but it does not take an expert to notice that John Wayne was not Asian. Still, the legendary Western movie star was cast as the Mongol chief in 1956's The Conqueror, which has since been regarded as one of the worst films ever made.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson As John Lennon (Nowhere Boy)

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson's 2009 music biopic Nowhere Boy focuses on the pre-Beatles life of John Lennon, as portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. If you ask me, the Golden Globe-winning actor might have been a better fit to play, perhaps, Paul McCartney or, better yet, George Harrison.

Tom Cruise As Barry Seal (American Made)

If more people knew about Barry Seal and what he looked like, I believe Tom Cruise's portrayal in 2017's American Made would have been criticized as one of the most egregious miscastings in Hollywood history. The otherwise talented movie star did absolutely nothing to alter his appearance and pass for the ill-fated, heavy-set CIA smuggler, save what I regard as an embarrassing Southern accent.

Julia Roberts As Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)

Julia Roberts gives, arguably, the finest performance of her career as a single mother and paralegal who uncovers a small town pollution scandal in Steven Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich from 2000. However, if a resemblance to the person an actor is portraying were part of the Academy's voting criteria, she might not have won the Oscar.

Denzel Washington As Frank Lucas (American Gangster)

Ridley Scott's 2007 biopic American Gangster dramatizes the career of mobster Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington, and also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lucas' brother, Huey. Curiously, Ejiofor actually looks a whole lot more like the real Frank than the two-time Oscar winner. However, Washington was a good friend and frequent collaborator of the director's brother, Tony Scott, so he probably had the role in the bag for that, among other reasons.

Johnny Depp As J.M. Barrie (Finding Neverland)

Oddly enough, J.M. Barrie boasted a striking resemblance to another influential author, Edgar Allan Poe, with his tall forehead and small moustache. However, Johnny Depp, who played the Peter Pan author in 2004's Finding Neverland, does not boast a resemblance to either of them, if you ask me.

Hugh Jackman As P.T. Barnum (The Greatest Showman)

Let's not even bother talking about the many historical inaccuracies from The Greatest Showman, 2017's musical retelling of the origins of the circus, and even ignore the fact that P.T. Barnum was not the kindhearted man Hugh Jackman portrayed him as. All that matters to this list is whether or not the Wolverine star looked the part, and the famously attractive Australian actor most definitely was not a match for Barnum in that regard.

Michael Fassbender As Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs)

Michael Fassbender's Oscar-nominated performance in director Danny Boyle and writer Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs from 2015 is widely regarded as superior to Ashton Kutcher's portrayal in Jobs from two years earlier. However, at least the former That '70s Show cast member can say he resembled the tech pioneer more closely.

Jesse Eisenberg As Mark Zuckerberg (The Social Network)

Mark Zuckerberg once made a surprise SNL cameo, during which he stood right next to host Jesse Eisenberg on the Studio 8H stage, proving that they are certainly not a visual match. The actor does not even bother to imitate the Facebook founder's distinctly low voice when portraying him in 2010's The Social Network, but his Oscar nomination proves that that is not what really matters in the end.

Tom Hanks As Fred Rogers (A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood)

Casting a universally beloved actor such as Tom Hanks to play a universally beloved children's television personality like Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood fame, is brilliant in theory. However, even giving the Oscar winner the icon's signature haircut and sweaters is not quite enough to distract from the fact that you are still unmistakably watching Hanks on screen.

Leonardo DiCaprio As Howard Hughes (The Aviator)

A major inspiration for Marvel's Tony "Iron Man" Stark was Howard Hughes, whose resemblance is actually a striking match for both Robert Downey Jr. and Dominic Cooper, who plays Howard Stark in his early years in the MCU. In fact, I think either one of them would have been a better visual fit for the eccentric millionaire in The Aviator than Leonardo DiCaprio, even if his performance in the 2005 biopic makes it one of his best collaborations with the director, Martin Scorsese.

Warren Beatty And Faye Dunaway As Clyde Barrow And Bonnie Parker (Bonnie And Clyde)

From a performance standpoint, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway make a great onscreen duo portraying the titular notorious bank robbers in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde. However, the screen legends' casting does not earn the film any points for historical accuracy, considering Beatty does not have Clyde Barrow's jug ears, nor does Dunaway boast Bonnie Parker's sharp, thin face.

Taraji P. Henson As Katherine G. Johnson (Hidden Figures)

Taraji P. Henson gives an undeniably commanding performance in 2016's Hidden Figures as Katherine G. Johnson, a mathematician who was pivotal in helping NASA figure out space travel. Yet, when comparing the Empire star to photos of the real Johnson, it is clear the actor does not resemble her much at all.

Anthony Hopkins As Richard Nixon (Nixon)

Reportedly, Anthony Hopkins had some hesitation about taking on the lead role of Oliver Stone's 1995 biopic about Richard M. Nixon. Ultimately, I would say the Academy Award winner went on to give a great performance in Nixon, but I find myself distracted by his struggle to hide his accent and his obvious fake teeth and hairpiece that really do not help make him look any closer in resemblance to the disgraced U.S. president.

Margot Robbie As Queen Elizabeth I (Mary Queen Of Scots)

Cate Blanchett previously gave an Academy Award-nominated performance as the lead of 1998's Elizabeth, and even bore a strong resemblance to the royal based on artist renderings. I cannot say the same about Margot Robbie, even if the Australian actor's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots was still worthy of praise.

Benedict Cumberbatch As Alan Turing (The Imitation Game)

Benedict Cumberbatch has such a distinct appearance, making it difficult for him to resemble anyone else without heavy alterations. However, nothing was done to make him look any closer to World War II-era computer scientist Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.

Javier Bardem As Desi Arnaz (Being The Ricardos)

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman went above and beyond to physically become Lucille Ball for writer and director Aaron Sorkin's dramatization of what went on behind the scenes of the beloved TV sitcom, I Love Lucy. However, playing her onscreen husband is Oscar winner Javier Bardem, who does not pass for Desi Arnaz in the slightest.

Ray Liotta As Shoeless Joe Jackson (Field Of Dreams)

Technically, Ray Liotta plays the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams, but even a person's spectral remnant should look something like them. The infamous MLB player had a much narrower face and wider ears, not to mention that he pitched left-handed, while the actor did the opposite in the beloved sports movie.

Beyoncé As Etta James (Cadillac Records)

No one could possibly deny that Beyoncé has the pipes to match Etta James, which had to have been the reason why she was cast in 2008's Cadillac Records. However, the "At Last" singer was short and round-faced, and the former Destiny's Child member is neither.

Dominic West As Prince Charles III (The Crown)

I mean no disrespect to Prince Charles III, but is it just me, or was The Wire star Dominic West just a little too handsome to play the Royal Family member on The Crown? Then again, any one cast member's portrayal on the historical Netflix series might pale in comparison to Elizabeth Debicki's striking resemblance to Princess Diana.

Kane Hodder As Ed Gein (Ed Gein: The Butcher Of Plainfield)

The most famous actor to wear Jason Voorhees' hockey mask in the Friday the 13th films must have seemed like an inspired choice to play one of the most notorious serial killers in history in 2007's Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield. However, the 6'2", broadly built Kane Hodder does not boast Gein's narrower face and small stature.

Clive Owen As Bill Clinton (Impeachment: American Crime Story)

In most cases, prosthetics can be very helpful in making an actor look more similar to the person they are portraying, such as when Charlize Theron became Megyn Kelly for Bombshell. Clive Owen adopted this method to play Bill Clinton on Impeachment: American Crime Story, but the makeup only caused the English actor to resemble the 1990s-era President even less.

Angelina Jolie As Christine Collins (Changeling)

Christine Collins is the subject of Clint Eastwood's 2008 period film, Changeling, which is based on the true story of when her missing son was replaced by an impostor. Had she been an even better-known historical figure, there might have been more criticism over casting Angelina Jolie, an actor known for her voluptuous lips, as the thin-lipped 1920s woman.

Fred Armisen As Barack Obama (Saturday Night Live)

Considering the fact that the otherwise extremely talented SNL star Fred Armisen is a white man with a subpar impersonation of the 44th. U.S. President, I'll just say that I am glad Jay Pharoah eventually took over as Barack Obama.

Tom Hulce As Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Amadeus)

Just based on artist renderings of the seminal composer, Tom Hulce was nowhere near a match to play the title role of director Milos Forman's Best Picture Oscar winner, Amadeus, from 1984. However, the actor is widely admired for his performance as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which earned him a well-deserved Academy Award nomination.

Robert Redford As Harry Longabaugh (Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid)

I wonder how many others like me had no idea that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was based on a true story, which might be how the film was able to get away with casting actors who look nothing like the Western outlaws they play. For instance, Robert Redford's mustache works just fine for the role, but Harry Longabaugh, a.k.a. "The Sundance Kid," did not have long blonde locks.

Diana Ross As Billie Holiday (Lady Sings The Blues)

Most would agree that 1972's Lady Sings the Blues is the superior biopic about the trailblazing "Strange Fruit" singer over The United States vs. Billie Holiday from 2021. However, those same people might also agree that Andra Day was a better fit to play Holiday, physically speaking, than the otherwise wonderfully talented Diana Ross in the earlier film.

Robin Williams As Patch Adams (Patch Adams)

The real Patch Adams hates Tom Shadyac's biopic based on his life, which has nothing to do with the fact that Robin Williams looks nothing like the influential doctor. However, it's still impossible to ignore, especially with how they do not even bother to give the Oscar winner Adams' signature mustache.

Mel Gibson As William Wallace (Braveheart)

In the most well-known illustrations of William Wallace, the Scottish warrior is depicted as having short hair and a beard. Why director Mel Gibson opted against this look when he portrayed Wallace in Braveheart is beyond me.

Serena Scott Thomas As Princess Diana (Diana: Her True Story)

Many actors have portrayed Princess Diana to varying degrees of success, but most consider Serena Scott Thomas from the 1993 two-part miniseries, Diana: Her True Story, to be one of the weakest matches, purely in terms of her physical resemblance.

Zoe Saldaña As Nina Simone (Nina)

The 2016 biopic, Nina, sparked controversy when Zoe Saldaña donned skin-darkening makeup and a prosthetic nose to better resemble singer Nina Simone, which the actor would later admit she regretted.

Some of the most enduring stars got their starts more than six decades ago, and they are still going strong today. Stars like Harrison Ford, Dame Judi Dench, Jeff Bridges, and even Jodie Foster have been acting their whole lives, and their amazing careers will live on forever. Here is our list of amazing actors who started in the 1960s and are still working today.

Robert Duvall

After cutting his teeth with some television appearances starting in 1959, Robert Duvall made one of the most memorable film debuts of all time as Boo Radley in 1962's To Kill A Mockingbird. Duvall hasn't stopped stealing scenes in the 60+ years since. He's starred in some of the greatest movies ever, like The Godfather, and won an Oscar for Tender Mercies. His most recent credit is The Pale Blue Eye from 2022.

Sally Field

Sally Field is truly America's sweetheart. Her breakout role came on the classic TV show Gidget, and she's starred in some legendary movies and TV shows ever since. With roles in movies as diverse as Smokey and the Bandit, Forrest Gump, and Fried Green Tomatoes, Field has proven she can handle any role she takes on.

Clint Eastwood

There are no bigger legends in Hollywood history than Clint Eastwood. Not much has been said here. His career started in earnest with Spaghetti Westerns, and he's been directing and starring in movies ever since.

Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda is Hollywood royalty as the daughter of Henry Fonda, so it's no surprise that she started her career at a young age. Her first credit goes all the way back to 16960's Tall Story, and she's still starring in movies today, like 2023's 80 for Brady.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman's career really didn't take off on screen until the 1980s (though he had plenty of credits in the '70s, too). He started mostly on stage in the 1960s and kept his focus there until landing a TV gig in 1971 on PBS's The Electric Company. Today, he remains one of America's most beloved stars.

Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine made her film debut way back in 1955 and by the 1960s was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Her star has never dimmed in the decades since, either, with memorable roles in Downton Abbey and the live-action The Little Mermaid in 2018.

Dustin Hoffman

When you burst onto the scene in a movie like The Graduate, as Dustin Hoffman did in 1967, it's pretty much a guarantee you're going to be a star. In the 60 years since that seminal movie, Hoffman has won countless awards and starred in everything from comedies like Tootsie to dramas like Rain Man, getting nominated for Oscars for both (and winning his second for the latter).

Faye Dunaway

If you look at a list of the best movies of all time, you'll notice Faye Dunaway in the credits of many of them. Starting with Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, right up until the 2020s. She took a small hiatus in the teens, but has been back working regularly since.

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell's career started when he was just a kid, often starring in Disney projects. It's even Hollywood folklore that Walt Disney's last words were when he scrawled Russell's name on a piece of paper. Though there is no way to know when the note was written. Still, for the better part of seven decades, Kurt Russell has been a Hollywood superstar.

Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren (you know they are important when they get a title like "Dame") started in film in 1966, and that was after having already started acting professionally on stage in the UK. She's never stopped, including starring in the recent hit MobLand on Paramount+

Anthony Hopkins

Sir Anthony Hopkins' first credited film role came in the Shakespeare adaptation The Lion in Winter in 1968 alongside Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn. He's since become one of the most beloved actors of his generation and has won countless awards and accolades.

Jodie Foster

If you look at Jodie Foster's credits, you might think she started in the 1970s as a teenager, but she was starring in commercials as far back as 1967 when she was just three years old.

Jeff Bridges

When you have a legend for a father like Jeff Bridges with Lloyd Bridges, its not hard to understand how he got his start so young. His amazing career in the decades since can only be credited to his immense talent, charm, and charisma on and off screen. And that's not, like, my opinion, man, it's a fact.

Rita Moreno

Puerto Rican superstar Rita Moreno can do it all. She can act, she can sing, and she can dance, and she's been dancing into our hearts since she first way back in 1950! For those of you counting, that's EIGHT decades of excellence.

Judi Dench

Like Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Judy Dench started in the theater, especially doing Shakespeare plays. Her first professional stage credits date back to 1957, and right up through the 2020s, she's been a favorite of millions. One of the best actors of her generation, it's crazy she's only won one Oscar (for Shakespeare in Love).

Harrison Ford

The first thing you might think of when you think of Harrison Ford is Star Wars or Indiana Jones. It's true that it was those movies in the late '70s and early '80s that made him a superstar, but his career started humbly with roles in movies like A Time for Killing and Luv in 1967.

Sophia Loren

For more than 70 years, Sophia Loren has been a star in Europe and the United States. She started in her native Italy in 1950 before coming Stateside in 1958 when she signed on to star in movies for Paramount. Before long, she was a superstar on both sides of the pond.

Warren Beatty

Like his co-star in Bonnie and Clyde, Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty has been a star in Hollywood for decades. He's also been discerning in the roles he's taken over the years, so he doesn't have a long list of credits like most of the people on this list. That's not because his star dimmed. He's just particular, and that is something we all strive for.

Barbra Streisand

What can we really say about Barbra Streisand? She's a legendary singer and actor, and she's equally well-known for both. There are few stars as enduring and amazing as "Babs."

Robert Redford

Though he is officially retired now, Robert Redford is still one of the biggest Hollywood stars today (and ever). His career started with early roles on shows like The Twilight Zone, and by the time he hung up his cleats, so to speak, the star of The Natural was one of the biggest stars in the history of the industry.

Blythe Danner

Like many on this list, Blythe Danner started her professional career on Broadway and Off-Broadway in the 1960s. Her first movie credit came in 1972, but by then, she was a seasoned pro. She may be best known as the mother of Gwyneth Paltrow these days, but that is selling her way short, as she's been an award-winning actress for decades.

Al Pacino

Famously, Al Pacino entered the American consciousness in 1972's The Godfather, but he'd been working for a few years at that point, mostly on stage. His film debut was in Me, Natalie, alongside Sopranos cast member Nancy Marchand. He has been widely considered one of the best actors of his generation ever since.

Ellen Burstyn

Though her breakthrough didn't come until 1971 with The Last Picture Show, Ellen Burstyn had been picking up small roles on TV shows for years at that point. She has since gone on to win an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe Award. Not too shabby.

Robert De Niro

When you ask someone who the best actor of the last 60 years is, there is a decent chance Robert De Niro will be the name that comes out of their mouth. For many, many decades, De Niro has been stealing scenes and working his tail off to be the best actor he can be. He's gained weight for roles, dropped weight for others, and gotten completely cut for still others. All the while delivering his trademark charm and skills.

Cher

If you could turn back time and you were taking bets in the 1960s that Cher would still be one of the biggest stars in the world in the 2020s, you would probably get pretty good odds that she wouldn't be. She's proven everyone wrong, winning an Oscar for Moonstruck and continuing to wow audiences with her concerts.

Martin Sheen

It's hard to say just what role Martin Sheen will be best remembered for long after he's gone. Will it be Jeb Bartlett on The West Wing? Captain Benjamin L. Willard in Apocalypse Now? Carl Fox in Wall Street? Robert E. Lee in Gettysburg? What is for sure is that Sheen, who landed his first movie role in 1967, will be remembered fondly by millions of fans.

Vanessa Redgrave

English actress Vanessa Redgrave got her star in period pieces like A Man For All Seasons and Camelot in the 1960s. She parlayed that into a decades-long career that is still going, including a role in Cold Storage in 2025.

Ian McKellen

For modern generations, Ian McKellen is known for his roles as Gandalf the Grey and Magneto, but his career is so, so much more. One of the great Shakespearean actors of the last 60 years, he's been starring on stage and screen since the mid-'60s.

Candice Bergen

Candice Bergen found her biggest fame in the 1990s with Murphy Brown, but her career started way back in 1966 in the Sidney Lumet film The Group. She was a model before that, and has turned in role after beloved role on TV and in films.

Ron Howard

These days, Ron Howard is pretty much sticking just to directing, and he's an ace director to be sure. He famously started his Hollywood career as a kid in the 1950s and became a child star in the '60s as Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. He later starred in Happy Days, before getting behind the camera and becoming one of the great directors of his time.

Goldie Hawn

Goldie Hawn first became a household name in 1968 when she starred in Laugh-In. She's been a star ever since, including starring in a slew of box office hits in the '70s and '80s. There is no question she is one of the funniest actors of her generation, and now she's also the mother to some big stars, too, in Wyatt Russell and Kate Hudson. Not a bad legacy to leave.

Patrick Stewart

Like others on this list, Patrick Stewart will be best known for roles that came in the second half of his career, like Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in The X-Men series. Of course, his career is much more than those two roles. It's a career that started in TV in the '60s on British shows like Coronation Street and Civilisation.

There have been some iconic on-screen kisses in the history of Hollywood. Each performer probably recalls their own best, and answers vary widely, including Glenn Close. The actress and stage performer revealed that her’s took place in one of the ​​greatest baseball movies ever, and I understand completely.

Close, of course, is one of the most prolific and acclaimed actresses of her time, and has a large pool to pick from. Not to mention, that list may be growing with her already-released and upcoming Netflix 2025 movie and TV schedule projects, including Back in Action and the impending Wake Up Dead Man. That’s not even covering the show’s she’ll be on on our 2025 TV schedule, but the 77-year-old revealed her top pick as a guest on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. The 101 Dalmatians actress revealed that the best (and maybe only) kiss was between her and a common Hollywood crush of yesteryear, saying:

Her The Natural costar is an excellent choice, and while there were plenty of options, I can’t blame her for this one, especially since it’s one of the best Glenn Close movies out there. I feel obligated to admit that I may be okay with the choice because I was long ago adopted into the Robert Redford fan club. I’d love to know more of her reasoning, but The Sting actor seems like he’d be a great scene partner and obviously isn’t too bad to look at!

I know The Deliverance alum couldn’t linger too long on the question since she has a big year ahead of her (and it was just a fun segment). Among her many projects ahead, including the multiple Netflix subscription-required movies, Close had been going viral for people discovering, or rediscovering, her surprising Hook cameo. Even though both movies are seemingly getting more coverage, she signed onto the new Ryan Murphy series All’s Fair, which she almost passed on the Kardashian legal drama. Other notable pre-production projects ahead include the animated series, Standing By and a remake of Sunset Boulevard for the big screen (Close played Norma Desmond in 1993 and 2017 stage productions).

There’s no end to Glenn Close’s body of work, and her pool to pick from for best on-screen kiss is almost as big. Robert Redford topping the best kiss list is no surprise, and there are no complaints from me about her answer.

The Natural is available with VOD services. You’ll need a Netflix subsxcription to watch Back in Action or activate one by the time Wake Up Dead Man releases. If you want to catch the Ryan Murphy show All’s Fair's premiere, make sure to have an active Hulu subscription.

Some of the most famous memes on the internet come from some of the oddest places. Often you may recognize the star, or the movie or TV show, the memes come from, but the original context is completely lost on you. With this list we are going to help explain what the original context was for these famous memes.

John Travolta In Pulp Fiction

This is one of the more obvious ones. The meme is John Travolta looking around confused. It comes, of course, from Pulp Fiction, when he walks into the Wallace's house to pick up Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) for their date. When he first walks in, Mia is nowhere to be seen, but she can be heard over what seems like an intercom system or sound system. He is confused about where Mia is.

Charlie Day In It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

The "Pepe Silvia Conspriracy is what gives us the great meme of Charlie Day on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia standing wide-eyed in front of a bulletin board with a red string drawn across "evidence" that he's co-worker Pepe Silvia isn't real. it comes from the Season 4 episode, "Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack."

Nicolas Cage In Vampire's Kiss

There is no better actor from which to get great memes than Nicolas Cage, especially in those scenes where Cage goes completely bananas. In Vampire's Kiss, we get such a scene when Cage is just starting to lose it after he hooks up with a vampire who bites his neck.

Gene Wilder In Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory

The "tell me more" meme, known officially as "Condescending Wonka" features Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka comes from a scene when Wonka isn't being condescending at all. He's just excited to show the kids the Ever-Lasting Gobstopper.

Patrick Stewart In Star Trek: The Next Generation

There is no question that the Patrick Stewart/Jean-Luc Picard facepalm from Star Trek: The Next Generation is one of the most widely used memes in the history of the entire internet. Curious, it comes from a very brief moment on the show. It's seriously like half a second when he does it. it comes from the Season 3 episode titled "Deja Q" and unsurprisingly, he's stunned by Q.

Leonardo DiCaprio In The Great Gatsby

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the actors people most love to use in a meme and one of his most famous is from the first party scene in The Great Gatsby as he's finally introducing himself as the great Gatsby. Of course, it's matched with great fanfare in the movie, which is sadly missing from the meme (obviously).

Steve Carell In The Office

Steve Carell has had some classic memes made from his expressions on The Office but none more used than the classic shot of him yelling "NO!" It will be no surprise to fans of that Carell's character Micheal is reacting to the return of his nemesis in the office, Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein).

Sean Bean In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

At the Council of Elrond in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Sean Bean's character Boromir declares that "One does not simply walk into Mordor." So a meme was born as the look on Bean's face is perfect for describing anything that isn't easy.

Homer In The Simpsons

The scene of Homer Simpson disappearing into the bushes, used for all kinds of memes to show embarrassment, is, incredibly, over 30 years now. The scene comes from a Season 5 episode called "Homer Loves Flanders." The scene is specifically parodying the Terminator in Terminator 2 and his shape-shifting as Homer chases after Flanders.

Spider-Man In Spider-Man

The famous Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man meme comes from way back in the 1960s and the Spider-Man cartoon that aired for one season in 1967. In the episode, the villain disguises himself as Spider-Man and they confront each other outside the police station.

Robert Redford In Jeremiah Johnson

Jeremiah Johnson is not one of Robert Redford's most remembered movies. In fact, there is a decent chance it would be forgotten completely if not for the famous meme of Redford with his bushy beard looking back over his shoulder seemingly approving something, as the meme makes it out to be. In the movie, he's nodding approval after having trapped a beaver.

Joaquin Phoenix In The Joker

One of the most recent memes to really take off is the scene from The Joker of Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character dances on some stairs as he embraces the villain he has become. The stairs themselves have become a popular tourist spot and famous filming location in The Bronx.

Ice Cube In Friday

It's a statement that has come to mean so much more than the fleeting scene it was originally in Friday. Felicia is the annoying neighbor who is always looking to get over on someone but isn't very good at it. After begging the main characters for a whole bunch of stuff, finally, Craig (Ice Cube) says curtly, "Bye Felicia" and a meme was born,

Willem Dafoe In Spider-Man 3

Willem Dafoe In Spider-Man 3 is really great, especially as Norman Osborn, the alter-ego of The Green Goblin. Famously he tells Peter that he is "something of a scientist himself" and that moment is one that has lived on as one of the most popular memes on the web, used to tell people that "someone is quite the something."

Keanu Reeves In Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Long before the internet was part of everyday life, people were celebrating Keanu Reeves for his famous "Whoa!" in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. In the years since, that celebration has only grown and now it's one of the most widely circulated memes in the world, usually used to signify the same thing it is in the movie, pure surprise. In the scene, it's when they discover all both Bills and Teds are thinking of the same number.

Laurence Fishburne In The Matrix

What if I told you that the line "What if I told you" doesn't actually appear in The Matrix? Would that blow your mind? The reason most people think it does is because of the famous meme of Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus. Morpheus is explaining what the matrix is in the scene, but he never says those words.

James Van Der Beek On Dawson's Creek

The famous "Dawson" crying meme comes from a moment on Dawsom's Creek so brief if you blink at the wrong time, you'll miss it. It comes from a scene in the Season 3 finale when Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes) break up. the meme has had a far longer impact on popular culture than the show, it turns out.

Tim Robinson On I Think You Should Leave

Tim Robinson's saying "You sure about that" has quickly become one of the most used memes around, especially on YouTube. It comes from a Season 2 episode of one of the best Netflix original shows, I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson where Robinson is playing a stereotypical pitchman on an infomercial.

Jeff Goldblum In Jurassic Park

Ah yes, we've finally come to the "Jeff Goldblum shirtless in Jurassic Park" meme. The scene is after Goldblum's character Dr. Ian Malcolm is injured in the T-Rex attack and he is resting and trying to recover while criticizing what's happening around him.

Woody And Buzz In Toy Story 2

The famous meme of Woody And Buzz from Toy Story 2 has been used for every kind of meme imaginable when trying to explain something to someone. In the movie, it doesn't really have anything to do with that. The scene is when Woody has lost his hat right before leaving with Andy for summer camp and they are desperately looking for it as Buzz seems unconcerned about it all.

Wayne Knight In Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park really is a meme-able movie and one of the most famous ones is Wayne Knight of Seinfeld fame laughing and pointing away from another character. In the scene, he is mocking Dobson (the man in the shades and the hat) for thinking anyone in the beach bar cares what they are doing there. In Meme form, it's used to mock anyone, really.

Bruno Ganz In Downfall

Bruno Ganz in the amazing movie Downfall is a different kind of meme as people rewrite the subtitles of the epic scene in the German movie to fit whatever they are angry about, from sports to casting decisions in the MCU. In the movie, of course, Ganz plays the evil man with a tiny mustache as he is freaking out towards the end of World War II and it's clear he and the Germans have lost.

Ray Liotta In GoodFellas

This famous meme comes from a very famous scene in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. In the scene, Ray Liotta's character Henry Hill is reacting to a funny story told by Tommy (Joe Pesci). It's used for just about everything as a meme, but in the movie, Tommy is very angry at Henry for not explaining how Tommy's funny. Funny how? Funny like a clown? The meme is, that's for sure.

Leonardo DiCaprio In Django Unchained

The very famous meme of Leonardo DiCaprio laughing in Django Unchained is from a shot so brief it's amazing anyone picked up on it to even make it a meme. It's obviously from the dinner party and DiCaprio's character is laughing at his own joke, which makes the meme even better.

Jordan Peele In Key And Peele

Jordan Peele has become better known for his direction of amazing horror movies these days than as half of the brilliant comedy duo Key And Peele, but his most famous comes from the latter. In the sketch, his wife is asking him about his browser history, and the crazier and crazier the searches get the more he starts to sweat until it's pouring like a faucet out of his head.

Wagner Moura In Narcos

"Sad Pablo" has become very popular since Wagner Moura's amazing performance as Pablo Escobar in Narcos. The various memes on him looking sad or contemplative are taken from many moments on the show, but very rarely from when he is actually sad, Mostly they are fleeting moments of the drug kingpin thinking about his next move.

Christine Taylor In A Very Brady Sequel

"Sure Jan" is a pure classic. Obviously, it's Marsha Brady and she is indeed talking down to her sister Jan in the scene in A Very Brady Sequel, which is a pretty underrated comedy based on the original show from the 1960s. In the scene, Jan is making up a story about her imaginary boyfriend, George Glass and while everyone else in the family believes her, Marsha certainly does not.

Arnold Schwarzenegger And Carl Weathers In Predator

In the meme, all we get is two very muscular arms gripping hands in a very masculine handshake. One arm belongs to Arnold Schwarzenegger and the other to Carl Weathers. It comes from a scene in the first Predator movie. When the two characters, who are old friends, first see each other before the mission to seek and destroy the titular enemy.

It’s a Trap! In Return Of The Jedi

This is probably the most famous meme of them all, or at least the one that most people are going to know where it comes from. The origin story here of Admiral Akbar in Return Of The Jedi after the fleet has jumped in the battle above Endor. His famous line is, of course, "It's a trap!"

Bill Skarsgård In It

In what has to be the creepiest popular meme around, Pennywise, as played by Bill Skarsgård in It, is looking up out of a storm drain. It occurs after one of the kids chases his paper boat as it floats down the gutter and into the sewer.

Leonardo DiCaprio In Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Proving that everyone loves a great Leonardo DiCaprio meme, one of the more popular ones lately is of the actor from Once Upon A Time In Hollywood as he points at the TV because he's about to be on. Not seen in the photo is Brad Pitt, who is also in the scene watching with DiCaprio.

Nicolas Cage In Wicker Man

"NOT THE BEES!" is one of Nicolas Cage's most unhinged lines from a totally unhinged movie, The Wicker Man. It's a movie that seemingly only exists for the memes. There are a lot of options in the movie, that's for sure.

Although 1978’s Superman: The Movie was far from the first time a superhero story had been told in a cinematic setting, it was unquestionably the genre’s entrance into blockbuster territory and paved the way for an era where we can now look forward to so many upcoming superhero movies. Then-unknown Christopher Reeve was cast to play the Man of Steel, a role he would go on to play in three more movies. Before he came along though, some big names were in consideration for Superman, and frankly, I’m even more glad with how this casting turned out in the end.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, the documentary about Reeve’s life, recently screened under the Fathom Events banner, and it’s been announced that it will expand wide in theaters across North America starting October 11. Among the many people who were interviewed for the documentary was Superman: The Movie producer Pierre Spengler, who had the following to say about how the casting process for this innovative superhero movie went down:

Can we all agree that some big bullets were dodged? For one thing, Neil Diamond and Caitlyn Jenner (known back then as Bruce) were not actors, so it would not have been wise for them to play someone who’d been one of pop culture’s most famous characters for four decades at that point. Arnold Schwarzenegger had at least appeared in a few movies at that point, including Hercules in New York and Stay Hungry, but I agree with Spengler that the heavy Austrian accent wouldn’t have fit for Superman, an American icon. Even with Robert Redford, who’d already impressed audiences in movies like The Sting and Three Days of the Condor, I feel like he would have been miscast in the role.

I think most, if not all of us can agree that picking Christopher Reeve, who’d just a few years earlier had been starring opposite Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway play A Matter of Gravity, was the right call. Like Superman: The Movie’s tagline promised, he made us believe a man could fly, and over 45 years after the flick’s release, he still ranks as one of the most beloved actors to bring the Man of Steel to life. In the documentary, Reeve’s son, Matthew, even points to a specific moment from Superman that’s his favorite scene his father ever filmed.

Plus, like Pierre Spengler said, with an unknown at the center of Superman, more established actors could be brought in to help boost the movie’s profile, including Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Marlon Brando as Jor-El. While Superman and Superman II (both the theatrical cut and The Richard Donner Cut) were well received, the same couldn’t be said for Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (a movie Lenny Luthor actor Jon Cryer called a “mess”). Nevertheless, Reeve’s overall reputation for playing Superman remains untarnished, so let’s continue to be glad he was selected rather than one of those other people.

You can stream all of Christopher Reeve’s Superman movies with a Max subscription. The next chapter of this DC Comics character’s cinematic history will begin when James Gunn’s Superman, the first movie set in the DC Universe shared continuity, opens July 11 on the 2025 release schedule.

Celebrities owning restaurants is an old tradition in Hollywood. Sometimes, like Mark Wahlberg, it's a simple burger chain, other times, it's a classy hotel where you can have an elegant meal, like Richard Gere. Everything from tacos to sushi to fried chicken and everything in between. 

Just like people love watching scenes in movies about food, people love to rub elbows with the elite in some of these establishments. Here are 32 actors who own restaurants all over the country. 

Mark Wahlberg - Wahlburgers

The first Wahlburgers opened in Hingham, Massachusetts in 2011. The chain has since grown to dozens of stores all over the country and was the subject of a reality show for 10 seasons on A&E. The chain is collectively owned by three Wahlbergs, including Mark and Donnie, along with their chef brother, Paul. 

Ryan Gosling - Tagline

Ryan Gosling has become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and so it makes sense he would open a restaurant in Beverly Hills. Co-owned by the Barbie star and Chef Ben Benameur, the Moroccan joint serves up delicious food in a cozy atmosphere.

Lady Gaga - Joanne Trattoria

Joanne Germanotta was a beloved aunt to Lady Gaga (whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta). Not only did Gaga name a 2016 album after her, but the family has also opened Joanne Trattoria on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. In true Gaga style, the restaurant is not only a great place for Italian food, but it supports local artists, hosts regular drag shows, and has regular performances by local musicians. 

Robert De Niro - Nobu

Robert De Niro first became a regular at chef Nobu Matsuhisa's LA sushi joint Nobu way back in the 1980s. In the mid-90s, De Niro approached Matsuhisa about opening a New York spot. Nobu opened in 1994 in Tribeca and the company has since become a powerhouse in the hospitality industry, with dozens of restaurants and hotels all over the world. 

Michael Imperioli - Scarlet

White Lotus star Michael Imperioli has dabbled in the restaurant industry for a long time. In the mid-'90s Imperioli and his wife opened a speakeasy-style bar called Ciel Rouge, in Tribeca. Almost 30 years later, and 20 after Ciel Rouge closed in 2005, the couple opened Scarlet on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It sticks with the classy, chill speakeasy vibe that made their first venture successful. 

Sandra Bullock - Walton's Fancy & Staple

Walton's Fancy & Staple in Austin, TX, is pretty much exactly what you would expect from Sandra Bullock. It's an upscale neighborhood place with hearty food and a cheery atmosphere. Walton's is the Speed star's second restaurant in her adopted hometown. The first, Bess Bistro, closed in 2016 after a successful 10-year run. Walton's opened in 2009. 

Ludacris - Chicken And Beer

Is there anything better than good fried chicken and great beer to wash it down? If you're in Atlanta and don't check out Ludacris' place, simply named Chicken and Beer, you're missing out on those two wonderful things that pair so well together.

Norman Reedus - Nic & Norman's

Norman Reedus is famous for playing rough-around-the-edges characters like Daryl in The Walking Dead, but his restaurant is not. Nic & Norman's, which has locations across the Southeast is rustic, but it's not rough in any way. The upscale but relaxed gastropubs are sure to satisfy anyone. 

Susan Sarandon - SPiN

When Susan Sarandon and her fellow investors opened SPiN in 2009, there was a surge in the popularity of table tennis (or ping pong). The fad was pretty short-lived, but the table tennis-focused restaurants have remained successful with multiple locations around the country. 

Dan Aykroyd - House Of Blues

One of Dan Aykroyd's most beloved SNL characters, Elwood Blues of The Blues Brothers, has proven to be more than just a role for the actor. On Thanksgiving Day 1992, Aykroyd and his partner Isaac Tigrett (who founded the Hard Rock Cafe), opened the first House of Blues in Cambridge, MA. It has since grown into one of the largest chains of live music venues in the world, and serves some pretty delicious food, too. 

Eva Longoria - Beso

Eva Longoria can do no wrong on the big and small screens, but she didn't have much luck in the restaurant industry. Her steakhouse in LA, Beso, ran into multiple problems in its short run, though none were the fault of the actress. 

Kevin Hart - Hart House

Kevin Hart's LA chain Hart House was ambitious. He wanted to create an affordable vegan chain, and despite rave reviews, it just couldn't make it in the market. The company closed all of its locations in 2024 after initially finding success. 

Issa Rae - Hilltop Coffee And Kitchen

Issa Rae is a true force of nature both in front of and behind the camera. She's also found success in the food industry. Hilltop Coffee And Kitchen brings high-end coffee vibes to historical Black neighborhoods in LA, like Inglewood and View Park. 

Danny Trejo - Trejo's Tacos

Everyone loves tacos and every loves Danny Trejo. So of course a concept like Trejo's Tacos is sure to work and it has succeeded greatly. The chain has multiple locations across LA and has even spawned a second concept: Trejo's Donuts which also opened to rave reviews. 

Channing Tatum - Saints And Sinners

Saints And Sinners, a bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans co-owned by Channing Tatum was a wild success... at least for a time. The industry is notoriously fickle and Tatum and his partners learned that the hard way when the bar closed in the summer of 2024 after 12 great years. 

Justin Timberlake - The Twelve Thirty Club

Justin Timberlake first dabbled in the food industry in the early teens when he helped design a Memphis-style BBQ joint in New York City called Southern Hospitality. Though he wasn't an owner, he was involved in the concept phase of the place and was a regular there. More recently, he has teamed up with restauranteur Sam Fox to open The Twelve Thirty Club in Nashville. 

Nicholas Braun - Jac’s On Bond

Cousin Greg may not always get the most respect on Succession, but the actor who plays him, Nicholas Braun, sure gets respect in the hospitality industry. Braun is an investor in multiple restaurants in New York City, including a chill bar and restaurant called Jac's on Bond Street in the trendy NoHo neighborhood. 

Zach Braff - Mermaid Oyster Bar

MacDougal Street in New York's Greenwich Village is home to some great restaurants, like the legendary Caffe Reggio and Mamoun's Falafels. It's also where you can find Zach Braff's more upscale, but still laid-back seafood spot appropriately called Mermaid Oyster Bar. 

Anthony Mackie - NoBar

Like others on this list (and in the world), Anthony Mackie has had mixed results as a bar/restaurant owner. His most famous spot, NoBar, opened in Brooklyn in 2011, followed by a second Booklyn location in 2013. Sadly both closed in 2015. 

Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis - Planet Hollywood

The granddaddy of all actor-owned restaurants has to be Planet Hollywood. The first Planet Hollywood opened in New York City in 1991. Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis, among others, were all investors in the concept and, at least at first, the restaurant was a huge success, opening additional locations across the globe. At its peak, there were upwards of 60 locations in the late '90s, but the fun didn't last. Things started to unravel and the stars started to jump shit and most of the locations, other than their most successful ones, closed. 

Richard Gere - Bedford Post Inn

Legendary actor Richard Gere doesn't just own a restaurant, he owns an 8-room bed and breakfast called the Bedford Post Inn in... appropriately, Bedford, NY. The stylish and quaint inn does include a spot to eat, the Bedford Post Tavern, and the inn and the restaurant both draw all kinds of celebrities for a restful stay or a delicious dinner. 

Robert Redford - Zoom

It shouldn't come as any surprise to learn that Robert Redford's former restaurant in Park City, UT was home to a lot of home to a lot powerbrokers during the Sundance Film Festival for many years. Prior to closing in 2016, the hot spot was where the elite met to eat and strike deals during one of the biggest film festivals in the world. 

Hugh Jackman - Laughing Man Coffee

The origin story for Hugh Jackman's Laughing Man Coffee is one of the best on this list. The Aussie actor and his wife took a trip to Ethiopia to learn more about coffee and how the beans were grown. There, according to the coffee shop's website, Jackman met a coffee farmer named Dukale. Dukale gave Jackman a real hands-on experience and after the trip, he and some partners opened Laughing Man Coffee with the goal of working directly with farmers around the world to bring their coffee to New Yorkers. 

Jon Bon Jovi - Soul Kitchen And JBJ's

Jon Bon Jovi may be most famous for being the voice of the band named after him, but he's dabbled a lot in acting, and a little in the hospitality biz. His first venture was started by his foundation and called Soul Kitchen. The restaurant, located in Red Bank, NJ, sells food for whatever hungry customers can afford. Bon Jovi has also opened a spot on the famous Broadway strip in Nashville called JBJ's which features live music and a full menu, in addition to beer and booze, of course.

Piper Perabo - Jack's Wife Freda

Piper Perabo got her big break playing a bartender in Coyote Ugly and while the New York City chain she's an investor in, called Jack's Wife Frida, doesn't feature half-dressed women dancing on the bar, it's got something even better: delicious Mediterranean food. With five locations across the city, you can always find what you're craving, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Jessica Biel - Au Fudge

Au Fudge, which closed its doors in 2018, was something unique in the celebrity restaurant world - a kid's restaurant. As the name implies, Jessica Biel's spot was all about dessert and candy. It also had all the stuff kids love, like chicken fingers, on the menu. The world needs more of these, right parents?

Debi Mazar - The Tuscan Gun

Debi Mazar and her chef husband's love of food was first shown through a cooking show on the Cooking Channel. They spun that into a Tuscany-themed New York restaurant called The Tuscan Gun. Using chef Mazar's husband Gabriele Corcos' recipes, the Italian joint brought the best of Italy to Williamsburg. 

Quentin Tarantino - Do Hwa

For years, Quentin Tarantino's Korean restaurant Do Hwa brought the delicious flavors of East Asia to the West Village in New York. While very few people would call Tarantino "understated," his restaurant was, in all the best ways. It was cozy and delicious before it closed in 2018.

Jerry Ferrara - Fat Sal's

A sandwich joint called Fat Sal's is just perfect for Entourage star Jerry Ferrara. It sounds exactly like something Turtle would open on the show. Fat Sal's has multiple locations around LA and is a great spot if you want traditional deli sandwiches sold by a guy you can be sure loves them as much as you do. 

Justin Theroux - Ray's

Justin Theroux is a jack of all trades. He's an actor, a writer, and an ex-husband to Jennifer Aniston. He's also a bar owner, along with partner Nicolaus Braun with Ray's on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The dive bar is everything you could ever want in an unpretentious local water hole, which is no surprise, coming from Theroux. 

Ashton Kutcher - Dolce Enoteca E Ristorante

Ashton Kutcher has never been afraid to make risky investments. Some have paid off handsomely, like his early investments in Spotify and Uber. Others haven't worked out so well, like his short-lived Italian spot, Dolce Enoteca E Ristorante. The hot spot worked for a while but it closed in 2020, like so many other restaurants. 

Ty Burrell - The Eating Establishment

Modern Family star Ty Burrell took a slightly different route to restaurant ownership than most of the other actors on his list. Instead of starting a new spot, he bought an old one. The Eating Establishment, which dates back to 1970, was purchased by Burrell and other investors in 2016 and they've continued to run the popular Park City, UT restaurant ever since. 

Eminem - Mom's Spaghetti

Mom's Spaghetti is the perfect kind of place for Eminem to own, right? The Detroit, Michigan-based eatery has name that perfectly describes the food you can get there, and it's taken straight from an Eminem lyric in "Lose Yourself."

Jon Huertas - Clutch

Jon Huertas, best known for playing Brad Alcerro in Sabrina The Teenage Witch, is the proud owner of Clutch Roadhouse in Culver City, CA. Clutch is known for its great food and charitable works, both very important to the This Is Us star. 

Sometimes, all it takes is one joint appearance in a movie or television show for two popular actors to become known as an acting duo, and sometimes they prove to work so well together that they go on to star in even more projects together. We’ve come up with a list of 32 acting duos who have worked together multiple times, so you can see if you’ve watched all of the times these talented stars have been on screen with each other.

Tina Fey And Amy Poehler

Obviously, this funny duo began their most famed time together while starring on Saturday Night Live, but Tina Fey and Amy Poehler didn’t let the good times end there. The women were both in Mean Girls, starred in the movies Baby Mama and Sisters, and used their talents to great effect when co-hosting the Golden Globe Awards for several years.

Robert De Niro And Al Pacino

Two legendary actors make for a legendary acting duo, and while Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are frequently mentioned in the same breath, they’ve only been featured in four films together. Two of those movies, however, are absolutely the reason people often talk about them together as they count The Godfather Part II, Heat, Righteous Kill and The Irishman as their joint efforts.

Julia Roberts And George Clooney

Now, these two actually have made quite a few movies with one another, and largely with both in on-screen roles. Of course, it’s hard to forget that George Clooney and Julia Roberts are in all three of the Ocean’s Eleven films, but they’ve also starred in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (which Clooney also directed), Money Monster and the 2022 rom-com Ticket to Paradise. The erstwhile Danny Ocean also produced August: Osage County, while Roberts starred.

Jane Fonda And Lily Tomlin

Frequently we see an acting duo together multiple times because they really are buddies in real life, and that’s true for Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. After first starring together in the 1980 hit 9 to 5 (with Dolly Parton, of course) they eventually re-teamed for the Netflix series Grace and Frankie (which ran for seven seasons), as well as the dark comedy Moving On and 80 for Brady.

Emma Stone And Ryan Gosling

This duo has produced some well-known and beloved comedies and dramas over the years, as Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling first starred together in Crazy, Stupid, Love in 2011, moving on to Gangster Squad in 2013 and the Oscar-winning musical La La Land in 2016. Stone even once said she couldn’t “imagine” her life without Gosling, so these two will probably be friends forever.

Salma Hayek And Antonio Banderas

Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas sharing the screen in Desperado caused considerable heat, along with igniting a very real friendship, so it’s no surprise that they’ve now worked together a number of times. They’ve also been in the casts of Four Rooms, Frida, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spy Kids 3: Game Over, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and both Puss in Boots animated movies. That’s a lot!

Dwayne Johnson And Kevin Hart

We’ve already born witness to a rather lengthy history of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart ripping on each other during their (apparently) laugh and roast-filled friendship, and the two megastars have, indeed, brought that chemistry to the big screen multiple times. The duo counts Central Intelligence, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and its sequel, Hobbs & Shaw and DC League of Super-Pets as the titles they’ve appeared in together.

Matt Damon And Ben Affleck

If this isn’t a classic acting duo by now, there are none. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been “bizarrely close” friends since childhood, and they first joined forces to great effect by penning and starring in Good Will Hunting (after having both appeared in School Ties), which won them the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. They also worked on Dogma in the 1990s, then, after nearly 25 years, they joined forces again to write and star in The Last Duel, and since then have also worked together on Air and the upcoming RIP for Netflix.

Denzel Washington And Don Cheadle

If only these two powerhouse stars had already been in more movies together…Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle’s first pairing was as P.I. Easy Rawlins and his loyal but unpredictable friend, Mouse, in 1995’s Devil in a Blue Dress. While their work in the film garnered critical acclaim, it would be over 15 years before they teamed again for Flight.

Sanaa Lathan And Taye Diggs

We should never underestimate the power of a franchise when it comes to popular on-screen pairings. Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs appeared in The Wood together in 1999 and then went on to star in The Best Man, its sequel and the Peacock mini-series, The Best Man: The Final Chapters. The duo also played the lead couple in the rom-com, Brown Sugar in 2002.

Scarlett Johansson And Chris Evans

Co-starring in a franchise with the same people will take an acting duo far, but Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans have surpassed even the typical standard where that’s concerned. Thanks to their joint time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they’ve appeared in a whopping seven movies together (including their mid-end credits cameo in Captain Marvel), and prior to their time as blockbuster movie-making superheroes they starred in The Perfect Score and The Nanny Diaries, bringing their current total to nine.

Anthony Mackie And Chris Evans

If you did enjoy many of those MCU movies, then you know that Chris Evans rubbed elbows with Anthony Mackie quite a bit there. But, did you also know that the two have been in XX non-Marvel movies together? Playing It Cool, What’s Your Number, and Ghosted also star/feature both actors and if you add in all their shared time in tights on screen, their total is also at nine.

Emily Blunt And Dwayne Johnson

The first time was a hit, so why not join forces again, right? Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson famously delivered winning chemistry in Jungle Cruise, and are coming back together for the upcoming drama The Smashing Machine. The two are also said to be willing to return for Jungle Cruise 2, whenever that can finally get off the ground.

Chris Pine And Ben Foster

The third time has been the charm so far for Chris Pine and Ben Foster. The duo famously portrayed bank-robbing brothers in Hell or High Water, joined up for The Finest Hours, and made it a three-peat in 2022 for The Contractor.

Margot Robbie And Will Smith

If it seemed that there could have been a little something extra going on between Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Will Smith’s Deadshot when you watched 2016’s Suicide Squad, then it might have been because you picked up on the chemistry the duo first built in Focus from the year before.

Margot Robbie And Brad Pitt

This big screen coupling made quite a showing for themselves across less than a decade, as Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt have starred in The Big Short, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and Babylon. 

Margot Robbie And Leonardo DiCaprio

Just imagine, had it not been for this pairing, we might not have the megastar who is Barbie actor/producer Margot Robbie right now. Her role in Wolf of Wall Street as the second wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s corrupt fraudster propelled her career, and by the time they starred in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood together Robbie was a major star.

Halle Berry And Hugh Jackman

We, again, have a superhero franchise to thank for bringing two great talents together, as Oscar winner Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman both have four of the X-Men movies among their credits. The duo also starred in Swordfish and Movie 43.

Awkwafina And Michelle Yeoh

This duo counts two megahits in their joint credits, with Awkwafina and Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh both having starred in Crazy Rich Asians (and we’re still waiting for that rom-com sequel) and the MCU entry Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Michelle Yeoh And Jackie Chan

Michelle Yeoh has been a star for several decades, and part of that reason is because of her breakout role in the 1992’s Supercop, which also starred Jackie Chan. But, they’ve made a number of other films with each other, including Supercop 2, and Hong Kong action films Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars, Project S, and both voiced characters in Kung Fu Panda 2, along with having starred in a 1984 watch commercial together.

Angela Bassett And Laurence Fishburne

While Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne were famously nominated for Oscars for their lead roles as Tina Turner and Ike Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do with It?, the duo was actually first together on screen for Boyz n the Hood in ‘91. They then later teamed up for Akeela and the Bee in 2006.

Julia Roberts And Richard Gere

If this isn’t a famous acting duo, then none are, despite their only making two movies with each other. Of course, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere starred in the mega-hit classic rom-com Pretty Woman and teamed up again for Runaway Bride in 1999.

Jennifer Aniston And Jason Bateman

For a while there, Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, who are friends in real life, were kinda on a roll. Their first joint film was The Break-Up in 2006, and since then they’ve filmed four additional movies with one another: The Switch, Horrible Bosses and its sequel, and 2016’s Office Christmas Party.

Kate Hudson And Matthew McConaughey

Who can forget the glorious chemistry created by Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days? No one, that’s who! This is why they made a second rom-com, Fool’s Gold, just five years later.

Kirsten Dunst And Jesse Plemons

It’s not unusual for an acting duo to become friends in real life, but Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons took that a few steps further after working on the TV series Fargo together. Not only have they since starred in the film The Power of the Dog (which netted each their first Oscar nomination) and the A24 drama Civil War, but they married in 2022 and have two sons.

Meg Ryan And Tom Hanks

We could hardly leave Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks off of this list, as the famed actors have co-starred in two of the biggest romantic comedies of all time. Everyone knows them for making Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail hits, but before all of that, they led one of the weirder rom-coms made with Joe Versus the Volcano, and reunited for the 2016 drama Ithaca, which Ryan directed.

Drew Barrymore And Adam Sandler

People often mention Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler as an acting duo they want to see more of and with good reason. The two have made magic in the classics The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates and Blended.

Adam Sandler And Chris Rock

This pairing goes back decades, to the time when Adam Sandler and Chris Rock starred on Saturday Night Live together in the ‘90s. Since then, the real-life buddies have appeared in seven movies together, with The Longest Yard, Grown Ups and its sequel, The Week Of and Top Five counted among that number.

George Clooney And Brad Pitt

Of course, George Clooney and Brad Pitt helped to make the Ocean’s Eleven franchise a hit, but the friends additionally teamed up for the live TV movie 8, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (which Clooney directed), Burn After Reading and the 2024 films If and Wolfs.

Keegan-Michael Key And Jordan Peele

The duo of Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, who first became recognizable during their time on MadTV, eventually went on to their own acclaimed sketch comedy series, Key and Peele. But, while making names for themselves on other series and in a number of movies, they continue to work with one another on projects like Keanu, Toy Story 4 and Wendell & Wild.

Awkwafina And Simu Liu

It was the MCU that first brought Awkwafina and Simu Liu together in the hit film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and while we’re still waiting to see when that franchise will bring them back together, 2024 saw them team up again for the action comedy, Jackpot!.

Jane Fonda And Robert Redford

Dedicated film fans probably know that legends Jane Fonda and Robert Redford starred together in Barefoot in the Park and The Electric Horseman, but their joint movie appearances do go beyond that. They also starred in The Chase in ‘66 and reunited for Our Souls at Night in 2017, and both had their film debuts in 1960’s Tall Story.

As you can see, film history is packed with acting duos who’ve worked together more than once, and that will probably always be the case.

Acting and directing are two very different skills, and for someone to be able to do both is a mark of a hard-working and talented person. It doesn't always work out for actors, but it's remarkable how often it does. Here are 32 such examples of great actors who became great directors as well. 

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood's career has lasted an unbelievable eight decades. He started humbling with small roles in the '50s and as the decades have gone on, he's only gotten bigger and bigger. After directing his first movie, 1971's Play Misty for Me, he's gone on to helm a remarkable 39 more and has won 2 Best Director Oscars, for 1993's Unforgiven and 2005's Million Dollar Baby.

Ron Howard

Ron Howard has been in the lives and living rooms of Americans since he was just a kid as an actor on The Andy Griffith Show. He went on to star in Happy Days in the 1970s before directing his first low-budget film, Grand Theft Auto, in 1977. He's since gone on to direct such classics as Splash, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, and many others. 

Bradley Cooper

If the start of Bradley Cooper's directing career is any indication, you can expect huge things. So far, the actor-turned-director has only helmed two movies, A Star Is Born and Maestro and both have been nominated for Best Picture Oscars. Not a shabby record. 

Penny Marshall

Penny Marshall got her first big break on the sitcom The Odd Couple but became a household name as Lavern in Lavern & Shirley. She didn't stay in TV though, instead, she started directing and made two of the most beloved Gen X movies of all time, Big and A League of Their Own. 

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck might not have been the first actor you picked to become a director, but his stellar career as an actor is matched by his work as a director. In fact, though he's never won an acting Oscar (something that should be remedied), he did win Best Director for Argo. 

Robert Redford

By the time Robert Redford directed his first movie, Ordinary People, in 1980, he was already one of the most legendary film stars ever. The second half of his career is as known for his directing as it is for his acting, with movies like Quiz Show and A River Runs Through It.

Jon Favreau

Jon Favreau's acting career started humbling with supporting roles in movies like Rudy and PCU. After he wrote and starred in Swingers, his star shined a little brighter. That was only the beginning though. Favreau has the honor of directing the movie that launched the most successful film franchise of all time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Iron Man and its sequel. He's since moved on to Disney live-action remakes with The Lion King and The Jungle Book. Oh, and he also directed one of the most beloved holiday movies ever with. Elf.

Mel Gibson

The controversial career of Mel Gibson began with a small movie that made huge waves in his native Australia. Mad Max made him famous and by the late late-'80s, he was one of the biggest stars in the world. He then moved into directing and reached his pinnacle early with Braveheart for which he won Best Director. 

Richard Attenborough

As an actor, Richard Attenborough starred in massive hits across generations with movies like The Great Escape and Jurassic Park. As a director, he helmed some of the best biopics of all time, like Gandhi, A Cry Freedom, and Chaplin as well a the legendary war flick, A Bridge Too Far. 

Regina King

Regina King's directorial career is only getting started, but judging by her first movie, One Night In Miami, the future is bright. So far, the Academy Award-winning actress has mostly directed TV shows, but you can be sure more films will be coming her way.

Denzel Washington

What can we say about Denzel Washington that hasn't already been said? He's a living legend at this point, as a multiple Oscar winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He's also one heck of a director with movies like Fences and The Great Debaters.

John Krasinski

John Krasinski became part of our collective family as Jim on The Office. Who would have thought from that role, his career in Hollywood would reach the point that he is a major power player? Now that he's moved into directing, the sky is truly the limit. The first movie Krasinski directed, The Hollars, made for a humble beginning, but his second, A Quiet Place established him as a force to reckon with and it's since become a franchise.

Elizabeth Banks

Elizabeth Banks might not have been an actor you'd have guessed would go into directing, like others on this list, but she has in a big way. She has shown she can direct blockbusters like Pitch Perfect 2 and indie darlings like that one about the bear who indulges in some, uh, white powder he finds, and goes on a rampage.

Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig is quickly becoming a voice of a generation. Her direction and writing of Barbie has been praised far and wide for its snappy dialog and heartfelt message. Gerwig's acting career started in the mid-'00s when she was mostly in smaller, supporting roles. Since moving into directing, she's become a huge star.

Jordan Peele

Key & Peele was a huge hit for Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key, and made them both stars. No one expected Peele to turn to directing horror movies, but that's exactly what he did and we should all be grateful for it. With massive hits like Get Out, Nope, and Us, the future is bright for Peele and for all of us too, who will get to watch his work.

Rob Reiner

Though he had a leg up coming from a Hollywood family, Rob Reiner has staked out a claim all his own in the entertainment business. First as an actor on the hit show All in the Family, then as the director of some of the most loved movies of all time. Starting with his first movie, This is Spinal Tap, and running through the '80s and early '90s, he had an unbelievable run that included The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and Misery. Wow!

George Clooney

Not only is George Clooney one of the most bankable movie stars ever, he's also a fantastic director. His acting career is legendary and his directing career, while not quite at the level of his acting, is still fantastic. He's directed TV (Catch-22) and movies (The Boys In The Boat, The Midnight Sky, Good Night, and Good Luck, among others) and you can be sure there will be more from him.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie's directing career hasn't always gotten the best reviews, but I'd say her movies are very underrated. The talented actress has an eye for behind the camera as well, and movies like Unbroken and First They Killed My Father are powerful movies.

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton's acting career came on as a slow burn to fame, but his directing career started with a band. His first film was a masterpiece called Sling Blade. he followed that up with the underrated All The Pretty Horse and a few others, though his pace has slowed over the last couple of decades. Let's hope he finds that directing bug again. 

Ben Stiller

There was a time in the '90s and '00s when it seemed like Ben Stiller was in every movie released. Not only was he working hard in front of the camera, he was killing it behind the camera as well. Starting really with Reality Bites, and moving on to great movies like the controversial but hilarious Tropic Thunder, and the Zoolander movies. 

Jodie Foster

The great Jodie Foster has been an acclaimed actor and star since her teenage years and of course, that talent has translated to directing. Though lately she's done mostly TV work like directing episodes of Black Mirror and Orange is the New Black, she's done a few movies too, like Little Man Tate and Money Monster.

Kevin Costner

In addition to being one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, Kevin Costner has never shied away from making epic films. Though he's only directed four movies in his career, they have all been big films. Starting with Dances With Wolves in 1990, he's since directed The Postman, Open Range, and 2024's Horizon: An American Saga.

Tim Robbins

The directing bug caught Tim Robbins in the early '90s and he directed a couple of great movies with Bob Roberts and Dead Man Walking. He's directed a smattering of movies and TV shows more recently, but he's mostly stuck to acting over the last few years. 

Sean Penn

Since the early 1980s, Sean Penn has been wowing moviegoers with his impressive acting chops and diversity. In the '90s he dipped his toe into directing with his first film, The Indian Runner and has directed a good handful of movies since, with his best being Into The Wild in 2007. 

Zach Braff

Acting-wise Zach Braff's big break came as a regular cast member of the hit sitcom Scrubs. As a directed, he burst onto the scene with his very first movie, Garden State in 2004. He's continued directing here and there over the last 20 years, including the great movie about getting older, Going In Style, and a few others, in addition to some TV work. 

Warren Beatty

In the 1970s, there was no bigger movie star than Warren Beatty. By the end of the decade, he had moved into directing as well, starting with 1978's Heaven Can Wait and continuing the '80s and '90s with acclaimed movies like Red and maybe his most remembered, Dick Tracy in 1990.

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton is a force of nature. For decades she's been one of the best and most popular actresses in Hollywood, and though she's only dipped her toes into directing, mostly in TV, she's on this list for one important reason. Keaton directed the music video for "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" by Belinda Carlisle and that is a stone-cold Gen X classic. 

Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh might be as well known for his directing as he is for his acting, and that's really saying something. Not only has he directed some of the best Shakespeare adaptions for the silver screen, but more recently he's been killing it with his Agatha Christie adaptations. 

Leonard Nimoy

Appropriately, Leonard Nimoy's first foray into feature film direction came in the Star Trek franchise when he directed both Star Trek III: The Search For Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Outside of the iconic franchise he helped make famous he also directed the beloved Three Men and a Baby. 

Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone has always been a self-starter. His work to get the original Rocky made is legendary and after it made him a huge star, he wasted no time getting into directing, starting with Rocky II and adding Rocky III, Rocky IV, and 2006's Rocky Balboa as well. Of course, he's also directed in two other franchises he was at the center of with 2008's Rambo and the first Expendable movie. 

Helen Hunt

This one might surprise you, but Helen Hunt has had an impressive career as a director. Most of her work has been on television on shows varying from her own Mad About You and This Is Us. She also has two feature films under her belt with 2007's Then She Found Me and 2014's Ride. 

Joel Edgerton

Joel Edgerton is seemingly everywhere these days, popping up in all kinds of movies and TV shows from Star Wars stuff to Dark Matter. He's also started directing, but his output is limited, with 2015's underrated The Gift and 2018 Boy Erased. Let's hope he finds more time to direct in his busy schedule. 

You know what all of the best sports movies have in common? Well, besides featuring stories centered around football, baseball, and even roller derby? They all include tremendous performances by actors that are believable and help the audience suspend disbelief, if only for a couple of hours. However, there are also movies where the actors, despite trying their best, are a little bit outside. 

Here are 32 times actors played professional athletes and whether or not they were believable.

Burt Reynolds (The Longest Yard)

Considered to be one of the best football movies of all time, The Longest Yard (the 1974 version) features a tremendous performance by the late Burt Reynolds as Paul Crewe, a former pro quarterback who ends up in prison and leads a group of prisoners against the guards in the annual football game. At the top of his game, Reynolds is a lights-out QB and play-caller in this iconic comedy.

Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)

Margot Robbie is to die for in the 2017 sports biopic, I, Tonya, which sees her take on the role of Tonya Harding, the talented and raw figure skater who made a mark on the sport before being tied up in its most notorious controversy. While Robbie’s off-the-ice scenes are superb, her figure skating was just as impressive, which should come as no surprise.

Jamie Foxx (Any Given Sunday)

Oliver Stone’s 1999 satirical sports dramedy, Any Given Sunday, sees Jamie Foxx portray Willie "Steamin" Beamen, the third-string quarterback for the fictional Miami Sharks football team. Foxx is outstanding in his take on the young QB and does a wonderful job of showcasing the character’s on-field talents and off-the-field escapades.

Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)

Hilary Swank won an Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald in Best Picture winner, Million Dollar Baby, and rightfully so. The talented actress told CBS News she spent three months training at a Brooklyn boxing gym before filming Clint Eastwood’s 2004 sports drama, and it shows.

Sylvester Stallone (Rocky)

Rocky is without a doubt the most well-known boxing movie of all time, and that’s mostly due to Sylvester Stallone’s commitment to the role of Rocky Balboa. Though not as bulked up as he was in later films in the franchise, Stallone has a great physical presence and ring awareness in his breakout role.

Kevin Costner (Tin Cup)

If Kevin Costner isn’t believable as a down-on-his-luck and washed-up golf pro looking for a shot at redemption and to settle an old score in Tin Cup, then I don’t know what will sell it to you. Sure, Costner seems more comfortable in baseball movies like Bull Durham and For Love of the Game, but his take on Roy McAvoy is top-notch. 

Emma Stone (Battle Of The Sexes) 

Emma Stone played tennis trailblazer Bille Jean King in the 2017 sports biopic, Battle of the Sexes, which saw her take on Steve Carell’s Bobby Riggs in the famous 1973 match of the same name. The Oscar winner does a great job when it comes to every aspect of the role, including those tense tennis scenes.

Geena Davis (A League Of Their Own)

Geena Davis looks, feels, and acts like a professional baseball player in A League of Their Own. There’s no need to suspend your disbelief when watching Davis’ Dottie Hinson lead the Rockford Peaches to one victory after another. The physicality, the presence, the believability are all there.

Chadwick Boseman (42)

Chadwick Boseman became a massive star in 2013 thanks to his celebrated portrayal of Jackie Robinson, the Professional Baseball Hall of Famer who broke the color barrier more than a half-century earlier. Boseman, who died in August 2020, was phenomenal in his performance and made the film’s various baseball sequences incredibly realistic.

Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire)

Okay, Cuba Gooding Jr.’s take on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire is killer, even when you take out the classic “Show me the money” scene. He’s cocky, brash, and hard to deal with, but he can back it up and makes the big catch to earn his team a playoff berth. We’ll let the off-field antics slide…

Tim Robbins (Bull Durham)

Bull Durham, one of the best baseball movies of all time, sees Tim Robbins play Ebby “Nuke” LaLoosh, a hot-shot young pitcher with a “million-dollar arm, but a five-cent head.” And the six-foot-five-inch Robbins very much looked and acted like a talented yet undisciplined ball player. 

Wesley Snipes (Major League)

Wesley Snipes’ Wille Mays Hayes, who could run like Hayes but not hit like Mays in Major League, was a convincing ball player in the 1989 sports classic. Yeah, he had trouble hitting the ball (part of his character), but he had unmatched speed. The scene where he runs in his pajamas in spring training is still the stuff of legend.

Charlie Sheen (Major League)

If you were to build the ultimate baseball movie team, Charlie Sheen’s Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn from Major League would have a permanent spot as the closer. To pull off the dominant pitcher’s fastball, Sheen took it to the extreme and tried out steroids, as he later told Sports Illustrated. 

Damon Wayans (The Last Boy Scout)

Tony Scott’s The Last Boy Scout is an all-time great buddy action movie, one that also features a former professional football player, or at least an actor playing one. Though we don’t see his character in action on the field, Damon Wayans just gives off the energy of a pro quarterback who lost it all. 

Carl Weathers (Rocky)

Carl Weathers’ Apollo Creed was one of the linchpins of the Rocky franchise and served as one of Sylvester Stallone’s best on-screen opponents. Weathers not only looked like a boxer with that ridiculous physique of his (especially in the later movies), but he also had that “it” factor needed to play such a flashy character.

Tom Berenger (Major League)

It’s hard to imagine anyone besides Tom Berenger playing Jake Taylor, the veteran catcher with bad knees and just enough gas left in the tank, in Major League. Throughout the movie, it feels like the Cleveland Indians’ senior slugger has been through the wringer multiple times, and that’s thanks to the incredible work of Berenger.

Chris Hemsworth (Rush)

Ron Howard’s 2013 sports biopic, Rush, features top-notch performances by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl as James Hunt and Niki Lauda, respectively. While Brühl is great with his cool and collected demeanor, it’s Hemsworth who steals the show with his take on the self-confident and talented Formula One driver, thanks in part to the actor’s electric personality and physicality.

Paul Newman (Slap Shot)

There was no way we weren’t going to talk about Paul Newman in Slap Shot. Seriously, try to think about this beloved hockey movie with anyone else taking on Charlestown Chiefs player/coach Reggie Dunlop. Is he the most talented skater on the ice? No. But is believable in his portrayal of good, old-fashioned hockey? You bet! 

James Caan (Brian's Song)

Though James Caan was mostly recognized for his work in the latter half of Brian’s Song, this shouldn’t discount his portrayal of Brian Piccolo before he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. His take on the Chicago Bears halfback, along with Billie Dee Williams’ Gale Sayers, is phenomenal, to say the least.

Denzel Washington (The Hurricane)

Denzel Washington gave a commanding performance in the 1999 sports biopic, The Hurricane, which saw him take on the role of middleweight boxer Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter, who spent nearly 20 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of murder. Washington, once again proving he’s one of the greatest to do it, excels in the ring.

Keanu Reeves (The Replacements)

Audiences never got to see Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Utah throw a pass in Point Break, but we did get to watch the actor play another left-handed quarterback from Ohio State with his portrayal of Shane Falco in The Replacements. This is a "whatever" movie if there’s ever been one, but Reeves looks at home leading the Washington Sentinels after the regular players go on strike.

John Goodman (The Babe)

John Goodman looks like Babe Ruth in the 1992 sports biopic, The Babe, but he doesn’t really play like the Great Bambino. This isn’t a knock on Goodman’s talents as an actor, it’s just that it’s impossible to accurately imitate the unmatched talents of one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore)

Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore will probably always be considered one of the best sports comedies of all time. The movie is heavy on both humor and sports (especially if you include the hockey scenes), and Sandler pulls off both things really well. 

Raquel Welch (Kansas City Bomber)

In the 1972 sports drama, Kansas City Bomber, the late Raquel Welch played K.C. Carr, a recently retired roller games star who returns to sport to settle an old score. No surprise, Welch was great in the movie and was a dominant physical force on skates.

Robert De Niro (Raging Bull)

One of Robert De Niro’s best movies, Raging Bull, sees the Oscar winner take on the role of middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta at various stages in his life and career. De Niro, who went through a physical transformation for the part, could hold his own in the movie’s various boxing sequences and never looked out of place.

Robert Redford (The Natural)

Would saying Robert Redford looked natural in his take on Roy Hobbs in The Natural be too on the nose? Who cares! Redford’s boyish charm and remarkable swing of his trusty bat, “Wonderboy,” helped make Barry Levinson’s 1972 sports drama an all-time classic. 

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Not only was Mickey Rourke outstanding in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, but the actor’s portrayal of a washed-up Randy Robinson was also incredibly realistic. Whether he was in the ring or trying to fix the broken pieces of his life in the real world, Rourke bled, cried, and sweated like someone who had been in the squared circle for decades, not months.  

Tom Selleck (Mr. Baseball)

Mr. Baseball is one of those movies that feels like it should have been a much bigger deal, but here we are 30-plus years later with a baseball comedy that never really gets talked about anywhere besides the MLB Network. Despite this, Tom Selleck’s take on Jack Elliot, a New York Yankee who joins the Nagoya Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League, is both fun and believable. Come on, the Blood Bloods star even took an at-bat in an MLB spring training game a year before the film’s release.

Dwayne Johnson (The Tooth Fairy)

Dwayne Johnson, one of the greatest WWE Champions of all time, and a former college football player for the Miami Hurricanes, played a hockey player in the 2010 Disney movie, The Tooth Fairy. The Rock is great in just about anything, but not so much on the ice.

Will Smith (Ali)

Will Smith received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in Michael Mann’s 2001 epic sports biopic, Ali, and he did a decent enough job. The major problem with Smith’s performance doesn’t really have much to do with the actor, but instead, the man he was playing. Smith is great in the boxing sequences, but it’s hard to believe that he’s the greatest of all time and not an actor playing the iconic sports figure.

Dennis Quaid (The Rookie)

Dennis Quaid’s portrayal of Jim Morris in The Rookie is nothing short of magical. The way Quaid plays the high school chemistry teacher who becomes a major league pitcher more than a decade after his baseball dreams died is a lot of fun and believable. He has the heart and determination of the real-life Tamp Bay Devil Rays pitcher, which really carries the film.

Steve McQueen (Le Mans)

If there was a movie where Steve McQueen drives a car at a high rate of speed, you can guarantee the legendary actor looked natural doing so. That’s the case with the 1971 film, Le Mans, in which McQueen played Michael Delaney, a racer with a guilty conscience following a tragic accident. McQueen, who had experience as a race driver, looked like a natural.

Playing a professional sport is no easy task and takes years of training and dedication, but these actors did a fine job of playing athletes on the big screen. While some were better than others, each gave all they had.

The original The Twilight Zone has had one of the most enduring legacies in entertainment. Though it only ran for five seasons (156 episodes, some of which are among the best TV shows ever), its influence and reach are remarkable. Three further series have been created over the years, including Jordan Peele’s short-lived reboot, and one ill-fated movie. 

Its influence has also been felt in the huge number of stars appearing on the show early in their careers. Some were established actors who found great fame later, and some were just starting. Here is a quick list of actors who found huge fame after appearing on The Twilight Zone.

William Shatner

Star Trek legend William Shatner appeared in two episodes of The Twilight Zone before landing his gig as captain of the Enterprise. His first episode, "Nick of Time," came in Season 2, but his most remembered is "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" in Season 5. Both are considered among the best episodes of the show. 

Charles Bronson

Future action movie legend Charles Bronson took the slow road to fame. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s he, like so many actors, grabbed gigs wherever he could on film and TV. One included a spot on an episode in Season 3 called "Two." In the episode, Bronson plays one of the last two people on earth who finds love with the only other one. 

Carol Burnett

The Season 3 episode "Cavender Is Coming" is not a well-thought-of episode of the show, but it is notable for starring a true legend. Carol Burnett, in a very early role for her, plays a down-on-her-luck woman who is helped by an angel to get her out of her doldrums. While it does provide Burnett with an opportunity to show off her comedic chops, in the end, comedy doesn't really work in The Twilight Zone. 

Burt Reynolds

Burt Reynolds appeared on one episode of The Twilight Zone very early in his career, playing a satirized version of Marlon Brando in an episode in Season 4 called "The Bard." The episode focuses on William Shakespeare, who arrives in the present day to help write a TV show but is horrified by the Reynolds' character's acting style.  

Dennis Hopper

Watching the Season 4 episode "He's Alive" is a wild experience in the present day. There is no other episode in the series that is so prescient today. The episode stars Dennis Hopper as a Neo-Nazi in America who has a run-in with Hitler himself. It proves just how edgy the show was, especially for its day. 

Cloris Leachman

Season 3's "It's A Good Life" is one of the most enduring episodes of the whole series. It stars Cloris Leachman as the mother of a boy with the devastating power of conjuring whatever he wants who often uses it for ill. 

Donald Pleasence

Donald Pleasence was most famous in the mid '60s through '70s, most notably for his role in The Great Escape and for his oft-forgotten turn as James Bond's #1 enemy, Blofeld in You Only Live Twice. But, in the '70s and '80s, he was most famous, of course, for his role as Dr. Loomis in the Halloween franchise. Before those roles, he starred in the Season 3 episode "The Changing of the Guard."

Robert Redford

Robert Redford is one of the biggest movie stars of all time, but like many actors, he got his start in television. In addition to a lot of credits in the early '60s on other big shows, Redford starred in one episode of The Twilight Zone in 1962. The episode, "Nothing in the Dark," aired during Season 3. 

Sally Kellerman

In truly a "blink or you'll miss her" moment, Sally Kellerman appeared in the episode "Miniature" in The Twilight Zone's fourth season. In an uncredited role, the Back to School star plays an office worker who is seen just at the very beginning. Interestingly, her M*A*S*H co-star Robert Duvall also appears in the episode.  

Burgess Meredith

For a generation of movie fans, Burgess Meredith will always be Mick from Rocky, but the actor had an accomplished career outside of that series, including starring in four different episodes of The Twilight Zone. His first is in one of the most beloved episodes of the whole series, "Time Enough At Last" in the first season. Later he starred in "Mr. Dingle, the Strong" and "The Obsolete Man" in Season 2, and "Printer's Devil" in Season 4.

Don Rickles

Don Rickles is best known for his no-holds-barred insult comedy. A true legend of Hollywood. He also strung together quite the acting resume when he wasn't making fun of his peers. That career included one episode of The Twilight Zone in Season 2, "Mr. Dingle, the Strong," alongside Burgess Meredith. 

Ron Howard

It's hard to imagine there was ever a time that Ron Howard wasn't famous. He first found fame when he was just six years old on The Andy Griffin Show, but even before that, he appeared on a Season 1 episode of The Twilight Zone called "Walking Distance." 

Robert Duvall

Before making one of the most impressive movie debuts ever as Boo Radley in 1962's To Kill A Mockingbird, Robert Duvall appeared on a handful of TV shows. One, of course, was The Twilight Zone, in an episode called "Minature," in Season 4. 

Ann Jillian had a long career in Hollywood before she retired in 2000 to devote herself to raising her son. Her career started in the early '60s when she was a kid. In Season 4 of The Twilight Zone, she starred as an orphan who refused to speak, or so thought the aunt and uncle raising her. It's a classic, creepy episode called simply "Mute."

George Takei

Star Trek legend George Takei is best known as the senior helmsman of the Enterprise, but years before that, he starred in the Season 5 episode "The Encounter." In it, Takei's character and his neighbor end up in a very unfortunate, but seemingly inevitable, situation that only the show can provide. 

John Astin

It was a different show where John Astin was "creepy and kooky," when he starred as Gomez Addams in the original Addams' Family. A couple of years before that though, he starred in a Season 2 episode called "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim." The show co-starred the great Montgomery Clift, as well. 

Buddy Ebsen

Buddy Ebsen had a very interesting career. He was famously cast as the Tin Man in The Wizard Of Oz but had to leave the production due to a serious medical reaction to the silver paint for the costume that landed him in the hospital (the production also used asbestos for snow). He then left for World War II and when he returned to Hollywood after, didn't find a ton of success. He starred in a Season 2 episode of The Twilight Zone called "The Prime Mover" in 1961, just before landing the role he would become world famous for, Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies. 

Elizabeth Montgomery

The first episode of Season 3, "Two," stars Charles Bronson as one of the two, and Elizabeth Montgomery as the other. Her star had just begun to rise as she was nominated for an Emmy around the same time for a one-episode turn in The Untouchables, but it was in 1964 when she landed the role of the one and only Samantha on Bewitched that made her part of television history.  

Lee Marvin

Tough guy Lee Marvin was already starting to make a name for himself when he appeared in two episodes ("The Grave" in Season 2 and "Steel" in Season 5). Marvin was still a few years away from the superstardom he found in the late '60s with movies like The Dirty Dozen, Cat Ballou, and Point Blank. 

Leonard Nimoy

Before Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone as a soldier on a Pacific island in World War II. The episode, "A Quality of Mercy," aired in December of 1961, in the show's third season. Nimoy would continue to guest spot on TV shows for another five years before landing his iconic role as Spock. 

Dean Stockwell

When Dean Stockwell died in 2021, he had been in show business for more than 70 years. It's an astonishing feat, and as you'd expect, he had a whole slew of acting roles, including the Season 3 episode of The Twilight Zone titled "A Quality of Mercy," alongside Leonard Nimoy. 

Jack Klugman

Future Odd Couple star Jack Klugman was as close as an actor could be to being a regular on The Twilight Zone. In total, he appeared in four episodes of the show. First, he starred in "A Passage for Trumpet" in Season 1, followed by "A Game of Pool" in Season 2, alongside the great Jonathan Winters. In Season 4, Klugman appeared in "Death Ship," and finally, in the Season 5 episode, "In Praise of Pip."

Julie Newmar

Before finding her greatest fame as Catwoman in the first two seasons of the '60s Batman series, Julie Newmar starred in the Season 4 episode, "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville." In the episode, Newmar doesn't have cat ears, but she does have devil horns, as she plays Satan trying to get the protagonist played by Albert Salmi (who played Danny's father in Caddyshack) to make a deal with the devil. 

James Coburn

By 1963, when James Coburn starred in the Season 5 episode "The Old Man In The Cave," the actor was already well on his way to fame. Earlier that year he had starred in the legendary World War II movie The Great Escape, and by the next year, he was one of Hollywood's most famous stars. 

Ted Knight

Judge Smails in Caddyshack and Ted Baxter in The Mary Tyler Moore Show will forever be the roles that the great Ted Knight will be remembered for. It took him quite a while to find big fame in Hollywood and along the way he had a lot of voice-over work and small TV roles, including an uncredited role in "The Lonely" from Season 1. At first, he's hard to spot, but once he delivers one of his few lines, viewers will immediately know it's Knight from his distinct voice. 

Peter Falk

When you think of Peter Falk you probably think of one of two roles, that of the titular detective in Colombo or as the grandfather in The Princess Bride. Those are only two roles in a storied career, however. Before ever landing his role as TV's most famous bumbling detective (all due respect to Monk), Falk starred in an episode in Season 3 called "The Mirror" where he weirdly played a Fidel Castro-like dictator in an unnamed Central American country. 

Richard Kiel

"To Serve Man" in Season 3 of The Twilight Zone is one of the most famous episodes of the series. Starring as the unspeaking, imposing alien is the one and only Richard Kiel. It's a perfect role for the actor who would become most famous for playing one of the all-time great henchmen in the James Bond movies, Jaws. 

Telly Savalas

"Who loves you, baby?" It's one of the most iconic catchphrases in TV history, made famous by Telly Savalas in Kojak. A decade before he starred as the super cool TV detective, he played a gruff stepfather who gets into a fight with his stepdaughter's baby doll in the Season 5 episode "Living Doll." 

Jonathan Winters

Jonathan Winters was most renowned for his comedy work. In addition to many comedy albums, his appearances in movies like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and on TV shows like Mork & Mindy made him very famous. On The Twilight Zone, he played a more serious role of a legendary pool shark called down from heaven to prove another player's mettle in "A Game Of Pool" from Season 3. 

Martin Landau

When Martin Landau won an Oscar in 1994 for his role in Ed Wood, he'd been in the business for decades. His big breakout came as part of the cast of the original Mission: Impossible TV show in the late '60s. Before that, he starred in two episodes of The Twilight Zone, "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" from Season 1 and "The Jeopardy Room" from Season 5. 

Roddy McDowall

Roddy McDowall is most famous for playing Cornelius in The Planet of the Apes series, appearing in three of the original movies. He also starred in "People Are Alike All Over" from the first season of The Twilight Zone.

Sydney Pollack

Sydney Pollack is one of the best directors in Hollywood history, known for films like Tootsie, Out of Africa, and Michael Clayton. It makes perfect sense that in an early acting role, he played a director in the Season 2 episode, "The Trouble with Templeton."

This is a list that could go on and on, especially when you add in already established stars like Buster Keaton who also appeared in episodes, but for now, we'll leave it here with these big names who starred in The Twilight Zone early in their career. 

Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood are also some of the most often snubbed by the Oscars when it comes to Best Actor and Actress Academy Awards. Legends like Harrison Ford, Jamie Lee Curtis, and many others have somehow had some of the most successful careers in film, but have only been nominated for one Academy Award in the acting categories. 

Harrison Ford - Nominated For Best Actor (Witness)

Harrison Ford is a national treasure, most everyone will agree. Everyone, it seems, except The Academy, as he has only ever nominated once, for 1985’s Witness. This actor has been in two of the biggest franchises in history, plus the two Jack Ryan movies and so much more. He should’ve been nominated for The Fugitive at least. 

Eddie Murphy - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (Dreamgirls)

Another icon of the late 20th Century and early 21st Century is Eddie Murphy, who has only been nominated once, for Dreamgirls in 2007. This is probably more testament to the Academy's apparent lack of appreciation for some of his best comedic performances because I dare you to find better ones in history than Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop or Coming To America. 

Gwyneth Paltrow - Nominated For Best Actress (Shakespeare In Love)

Gwyneth Paltrow will likely be a polarizing name on this list because the actor herself tends to be, but she’s had a number of wonderful performances over the years. Roles in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Emma, and The Royal Tenenbaums are all worthy of more consideration than she’s received over the years. She's earned just one nomination for Shakespeare in Love, for which she also won. 

Taraji P. Henson - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)

Taraji P. Henson has been nominated for more than thirty acting awards across her sterling career. Somehow, only one of those was for an Academy Award. Her lone Oscar nomination was for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008, and it’s frankly astounding that’s the only one. At a minimum, she should have been nominated for Hidden Figures alongside her cast-mate Octavia Spencer. Hopefully, this changes with her role in the upcoming remake of The Color Purple. 

Hugh Jackman - Nominated For Best Actor (Les Misérables)

Hugh Jackman is one award away from achieving EGOT status. The “O” is missing and shockingly he’s only been nominated once for an Oscar, for his performance in Les Misérables. The multi-talented Jackman has won so many awards, but is shut out yearly at the Academy Awards. The Oscars may not show much respect to comic book films, but everyone else does, and saying he should have been nominated for Logan isn’t a stretch, nor is saying it about his performance in The Greatest Showman.

Jamie Lee Curtis - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Jamie Lee Curtis is one of the most versatile actors of her generation. Horror, comedy, drama, she does it all. And yet, she has little to show for it in terms of Oscar nominations. She finally was nominated (and won) for Everything Everywhere All At Once but where were the nominations for My Girl and A Fish Called Wanda?

Salma Hayek - Nominated For Best Actress (Frida)

It’s been more than two decades since Salma Hayek was first nominated for an Oscar, for 2001’s Frida and she’s not been nominated since. Hayek is an icon and one of the most beloved actors today, yet never seems to get the attention of the Academy. This is likely in part due to the discounting of action films, which have become Hayek’s bread and butter, but that doesn’t mean her performances in movies like Traffic and Beatriz at Dinner weren't worthy of attention.

Matthew McConaughey - Nominated For Best Actor (Dallas Buyers Club)

When Matthew McConaughey won the Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club after being nominated for the first and only time, he led his speech with his trademark “Alright, alright, alright” and while his role in Dazed and Confused is a classic, he certainly deserved nominations for other roles, like how about a nod for his supporting role in The Wolf Of Wall Street or his performance in the vastly underrated Mud?

Samuel L. Jackson - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (Pulp Fiction)

If there is anyone on the list that should be a perennial nominee, it’s Samuel L. Jackson. His lone nomination came from his unforgettable and meme-able turn in Pulp Fiction, but he’s an actor who steals every scene he's in, in a good way. Just his roles in Quentin Tarantino films alone, like Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight, are worthy of nominations, but it hasn’t happened, sadly. Thankfully for all of us, Jackson was given an honorary Oscar in 2021 for his contributions to film, which is some consolation. 

Uma Thurman - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (Pulp Fiction)

Speaking of Pulp Fiction, the Tarantino classic also led to Uma Thurman’s one and only Academy Award nomination. Despite being one of the biggest stars on the planet, Thurman seems to have no luck getting the attention of the Academy. One role that really stands out is in the under-appreciated Prime. 

Benedict Cumberbatch - Nominated For Best Actor (The Imitation Game)

One has to believe that more nominations will be coming for Benedict Cumberbatch. Thus far, his only acknowledgment from the Oscars was for his wonderful performance as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. There are plenty of other roles he could have been nominated for, especially as William Bulger in Black Mass and Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate and that’s just the roles in which he’s played real people! 

Mark Wahlberg - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (The Departed)

In 1990, no one would have expected “Marky” Mark Wahlberg to appear on any kind of list like that, but almost 35 years later, it’s astounding his only Oscar nomination has been for The Departed (one of our picks for the 100 best movies of the 2000s). You have to question why he was ignored for Boogie Nights, for sure. The Fighter is another clear snub, though he was technically nominated for Best Picture as a producer of the film. 

Halle Berry - Nominated For Beat Actress (Monster's Ball)

When Halle Berry earned her one Oscar nomination for 2001’s Monster’s Ball, she was the odds-on favorite to win. She had become one of the biggest stars of the 1990s and now was her time to shine. She won, of course, but sadly, it would be the last time Berry would be nominated, so far, at least. It’s a shame because there are plenty of roles she’d be deserving of a nomination, like Frankie & Alice, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe.

Laurence Fishburne - Nominated For Best Actor (What's Love Got To Do With It)

This could be the most shocking on the list. At first thought, you might guess Laurence Fishburne was nominated for his amazing work as Furious Styles in Boyz n the Hood or Professor Phipps in John Singleton’s other masterpiece, Higher Learning. Alas, the Matrix star has only one nomination, for playing Ike Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It, and he didn’t win. 

Josh Brolin  - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (Milk)

Josh Brolin has been a favorite since he was a teenager in The Goonies. He’s also starred in some powerhouse movies, like Sicario and, most of all, No Country For Old Men. No Country won a slew of Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Javier Barden, and yet Brolin wasn’t even nominated. It frankly doesn’t make sense. Brolin’s lone nomination came from his wonderful performance in Milk, but that was the year that the late Heath Ledger won for The Dark Knight.

Sharon Stone - Nominated For Best Actress (Casino)

You could argue that while Sharon Stone was brilliant in Casino, it wasn’t even her best performance, though it’s the only time she’s been nominated. She wasn’t nominated for Basic Instinct, despite winning the Golden Globe for the role, nor for the underrated The Muse in 2000. At least we have Casino. 

Tilda Swinton - Nominated For For Best Supporting Actress (Michael Clayton)

2007's Michael Clayton was awash in acting nominations, including George Clooney for Best Actor and Tom Wilkinson for Best Supporting Actor. The only winner of the night, though, was Tilda Swinton for Best Supporting Actress. Over her incredible career, Swinton has been honored for other roles, like her parts in The Deep End, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and even Snowpiercer, but this remains her only Oscar nod. 

Liam Neeson - Nominated For Best Actor (Schindler’s List)

Long before Liam Neeson re-invented himself as an action star in summer blockbusters, he was a character actor carving out a nice career in film. Then came the epic Schindler's List. He was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a movie, though he lost out to Tom Hanks for Philadelphia. In the 30 years since, Neeson has not been nominated, not even for fantastic turns in The Gangs of New York, Michael Collins, or Rob Roy. For shame.  

Lupita Nyong'o - Nominated For Best Actress (12 Years A Slave)

Lupita Nyong'o burst onto the Hollywood scene with her heartbreakingly beautiful performance in 12 Years A Slave. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress and has since been racking up the accolades everywhere... except the Oscars. Despite well-received turns in Us and Queen of Katwe, not to mention her roles in the Black Panther films, she hasn't again been nominated. 

Sean Connery - Nominated For Best Supporting Actors (The Untouchables)

Sean Connery was one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and yet he was virtually ignored by the Academy for his whole career. Setting aside his brilliance as James Bond, Connery should’ve earned nods for The Hunt For Red October, and The Name Of The Rose, at least. Instead, his only nomination came for The Untouchables, which, thankfully, he won. 

Alec Baldwin - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (The Cooler)

Another fantastic performance in The Hunt for Red October that didn’t get recognition is Alec Baldwin’s as Jack Ryan. Baldwin could’ve been nominated for either of his two on-screen performances in 1992, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Prelude To A Kiss, but again he was snubbed. His only nomination came for his role in The Cooler.

Diane Lane - Nominated For Best Actress (Unfaithful)

Diane Lane found her footing in film in the late 1990s with outstanding performances in movies like A Walk on the Moon and The Perfect Storm, either of which could've been award-winning. Instead, it wasn't until 2002's Unfaithful that she got the recognition she deserved when she was nominated for Best Actress. 

Bill Murray - Nominated For Best Actor (Lost in Translation)

The Academy has missed out on great performances by one of the best comedic actors the world has ever seen in Bill Murray. Stripes, Ghostbusters, What About Bob?, and Groundhog's Day are some of the most beloved comedies of all time, and Murray was never recognized. Nor was he for his brilliant turns in Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. Murray's sole nomination came, deservingly, for 2003's Lost In Translation. 

Jennifer Connelly - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (A Beautiful Mind)

Jennifer Connelly has been wowing audiences for decades, including in 2022's massive hit Top Gun: Maverick. It appears though, that she has not been wowing the Academy, as she's only ever been nominated for one Oscar, which she won, for her role in 2001's A Beautiful Mind. Other roles have earned her other awards, like her parts in Requiem For A Dream and The House of Sand and Fog, but to date, nothing from the Academy Awards. 

Kathleen Turner - Nominated For Best Actress (Peggy Sue Got Married)

Despite massive hits like Body Heat, Serial Mom, and of course, Romancing The Stone, Kathleen Turner has only earned one Oscar nomination, for the vastly underrated Francis Ford Coppola film from 1986, Peggy Sue Got Married. Surely this icon of the screen deserves more. 

Robert Redford - Nominated For Best Actor (The Sting)

It’s astounding that the great Robert Redford has only one acting nomination in his whole career, for The Sting. Though he defined what a movie star is, Redford never received Oscar attention for roles in All The President’s Men, All Is Lost, Out Of Africa, and Three Days of the Condor, among many others. The list is endless here. He has been nominated twice for Best Director, for Ordinary People and Quiz Show, and won for the former. Redford also received an Honorary Oscar in 2002.

Catherine Zeta-Jones - Nominated For Best Actress (Chicago)

At the 75th Academy Awards, Chicago was the biggest winner of the night, garnering 13 nominations and winning six of them, including Catherine Zeta-Jones for Best Actress. Alas, this, so far, is the only time the Welsh actress has even been nominated, despite powerhouse roles in Traffic and Entrapment. At least she shares this dubious distinction with her husband Michael Douglas. 

Micheal Douglas - Nominated For Best Actor (Wall Street)

Gordon Gekko in Wall Street is one of the all-time great cinema villains and Michael Douglas richly deserved the Academy Award he won for playing the part in 1988. An actor with a slew of amazing performances from Falling Down, to Traffic, to Fatal Attraction and more, with only one acting nomination. He was also nominated/won for Best Picture in 1976 as the producer of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. 

Lauren Bacall - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (The Mirror Has Two Faces)

Lauren Bacall was one of the true icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood, starring in such films as The Big Sleep, Key Largo, and many, many more over her career. Shockingly, it took until 1997 for the Academy to recognize her work when she was finally nominated for a Best Supporting Actress role for The Mirror Has Two Faces. She did finally receive a well-deserved honorary Oscar in 2000. 

Kevin Costner - Nominated For Best Actor (Dances With Wolves)

Dances With Wolves was the darling of the Oscars in 1991. It was nominated for 12 awards, winning seven, including Best Director for Kevin Costner and Best Picture, which Costner won as a producer. It was also the one and only time Costner has been nominated for an acting Academy Award. There are so many other iconic parts he should’ve gotten more credit for, like JFK, Bull Durham, The Untouchables, and Hidden Figures, just to name a few. 

It just goes to show that even being a huge box office draw, and a megastar doesn't mean you'll get recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Oscars are incredibly hard to win and even being nominated is an honor, they say. Still, for everyone on the list, you'd think they'd have more than one.  

It’s no secret that Yellowstone is one of TV’s hottest properties, as the neo-Western has captivated viewers and wowed critics for much of its four and a half seasons so far. After weeks of behind the scenes troubles with star Kevin Costner earlier in 2023, we now know that the end of the series is nigh, and will arrive with the finale of Season 5 later this year. Though Costner has become synonymous with the drama, creator Taylor Sheridan recently recalled a wild story about how Robert Redford very nearly led his franchise-making hit.

What Did Taylor Sheridan Say About Robert Redford Almost Starring In Yellowstone?

When speaking with The Hollywood Reporter recently, Taylor Sheridan revealed that while he was originally trying to set Yellowstone up at HBO (where it was in development for a time), he told executives that he wanted Kevin Costner to portray tough series lead, John Dutton. However, while they all agreed that they needed a major star to be the face of the drama, those in charge “didn’t see it” with regards to the Dances with Wolves star/director/producer, and made their own suggestion:

For those who don’t know, Robert Redford is an actor turned-Academy Award-winning director/producer, who helped bring several major films to fans during his on-camera heyday of the 1960s-1990s, with titles like The Sting, All the President’s Men, The Natural, and Indecent Proposal under his considerably talented belt. 

While he has mostly stayed behind the camera in recent years, Marvel fans saw him as Alexander Pierce in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, and he also has a history with Westerns like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. So, it makes complete sense that when HBO execs asked for a big star, they’d mention someone like Redford. With Sheridan eager to get his show on the air, he saw about trying to make the Ordinary People (which won him that Oscar) director his Dutton patriarch. Sheridan continued:

Obviously, after the hard work and dedication given to make sure the premium cable heads got exactly what they said they wanted, this was not the shocked response that the creator was hoping for. And, the problem was made clear in short order, as the person on the other end of that phone call revealed that the original word choice in making their request wasn’t quite up to snuff. As Sherdian tells it:

Ahhhhh, yes. A “Robert Redford type” is, as pretty much anyone would know, a very different thing. Apparently, though, this HBO screw up eventually revealed the real issues that most of the executives had with Sheridan’s story, one of which was that it wasn’t “avant-garde” enough. Soon, most of those execs found themselves no longer employed by the network, and the one who did believe in Yellowstone gave Sheridan his script back, which allowed him to shop it elsewhere and bring us a hard-charging Western drama we didn’t even know we needed. 

Fans are definitely bummed that we’ll be without the OG series soon, but at least we know that the franchise will live on, even without Costner.

Patrick Fabian, known to some for playing Howard Hamlin on Better Call Saul, and others for his unique reading of the “The One Piece is real!” meme, also has some DC voice acting experience under his belt. He previously played Hank Henshaw/Cyborg Superman in The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen (which are set in the DC Animated Movie Universe timeline), and now he’s back in the DC movies space for the 1920-set Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham, where he’s playing Harvey Dent. In order to bring his version of the Batman character to life, Fabian drew inspiration from two classic Hollywood actors, both of whom are excellent choices.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Patrick Fabian about his work on Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham, which follows less than two months after the previous release in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line, Legion of Super-Heroes. Having been taken with how charismatic Fabian sounded as Harvey Dent, I asked the actor if he had any particular influences when crafting the character’s voice, and he responded:

Robert Redford and Paul Newman became Hollywood heavyweights at different times, but as Patrick Fabian noted, these two were among the industry’s most handsome actors during their respective periods, so these are some solid picks for inspiration. Redford and Newman eventually worked together in 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which launched the former to prominence, and they later re-teamed on 1973’s The Sting. While Newman passed away in 2008, Redford is still around, though his last on-camera film appearances were in 2018’s The Old Man & The Gun and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

In addition to drawing from Robert Redford and Paul Newman, Patrick Fabian was also able to figure out his Harvey Dent voice by envision the kind of physique the character would have, which ended up pairing nicely with how Harvey was animated. In his words:

Patrick Fabian’s version of Harvey Dent is running for mayor when Bruce Wayne reunites with him in Gotham City at a party being held by a drunken Oliver Queen. Without going into spoilers for this movie and the original story written by Mike Mignola and Richard Pace, and illustrated by Troy Nixey and Dennis Janke, while we do see Harvey become Two-Face, it’s a drastically different version compared to how the duality-obsessed villain is usually depicted. Fabian’s co-stars include in Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham include David Giuntoli as Bruce Wayne/Batman (whom he previously voiced in Batman: Soul of the Dragon, Tati Gabrielle as Kai Li Cain (a character created for this movie), Christopher Gorham as Oliver Queen, John DiMaggio as James Gordon, Brian George as Alfred Pennyworth, David Dastmalchian as Grendon, Navid Negabhan as Ra’s al Ghul and Emily O’Brien as Talia al Ghul and Martha Wayne, among many others. Sam Liu directed the feature and Jase Ricci wrote the screenplay.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham can be purchased from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on Digital, 4K Combo Pack and Blu-ray starting tomorrow, March 28. Break out your HBO Max subscription to stream plenty of DC-related content, and continue visiting CinemaBlend for news concerning upcoming DC movies.

Watchmen is now easier to watch than ever, with the Blu-ray and DVD release coming soon after HBO Max's streaming debut. It's just as easy to note the similarities between the show's racially charged storyline and the current real-world political climate, but there are obviously plenty of differences as well, such as the existence of a glowing blue super-being. Another would be that Watchmen's United States has Hollywood legend Robert Redford as its president, a comic detail that the TV show honored. Unfortunately for star Regina King, however, Redford never actually appeared on screen.

As Watchmen's mostly fearless Sister Night, Regina King was a pillar of badassery that rarely lost her cool in the heat of a dangerous ordeal, even in the very end. But it sounds like the actress would have turned into a total fangirl had the series found a way to secure the quasi-retired Robert Redford as a guest star. Here's how she put it to Yahoo.

To be sure, HBO's Watchmen was filled with plenty of surprises for TV viewers that both directly referenced Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' iconic comic book and also completely revamped the source material. Considering Damon Lindelof's take was a quasi-sequel set in the current day, it would have made sense for the show to avoid using Robert Redford, since his presence would have required many successive Presidential terms in order for him to remain the POTUS for Watchmen.

Luckily for Robert Redford, though, Watchmen already had a Beyond Term Limits agreement for Presidents built into the comic book, thanks to Richard Nixon's Vietnam War victory, combined with the Watergate scandal not being publicized. Strange as it may be to conceive, Watchmen's United States has (assumedly) only seen two Presidents take office in a 50-year span, with Nixon in office from 1969 through the late '80s, and Redford holding down the fort in the decades since.

Alas, the award-winning actor's fictional leadership wasn't destined to be experienced up close and personally by Regina King's Sister Night or any of the other Watchmen TV characters, with Robert Redford refraining from making an appearance in the HBO drama. Clearly that was an unfortunate turn of events for King, whose adolescent fantasies would have been realized had she been able to share a scene with him. Thankfully, Watchmen was a downright incredible series even without Redford's talents added in.

Had Robert Redford showed up within Watchmen, it wouldn't have been his first appearance in a major comic book property. The actor also portrayed the devious Marvel character Alexander Pierce in both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Endgame.

Those in need of some socially relevant superheroics can find Watchmen's nine Season 1 episodes streaming now on HBO Max, HBO Go and HBO Now, and anyone who needs a physical copy can find the Blu-ray and DVD versions on sale now, which are packed with various featurettes that will take fans deeper into the chaos.

Hollywood legend Robert Redford announced earlier this year that the new film The Old Man And The Gun would be his final movie performance. The icon claimed that he'd essentially accomplished all that he'd ever thought about doing, and now seemed like a good time to stop. That's great for Redford, but it also means that now there's an entire generation of actors and directors who'll never get a chance to collaborate with Bob, the way that casts were able to on recent movies like Pete's Dragon, Truth, A Walk in the Woods and, of course, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So when CinemaBlend had the chance to sit down with The Old Man And The Gun co-stars Casey Affleck and Tika Sumpter, we asked them what it was like shooting with the icon, and they told us:

Critics who have been able to see The Old Man and the Gun call it the ideal swan-song project for Robert Redford. He's cast as a former bank robber who springs himself from San Quentin and goes on one last spree, charming the public with his exploits. Casey Affleck plays Detective John Hunt, the man tasked with stopping Redford's latest plan, and the two men share a significant scene together late in the movie. We asked Affleck about the shooting of that scene, but it's a little spoilery, so only click below if you want to hear a few details:

David Lowery's The Old Man and the Gun made a few key stop on the fall film festival circuit, and it's now making its way into more theaters after a limited release. There's a good chance that it's playing by you now, so seek it out, and see Robert Redford on the biggest screen possible, at least one more time.

The upcoming film The Old Man & the Gun, from director David Lowery, took on a special significance when the film's star Robert Redford announced that it would be his last time in front of the camera. The 82-year-old actor has been an acclaimed leading man for decade, and like Gene Hackman and Sean Connery before him, whenever an actor of his caliber and resume retires from acting, it's a big deal. The Old Man & the Gun isn't even out yet, but now Robert Redford regrets his decision, not to retire, but to announce it in such a way, as he explained:

Robert Redford doesn't seem to be backtracking exactly on his decision to retire, although in his initial comments he never entirely closed the door on a return either; it was more of a soft retirement. What he seems to regret was the way he announced it in advance of this film. He perhaps made a miscalculation and didn't anticipate how his retirement would become the main point of discussion, and has dominated the narrative surrounding the project. In Robert Redford's comments to Variety, he seems to wish that if this film was to be his final one, he could have held of on the announcement.

If The Old Man & the Gun truly turns out to be Robert Redford's last movie as an actor, it sounds like it is a good one to go out on. David Lowery's film screened at Telluride and TIFF to positive reviews that praised both Robert Redford's performance, and the film as a fitting final role to his storied career. The announcement of his retirement, regretted or not, also raises the possibility that the film will get an extra rub comes award season. That wasn't Robert Redford's intention obviously, but it's not unthinkable to imagine that Academy voters might want to award the acclaimed actor with that elusive Best Actor award he has never gotten-- something of a recognition of his lifetime of achievement.

The Old Man & the Gun sees Robert Redford in a true story about career bank robber Forrest Tucker who enjoyed a lifelong cycle of robbing banks, getting caught and going to prison, only to escape and do the whole thing all over again. The film stars Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck and Danny Glover. The Old Man & the Gun opens in theaters on September 28th. Check out all the biggest movies and awards contenders heading to theaters the rest of this year in our release guide.

There are certain actors whose mere presence in a film confers a certain level of esteem and prestige. Robert Redford is one of those actors. Over his half a century in Hollywood, Robert Redford has starred in some all-time great films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, The Sting and Out of Africa. Now the legendary actor has decided to hang it up. Robert Redford will be retiring from acting after his next film, The Old Man & the Gun. He explained his decision, saying:

The 81-year-old actor has decided that it is time to walk off into the sunset at this point and get that happy ending that Sundance never did. As he told EW, Robert Redford has been acting for a very long time, and nobody could blame him that he has had enough of it and is ready to be done. He seems content with his decision and it sounds like Robert Redford found the perfect film to go out on too with The Old Man & the Gun.

The Old Man & The Gun reunites Robert Redford with his Pete's Dragon director David Lowery. The film tells the true story of Forrest Tucker, a career criminal who would rob banks, get caught and sent to prison, only to escape and do it all over again. He did this into his 70s. The film appears to have a fun sort of Catch Me if You Can vibe to it, and it sounds like the nature of this story helped Robert Redford to be comfortable with his retirement decision. The film is also something of a poetic end to the actor's onscreen career considering that so much of it was defined by his roles as charming criminals.

Robert Redford stars as Tucker in the film, opposite a cast that includes, Sissy Spacek, Casey Affleck and Elisabeth Moss. You can check out the trailer for The Old Man & the Gun in the video below:

While Robert Redford didn't entirely close the door on acting again, he seems pretty firm on it. However, he is not quite so definitive when it comes to directing. In addition to his storied career in front of the camera, Robert Redford has had success behind it as well. His directorial debut, Ordinary People, netted him his first and only Academy Award win. In his interview with EW, Robert Redford was noncommittal about his future as a director, not ruling out a tenth film.

So although he is done in front of the camera, there is always the possibility he could return behind it. If not, I don't think anyone could say that he hasn't earned a well-deserved retirement. Beyond just the films he acted in or directed or produced, Robert Redford founded the Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival, the yearly event that advances smaller, independent films into the public consciousness.

You can see what is likely Robert Redford's final role as an actor when The Old Man & the Gun breaks into theaters on September 28. For all the biggest movies still heading to theaters this year, check out our premiere guide.

In case it isn't obvious, both the way movies are made and how they're approached is completely different now than it was six decades ago, and having been a part of the film industry for nearly 60 years - making his on-screen debut in a 1960 episode of Maverick - Robert Redford has witnessed that change first hand. With that much experience, however, one might wonder exactly what he sees as the most significant transformation Hollywood has undergone in that time. Thanks to a recent interview, we have the answer: the period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when cable television began to grow, and studios started to look at their feature projects in a different way.

With the actor starring in the wonderful new remake of Pete's Dragon that arrives in theaters this Friday, I recently had the honor of sitting down with the great Robert Redford during a press day in Los Angeles -- and amongst the topics of conversation was the way in which the industry today differs from what it was when he first started out. I asked Redford if he could identify what he sees as the most significant change in the last 56 years, and without missing a beat he explained,

Of course, film fans know that during that same time period Robert Redford was doing more than his part to try and ease this evolution in the industry. In 1978, he helped found the annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, which was established to help get exposure to smaller, independently funded and artistic-driven films that otherwise wouldn't be seen by anyone. In the last 38 years, the competition between television and movies has only increased, and studios do continue to dedicate special focus to their potential tentpoles, but Redford's festival has kept going strong in the time since then as well, and has introduced us to some of the best filmmakers working today.

You can watch the legendary Robert Redford talk about his perspective on the changing film industry in the video below:

Do you agree with Robert Redford's perspective here, or would you argue in favor of another major change -- be it the proliferation of visual effects, or the way perceptions of genre have changed. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below, and be sure to see Redford back in action on the big screen this weekend in Pete's Dragon!

Disney has been setting the box office on fire this year with two films, Zootopia, and Captain America: Civil War, that have already broken the billion dollar mark, and a third, The Jungle Book, which isn't far behind. Like The Jungle Book, the studio has seen significant success with remakes of their older films, but this August, we'll see a remake of a film that wasn't a smash hit the first time around. However, if the trailer is anything to go by, the second time may be the charm for Pete's Dragon. Check out the new trailer below.

Pete's Dragon follows an orphan boy who has been lost in the woods for six years, with his only apparent companion being a large dragon who can make himself invisible. While the original 1977 production, which was mostly live action, was a musical comedy, this new version is obviously looking to channel the more dramatic aspects of Disney's recent remakes. As a follow-up to The Jungle Book, Pete's Dragon makes a lot of sense. Both stories follow orphans, and have put a lot of effort into creating realistic digital creatures. Whether Pete's Dragon will be able to be as successful as its predecessor is a more difficult question to answer.

There's a definite Neverending Story vibe going on here. Elliot the dragon is covered in more fur than scales, which is the traditional look for a dragon. If you were reminded of Falcor the luck dragon here, then you weren't the only one.

Pete's Dragon follows an orphan boy who has been lost in the woods for six years, with his only apparent companion being a large dragon who can make himself invisible. While the original 1977 production, which was mostly live action, was a musical comedy, this new version is obviously looking to channel the more dramatic aspects of Disney's recent remakes. As a follow-up to The Jungle Book, Pete's Dragon makes a lot of sense. Both stories follow orphans, and have put a lot of effort into creating realistic digital creatures. Whether Pete's Dragon will be able to be as successful as its predecessor is a more difficult question to answer.

The Jungle Book had name recognition that stood outside of the Disney brand. It was a classic story long before Walt got his hands on it. However, Pete's Dragon is a film that even most Disney fans don't really take notice of. That doesn't mean the film won't work. It co-stars Bryce Dallas Howard, who's making a career of working alongside giant CGI beasts, and Robert Redford, and if Robert Redford is on board, then so are we.

In addition, the film stars Karl Urban, who we get to see a lot more of in this trailer than we have previously. It's clear that he will play the "villain" of the film, though whether he really has it out for Elliot, or is just scared of him, we'll have to wait and find out. We're not looking forward to disliking Karl Urban, but sometimes this is what movies demand of us.

Are you looking forward to checking out Pete's Dragon? Do you think this one will be another 2016 hit for Disney, or will it be more like Alice Through the Looking Glass than The Jungle Book? Let us know what you think in the comments.

With so many studios building their business around franchises capable of producing perpetual sequels, it's a rare enough thing these days to find a truly original idea at the movies. However, a new film with Rooney Mara and Robert Redford sounds like it fits the bill. Unsurprisingly, Netflix just scooped it up. Next year the streaming service will release The Discovery, a love story in which the afterlife is proven to exist.

In a single sentence, the description makes it sound like a remake of Robin Williams' What Dreams May Come, however, upon closer examination the film sounds very different and truly unique. According to a press release sent by Netflix, The Discovery is about the actual scientific discovery that the afterlife is real. Robert Redford will play the scientist who makes the discovery in question. Jason Segel will play Redford's son, a man who begins to fall in love with a woman named Isla, played by Rooney Mara. Isla is described as having a tragic past, so we can assume that the existence of the afterlife will play into that in some way. The film was written and directed by Charlie McDowell, who previously worked with Mara -- his current girlfriend -- on The One I Love.

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos says of the project:

The other interesting thing about the film is that it will be set one year after the discovery of the afterlife has been made. This means that the movie won't be about the upheaval that would surely be part of any such discovery, but rather, it will be set in a time where the world has begun to come to terms with the idea. This makes writer-director Charlie McDowell's idea sound even more intriguing. Most of us can probably imagine, to some degree, the drama that would be caused if tomorrow somebody said they had found evidence of the afterlife. Trying to imagine a world where that knowledge is normal feels even more bizarre. How would the way people live their lives change if everybody knew the afterlife was real? Would religion become stronger, or would it completely fall apart? We're going to guess, as this ultimately sounds like a science fiction movie, that whatever form the afterlife takes, it probably doesn't adhere to the ideas of any single religion.

As the idea of an afterlife is a fairly universal concept, it's clear that Netflix sees this as a potentially huge film for them, considering their global reach. The streaming service can drop The Discovery in living rooms all over the world in an instant and Netflix sees the subject matter as being globally accessible.

What do you think of The Discovery? Does this sound like something you'd like to see? Netflix will release the movie via their online service, and in a limited theatrical release, sometime in 2017.

Children’s films are always a big sell. Parents need something to keep the kids busy that won’t step outside the lines of decency for children of all ages. And, there’s no better way to try to get parents and their progeny into the theater than to tempt them with a property that already has some name recognition. Come August, Pete’s Dragon will be that property.

While Pete’s Dragon isn’t the best known of the Disney films, the 1977 movie, which was a combination of live action and animation, has a bit of a cult following. Many of today’s parents have probably seen the film, or at least heard of it, and they’ll jump at the chance to show this new version to their kids.

So, if you’re already looking forward to the day you can take your little ones to see Pete’s Dragon, check out our handy guide that tells you everything you need to know about the film.

The Rating

Pete’s Dragon won’t be difficult for any child to see. The kid-friendly film will be rated PG, so it’s perfect for families to see together. My guess is that the "parental guidance" will likely come, at least, from the fact that a boy is running around the woods by himself. But, we can get to that little tidbit later.

The Release Date

Instead of aiming for a bigger, height-of-summer release, Pete’s Dragon won’t hit theaters until August 12 of this year. The film’s main competition will be blockbuster bait Suicide Squad, which releases on August 5. Obviously, the two films will target two slightly different audiences, and, even though Suicide Squad will be a darker film, it won’t be too dark. The filmmakers still want as many tweens and teens to see the film as possible, so the DC comic adaptation is rated PG-13. So, while it’s is likely that the audiences could overlap quite a bit, Pete’s Dragon will still be the main choice for folks who want to keep younger, more impressionable kids entertained in August. More adults will surely be likely to flock to the theaters on their own for Suicide Squad, but we can’t underestimate the power of family movie-going habits that might make Pete’s Dragon a blockbuster hit in its own right.

What Is Pete's Dragon About

Based on an unpublished short story by writer Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field, the rights to the story for Pete’s Dragon were bought by Disney in the 1950s. The original film told the story of a young orphan in the early 1900s, Pete, who runs away from his abusive adoptive family and lands in a small fishing town in eastern Maine. He soon meets an invisible force, whom he calls Elliott, which reveals itself to him as a dragon capable of becoming invisible. The unseen dragon causes trouble around town, which people begin to attribute to Pete, since he’s a newcomer to the area.

That first film blended animation and live action, much like the new on will, by having an animated dragon to interact with Pete and any townspeople Elliott might come across and show himself to. The 1977 version of the film as also a musical, but the new production has decided to forgo that aspect of the storytelling.

The remake of Pete’s Dragon will still focus on an orphan and his (often) invisible dragon friend Elliott, but this time the story takes place in a logging community in the early 1980s. When Pete (Oakes Fegley) is discovered by a park ranger, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), filthy and in tatters roaming around the woods by himself, he tells her that he’s been living with a giant dragon in those same woods for six years. The story of the dragon sounds an awful lot like the one her dad, Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has regaled local children with for decades. With the help of her dad and 11-year-old Natalie (Oona Laurence), Grace becomes determined to find out who Pete is, who he belongs to and the truth about his supposed dragon protector.

Pete

Pete is a young boy who’s clearly had a rough time of it. While the first film had him escape a family of mean yokels who try to track him down, this movie simply meets him six years into a life of forest living with Elliott. Right now, we have no idea about Pete’s history, but that’s a good place to start for the mystery of the film. Was Pete abandoned six years ago, or did he run away to save himself from a terrible life with adults who couldn’t care for him? Either way, his time with Elliott has left him a bit wild, but alive and, no doubt, very resourceful for a child of his young age. We can see before long if all our questions about Pete and his life before being found will be answered.

Pete is played by Oakes Fegley. The young actor got his start in a 2011 short film called Glass and has been adding to his resume ever since. He’s appeared in This Is Where I Leave You, Boardwalk Empire and Person of Interest among his relatively few credits.

Elliott

We know who man’s best friend is, and in this case we know that wild woodland boy’s best friend is a giant dragon. In the first film adaptation of the story, Elliott was a pink and green dragon who was slightly taller than your average professional basketball player. Our new Pete’s Dragon, though, will feature a CGI creature much more like the ones we know from popular fantasy tales like Game of Thrones (although I doubt Elliott will be anywhere near as scary). The relative scale of Pete and Elliott was revealed when Disney released the first poster for the film. It’s safe to say that most pro NBA stars would be easily dwarfed by this iteration of Elliott.

The first movie also had Elliott talk. There's no actor listed as the voice of Elliott on the film’s IMDB page, but that could just be so that the talking dragon is more of a surprise for the audience, especially if they aren’t well acquainted with the first film. It’s also possible that if Elliott doesn’t talk, we’ll still be able to read his responses to Pete and the situations they find themselves in by his expressions, something like Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon.

Natalie

Natalie is a young girl who will help Grace and Mr. Meacham on their quest to find out more about Pete and his friend Elliott. The group will likely find themselves seeing things they never thought they would, and experience all the kinds of wonders that children’s films like Pete’s Dragon are famous for.

Natalie is portrayed by Oona Laurence, and the girl’s list of credits is currently a bit longer than that of Oakes Fegley. She got her first credit in the TV series documentary Celebrity Ghost Stories, where she played a young Phyllis Diller, as well as the comedian’s daughter. She’s gone on to have roles in Louie, Law & Order: SVU, Orange Is the New Black and, most notably, the 2015 film Southpaw.

Mr. Meacham

Children’s films such as Pete’s Dragon usually offer two roles to adults: the grown up who thinks a child’s stories are simply fanciful tales, and the ones who suspect early on that the kid (or kids) is telling the truth. Mr. Meacham is the film’s believing adult. Meacham, a wood carver who is also Grace’s father, has spent decades delighting children with his stories of a fierce dragon who lives deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. It’s not unlikely that Meacham tells the stories because he has first-hand knowledge of Elliott from when he was a boy, but we currently don’t have any idea how the man began telling his tales of the woodland dragon. That, though, will almost certainly be revealed in the movie.

Mr. Meacham is played by none other than legendary actor, producer and director Robert Redford. He got his start in TV and movies with an appearance on the show Maverick in 1960, and has gone on to become one of our most celebrated actors. To list everything he’s known for, well, it would be silly, but some of his greatest hits include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Candidate, The Sting, All the President’s Men, The Natural, Out of Africa, Sneakers and Indecent Proposal. His recent projects have included All Is Lost, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and A Walk in the Woods.

Grace

After meeting Pete in the woods during her rounds as a park ranger and hearing his story, Grace leads the charge to help the boy, find out who he is and get him back to his family, if he even has one. She’s also skeptical of his tales of Elliott, and, because she’s spent years hearing her father tell the story of a giant dragon, wants to finally find out if those stories or true or not. Grace is going to need some major convincing, but when you’re a giant dragon who decides to show yourself to an adult, you probably have the advantage there.

Grace is played by Bryce Dallas Howard, who has racked up quite the list of credits since her uncredited appearance in Apollo 13 in 1995. She made her major film debut in Spider-Man 3 as Gwen Stacy, and more recently has had notable parts in Terminator Salvation, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Help, 50/50 and last summer’s mega, super blockbuster Jurassic World.

Jack

The only thing that’s known right now about Jack is that he’s Natalie’s dad, and he owns the local lumber mill. Considering that Grace will get wrapped up in finding the family of a literal wild child and whether or not he knows a giant dragon, I can bet Jack will be more involved in the adventures than he’d probably want to be. I can also imagine that, like most adults would be, he’ll be doubtful of Pete’s story. Since he’s likely from the town where the film takes place, I wouldn’t be surprised if he heard Mr. Meacham’s tales of the dragon and has grown up to believe it just a fanciful story for children. Well, he’s going to be shocked.

Jack is being portrayed by Wes Bentley. After a star-making turn in American Beauty in 1999, he continued with parts in The Four Feathers, Ghost Rider and Jonah Hex. His more recent parts have included roles in The Hunger Games, Lovelace, Interstellar, Knight of Cups, and work on recent seasons of American Horror Story.

Gavin

The character we know the least about is Gavin. We know so little, in fact that all we know about the character’s part in the film is his name. But, the first Pete’s Dragon movie actually had a villain, Dr. Terminus, who was a medicine showman who offered Pete money for Elliott so that he could use his body parts (seriously) in his medicinal "cures" for the locals. If there is a villain in the new film, Gavin could easily be him. But, how will he be villainous? Will he want to use Elliott for parts? Turn him into a traveling ‘freak’ show? Or, will his part be something more down to Earth, like trying to take over or close the local lumber mill that’s owned by Jack? We only have a few months left before we can find out.

In the film, Gavin is played by Karl Urban. The actor is known for his kickass (and sometimes villainous) roles in fantasy, science fiction and action films like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Bourne Supremacy, the new series of Star Trek films and the underrated Dredd. He also led the short-lived FOX sci-fi show Almost Human.

Pete’s Dragon is shaping up to be a wonderful, magic-filled film that will be fun for all ages, and we all know that there’s nothing better than a children’s movie that adults can enjoy, too. It looks like the film will be capable of giving all who see it the kinds of chills and thrills that go along with watching a movie that inspires and awes. We can all see for ourselves when Pete’s Dragon hits theaters on August 12, 2016.

One of the big premieres at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival was Truth. Starring Cate Blanchett as CBS producer Mary Mapes, and Robert Redford as 60 Minutes’ Dan Rather, the film is based on Mapes’ book about how she uncovered the prison torture at Abu Ghraib and was fired by CBS shortly after producing Rather’s story on the George W. Bush National Guard documents. While Rather himself praised the film’s accuracy, CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves has a very different take.

A new article from The Hollywood Reporter was published today revealing that a special early screening of Truth was held for Moonves months before the TIFF premiere. Though CBS refused to comment on the matter, THR sources state that the CEO and his staff were heard at CBS headquarters calling the film "half truth."

Based on early reviews and reactions coming out of TIFF, Truth paints the network as the villain — Andy Heyward, a news chief, is shown firing Rather and Mapes out of solidarity to the White House and Bush, and to protect CBS. THR further notes that the attacks on Rather’s report were overtly politically motivated and the involvement of the 60 Minutes anchor in the actual reporting was downplayed. Moonves did not ask for any major changes to the film, and a source also states that CBS isn’t planning on lashing out at the film’s distributor, Sony Pictures Classics.

Truth is pegged to be in the vein of All the President’s Men and The Insider. It depicts the events that led to Mapes and Rather uncovering that a sitting U.S. president may have been AWOL from the National Guard for more than a year during the Vietnam War. The film is directed by first-time feature film helmer, James Vanderbilt, who has made a name for himself working on the screenplays for Zodiac, the Amazing Spider-Man movies, and White House Down. He also adapted the screenplay for Truth from Mapes’ memoir. Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford are joined in the film by Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3), Dennis Quaid (Playing For Keeps), and David Lyons (Revolution).

Though the trailer isn’t out yet, you can watch the first clip from the film below.

Truth will next hit up the Hamptons International Film Festival before making its way to theaters on October 16.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford on-screen efforts in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and The Sting are rightfully regarded as two of the best dual leading performances in the history of cinema. And it turns out that we almost got a third film with the pair of acting titans, because Robert Redford originally planned for Paul Newman to star opposite him in A Walk In The Woods.

While recently talking with director Ken Kwapis ahead of A Walk In The Woods’ theatrical release this Wednesday, the filmmaker revealed that the death of Paul Newman in September 2008, at the age of 83, led Robert Redford to "shelve the project for a while." Kwapis explained,

But Redford’s interest in the adaptation of A Walk In The Woods was soon rejuvenated when he worked alongside another acting behemoth with whom you’d actually assume he’d be old friends. Redford cast Nick Nolte in The Company You Keep, which he directed back in 2012, and it turns out that this was the first time the pair had ever spent a prolonged period together.

As movie fans around the world would hope, they got along famously. And soon Robert Redford started imagining him as the character of Stephen Katz to his Bill Bryson. And this urge became so overwhelming that he decided to proceed with A Walk In The Woods once again. Said Kwapis,

Robert Redford has actually been trying to bring A Walk In The Woods to the big screen since 2005. In that time, Redford found himself working on the adaptation of the heavily praised 1998 book with an array of impressive talent. While Newman’s name was heavily linked to the other leading role up until his retirement in 2007, Redford also collaborated with directors Chris Columbus (Home Alone), Barry Levinson (Rain Man), Richard Linklater (Boyhood) and Larry Charles (Borat) on it, but ultimately nothing was ever ironed out.

However, after being impressed with his work on Big Miracle, Robert Redford finally found his kindred spirit for A Walk In The Woods in Ken Kwapis. After premiering at Sundance earlier this year, A Walk In The Woods will now go on a wide release from Wednesday.

Later this week, the mystery thriller The Gift arrives in theaters. Aside from getting fantastic reviews, the film also marks the feature directorial debut of actor Joel Edgerton. He’s helmed at couple of shorts, but this is his first go round in the big chair for a full-length movie. (Edgerton also wrote the script, but has more of a history with that side of things, including coming up with the story for the 2014 post-apocalyptic joint The Rover.)

With this release, Edgerton joins the long list of actors who have moved from in front of the camera to behind. As The Gift is getting high marks from critics (our own review gave the film four out of five stars) and looks like it’s going to wind up being well regarded, we thought we’d take the opportunity to look back and examine the directorial debut of some other actors who killed it their first time out of the gate.

Tom Hanks—That Thing You Do

After starting out in comedies like Bosom Buddies, Bachelor Party, and Splash, Tom Hanks went on to become one of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood. With multiple Oscars in his trophy case, just adding his name to your movie increases the prestige factor a few degrees. In 1996, he made his feature directorial debut with That Thing You Do (which he also wrote). Following a small town band on the road to success in the 1960s, the film turns a critical and satirical eye on show business, wrapped up in a light and fluffy story about friendship, and Hanks manages to skirt cliché and deliver a sweet, delightful debut. He only has one other directorial feature to his name, 2011’s modestly received Larry Crowne.

Robert Redford—Ordinary People

By 1980, Robert Redford already had 20 years of on-screen acting credits on his resume, but he had long harbored the desire to direct. Well, he got his chance with Ordinary People, a drama about the dissolution and disintegration of an upper-middle-class family, the Jarretts, after the death of their son. And what at debut it was. Not only was the film heralded as one of the best movies of the year, it walked away with a nice assortment of Oscar hardware, including a statue for Redford as Best Director. Though he continues to direct, and act in movies like All Is Lost and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, not to mention he founded the Sundance Film Festival, none of his subsequent efforts have topped that first one.

Charles Laughton—The Night Of The Hunter

Though it was not a critical or popular success when it was first released in 1955, Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter has continued to grow in esteem and find new fans who recognize it as one of the most viscerally frightening movies of all time. Which isn’t bad considering that Laughton, making his debut behind the camera here, would never direct another film, though he did go on to appear in more, including Spartacus, before his death. With an influence that is still felt today, Hunter is a combination of Expressionist horror and film noir stylistics that still features one of the all time great villainous performances in Robert Mitchum’s Reverend Harry Powell.

Rob Reiner—This Is Spinal Tap

Starting off your career as a director with a movie that has become renowned as one of the funniest, most original comedies of its time, one that has spawned countless imitators, has to be a pretty good feeling. That’s just what happened to former All in the Family star Rob Reiner (he’s come so far from his days playing Meathead) and his initial foray into directing, the mock rockumentary classic This is Spinal Tap. The improv heavy movie follows over-the-top exploits of the eponymous hard rock act comprised of Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, and though this was his first, Reiner has gone on to churn out beloved movies, including Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally, among others.

Dennis Hopper—Easy Rider

As an actor, Dennis Hopper was a countercultural icon, and his directorial debut, Easy Rider, showed the not-always-pretty, free-wheelin’, on-the-road lifestyle. A touchstone for an entire generation, and beyond, the image of Hopper, who also starred, and Peter Fonda living life on their choppers came to symbolize freedom. The film caught the attention of the nation and dug into the cultural landscape of the late 1960s, including the rise and fall of the free love generation, drug use, communal living, and the tensions that were at war within the culture at the time. Hopper would go on to direct notable movies like The Last Movie and Colors, and not-so-notable movies like Chasers (yeesh), but he would never again hit the same highs as Easy Rider.

Sarah Polley—Away From Her

Still likely best known for her acting roles in films like Go, Splice, and Dawn of the Dead, Canadian born Sarah Polley has made waves as a director. Her first effort, 2006’s drama Away From Her, based on an Alice Munro short story and chronicling the struggles of an older couple being torn apart by the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, won tons of critical praise, and marked Polley as a director to keep in eye on. She followed that up with the dramatic comedy Take This Waltz starring Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams in 2011, and the acclaimed documentary Stories We Tell in 2012, which dug into the secrets and storytelling and mythmaking inherent in her own family. She has a long future ahead of her behind the camera, and we can’t wait to see what she does next.

Harold Ramis—Caddyshack

If you turn out just one movie as beloved as Caddyshack in a career, you’re doing pretty well. After all, we’re still watching Harold Ramis' debut and quoting it with our buddies 35 years later. However, the former National Lampoon and SCTV performer wasn’t done with his directorial output, not by a long shot, and though we lost him too soon last year, he left a trail of comedy classics in his wake. He followed up his Saturday Night Live alum-stocked golf comedy with National Lampoon’s Vacation, Groundhog Day, and more, not to mention that he also continued to act, showing up in movies like Ghostbusters (you may have heard of that one) and even small roles in recent films, including Knocked Up and Walk Hard, connecting with a whole new generation of comic filmmakers he helped inspire.

Kevin Costner—Dances With Wolves

Remember that year Kevin Costner won all the Oscars? Remember when his directorial debut, 1990’s Dances With Wolves, beat out Goodfellas for Best Picture? Goodfellas! And not only did Kevin Costner beat out Martin Scorsese for Best Director, check out the rest of his competition that year, you may recognize some of these names: Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather Part 3), Stephen Frears (The Grifters), and Barbet Schroeder (Reversal of Fortune). Not only did Costner decide to direct his first film, he decided to kick everyone’s ass while he was at it. Though he made a splash right out of the gate, his follow-ups haven’t fared so well. In 1997 there was the post-apocalyptic mailman saga The Postman, which has largely been remembered as a punch line, and 2003’s western Open Range, which is a solid gritty genre picture, if not widely recognized. Fortunately for Costner, he still has his lucrative acting career to fall back on.

Danny DeVito—Throw Momma From The Train

Most recognized as an actor in the likes of Taxi, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and recently It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Danny DeVito kicked off his new career as a director in 1987 with the blackly comic riff on Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, Throw Momma from the Train, in which he co-starred with Billy Crystal and the late, great Anne Ramsey. From there he went on to a varied career behind the camera with the dramatic comedy The War of the Roses, family film Matilda, and even the crime biopic Hoffa, not to mention the criminally underappreciated Death to Smoochy. Lately he’s mostly been directing shorts, though he does have a thriller called St. Sebastian in post-production, and we can always watch him as Frank on reruns of It’s Always Sunny when we need a fix.

Ben Affleck—Gone Baby Gone

Though he has gone on to greater success for helming The Town and the Oscar-winning Argo, Ben Affleck’s first feature film as director, 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, laid the groundwork for a successful side-career just in case that whole playing Batman thing doesn’t work out. And he got to put his little brother, Casey Affleck, in a movie. That has to earn him some points in the successful Hollywood version of a mother telling you to "let your brother play, too." The neo-noir crime story, based on the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name, Gone Baby Gone won a slew of awards, gathered near universal critical praise, and wound up on a bunch of best-of-the-year lists. Not only did it mark Affleck as a talent in a third area of filmmaking—in addition to his acting accolades, he also won an Oscar for writing Good Will Hunting—he used it as a stepping stone to even bigger things, including the upcoming Live by Night, another Lehane adaptation, and he’ll reportedly take the helm on an as-yet-untitled solo Batman film. Not bad for a kid from Boston.

If you’ve been keeping up with the current state of the box office, you’re well aware that Illumination Entertainment and Universal are presently raking in money hand over fist with their animated Minions. At this rate a sequel is all but guaranteed, and as it’s never too early to start the dream casting process, the filmmakers have one big time name at the top of their list to play the villain in Minions 2: Chris Pratt.

Talking to The Shuttle about the Despicable Me spinoff, animator and producer Chris Renaud was asked, what actor, in a dream scenario, he would like to lend his voice the antagonist of Minions 2. He said:

This is, obviously, not official in any kind of way, and no one is meeting with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World star about this, though stranger things have happened. They did, after all, get Sandra Bullock to voice the villainous Scarlett Overkill in this film.

Even if Renaud does somehow magically wind up snagging Chris Pratt, he may have to fight to get there. Fellow producer, Chris Meledandri, has another name at the top of his villain list: Robert Redford. Meledandri said:

But this is all a long way off in the future. Before we even get to see more from the early days of the mischievous yellow troublemakers in Minions 2, they’ll once again team up with Steve Carell’s Gru for Despicable Me 3, which is slated to hit theaters in the summer of 2017.

In the meantime, however, as Renaud, Meledandri, and more kick around ideas for potential sequels, Minions is already a massive hit. During it’s opening weekend in the U.S. it took the top spot at the box office with $115 million, which is bigger than any other animated debut aside from Shrek the Third, and notably higher than Inside Out’s $90 million last month, though the Pixar movie is on track to be one of the top five earning movies this year.

Early estimates had the film topping the billion-dollar mark, and with an additional $287 million from international markets, it is already well on its way. Reviews haven’t been great, which could impact the longevity of the film, but they certainly haven’t dampened public enthusiasm on iota.

For about a year or so, Disney was in negotiations with Ain't Them Bodies Saints director David Lowery to take charge of the modern update to their 1977 deep cut classic, Pete's Dragon. That story ended with Lowery taking the post, and a movie in need of a cast. Well much like their lucky strike in terms of picking a director, Disney's luck might extend a little further, as Robert Redford has begun talking about participating in a pivotal role.

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop that Redford is in "early talks" to play, "a local who tells tall tales involving dragons that no one believes." Judging by that description, as well as the general layout of the original Pete's Dragon cast, it's to be assumed that Robert Redford would be playing the updated version of Lampie – the lighthouse keeper originated by Mickey Rooney in the original film.

How this project landed in Redford's lap isn't that much of a mystery, considering he landed an even more incredible role in Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Considering the fact that the Hollywood legend probably had multiple pictures built into his deal, and his character's fate in the superhero sequel didn't really leave much room for a return, this looks like part of the deal that Redford signed on for.

As for the story to the new Pete's Dragon, the updated version looks to take place in a logging community that's being taken over by greedy corporate interests, instead of a lighthouse town being swindled by a sham of a physician. Considering a similar environment being featured in Ain't Them Bodies Saints, it's no surprise that David Lowery's visual style would be a perfect match to what this film is trying to accomplish. However, his hiring is far from a slam dunk, as Disney attempted a similar gamble with hiring Craig Gillespie for their summer sports flop, Million Dollar Arm.

Pete's Dragon is a perfect example of a film that makes for a perfect remake. The original is well known enough to draw an older crowd, but it's obscure enough that it's a blank slate for reinterpretation. You're not going to see as many Pete's Dragon purists flaming the comments section below as you would in any Marvel Civil War scoop you'll see us run. So long as there's a kid, a dragon, and maybe a couple songs; Disney can do whatever they want. And what they want is to keep younger generations familiar with Robert Redford and his acting chops, which will do wonders for his back catalog when those kids get a little older. (Sneakers should be required viewing for any 10-year-old.)

Pete's Dragon looks to start shooting this fall in New Zealand, and is currently not scheduled for a release window. More than likely, this could take the November 2016 slot reserved for an unnamed Disney animation film.

For twenty-four years, Dan Rather was the face of CBS News. During that time, he broke countless stories and reported on hundreds of world-changing events. Unfortunately, his career is remembered in some circles for only one: The Killian Documents Controversy. The broadcast was a complete fiasco, and now, it’s getting its own movie.

According to Deadline, the film will be entitled Truth. More importantly, it will star industry legend Robert Redford as Dan Rather and Cate Blanchett as his doomed producer Mary Mapes. It’ll be helmed by screenwriter James Vanderbilt, who will make his directorial debut. He wrote The Amazing Spider-Man and White House Down. Perhaps more importantly, he’s a descendent of railroad pioneer and visionary Cornelius Vanderbilt and a relative of The Silver Fox, Anderson Cooper.

It’s unclear exactly how wide the scope of Truth might have, but it will focus primarily on the lead-up to the September 8, 2004 broadcast of 60 Minutes, in which Dan Rather presented documents purportedly written by President George W Bush’s deceased National Guard superior that claimed he was given special treatment because of his powerful father. During the story, Rather claimed the documents were authenticated, but upon further review, they were not checked by experts, instead merely turned over by a Lieutenant Colonel named Bill Burkett who had some credibility problems.

Dan Rather and company stood by the story for a few weeks after the initial broadcast, but when a CBS review panel couldn’t authenticate the documents and other networks started claiming they were forgeries, Mary Mapes will promptly fired, several other key members of the news team were given the boot and the legendary newsman himself was gone within a year. It was a sad end for a proud man, especially considering Rather and Mapes really seemed to believe they were doing the right thing at the time.

It’s unclear whether Mapes has softened her stance over the years, but following her departure from CBS, she was still convinced the documents may have been authentic. That’s not an opinion shared by the majority of independent experts, but it’ll be interesting to see if it’s one shared by the film. It’ll reportedly take some of its direction from Mapes’ book on the scandal Truth And Duty: The Press, The President And The Privilege Of Power. It would be nice to hope for a balanced perspective that takes into account all of the angles, but that’s not always an understood you.

If all goes according to plan, Truth will begin shooting in the Fall. That would put it in line for a 2015 release, perhaps one around an award season that could see Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett and company ride the politically charged subject matter to glory.

Thanks to its impressive run of crafting quality blockbusters that bring in a huge audience, Marvel Studios has developed a knack for attracting top-tier acting talent, and nowhere is that better illustrated than in the casting of Robert Redford in Joe and Anthony Russo's upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Hollywood legend doesn't do many major studio films, but he finds himself in a position of power playing S.H.I.E.L.D. higher-up Alexander Pierce in the upcoming sequel, and today that role is being celebrated with a brand new character poster, courtesy of USA Today.

This is actually just the latest one-sheet that we've seen from the film, as Marvel Studios actually released a trio of designs last week showing off Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). You can see them all below.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier has been steadily earning more and more buzz, and the recent trailer that debuted during the Super Bowl has only helped. According to USA Today, the preview has already been seen more than 10.7 million times on YouTube, making it the hit trailer of the big game (second place being the debut spot for Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction). The Marvel trailer was certainly the one that got me most excited on Sunday, and I've rewatched in many, many times since.

In the new blockbuster, which is based on a script by The First Avenger screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the titular hero finds himself continuing to adjust to the modern world. Taking a job with S.H.I.E.L.D. and working as a field agent alongside Black Widow, Cap believes that he is doing his service to the world and protecting innocent people from real danger, but after making some shocking discoveries he begins to wonder the side he is fighting for are really the good guys. Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, and Hayley Atwell all co-star in the film, which will be in theaters on April 4th. Are you excited yet?

In an alternate universe, Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Joaquin Phoenix, Oscar Isaac and – oh, I don’t know – Hugh Jackman raise a glass this morning and toast the Best Actor nominations that never came to pass.

The Best Actor category at this year’s Academy Awards always seemed like it was destined to be a "Murderer’s Row." So many outstanding performers delivered what can be described as Oscar-worthy performance. Yet, the cold, hard reality of the Oscar ceremony is that there are five slots open, no matter how many willing and worthy candidates throw their names into the ring for consideration.

For the record, Christian Bale, Bruce Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthew McConaughey did make the cut… and even though I don’t care for the vastly overrated American Hustle, I’m not going to protest Bale’s nomination. All five are worthy. The five men I mentioned above are worthy, as well.

So what the hell happened? How did Hanks go from an assumed two-slot nominee (many thought he’d get into Supporting Actor for Saving Mr. Banks as well as here or Captain Phillips) to an empty-handed A-lister this morning? How did Redford get overlooked after shouldering ALL of the amazing All Is Lost?

We can spend weeks reading the tea leaves – and because the Oscar ceremony is still more than a month away, we likely will waste all of that time. My guess is that Hanks split his attention between two performances, and ended up on the short end of the nominee stick in both instances. The Academy liked Captain Phillips. It earned nods for Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor. I’m not sure how you nominate the film and MISS Hanks, but I agree that his best scene was in the final minutes of the film. Perhaps Academy members didn’t make it that far before ejecting their screeners.

Redford is more of a puzzle. Viewed as Hollywood royalty, the actor turns in a mesmerizing performance as a doomed sailor in J.C. Chandor’s All is Lost. The picture was shut out of all categories. Yes, Redford has won an Oscar before, for directing Ordinary People. He also received an Honorary statue in 2002. Does the Academy simply feel that enough is enough? If so, that’s sad. The 71-year-old won’t have many more feature-lead opportunities. He deserved a nod.

The same could be said for Phoenix, Isaac and Jackman, though Prisoners never caught on with the Academy. At the same time, I’m not sure who you’d pull from the category. This year happened to be an embarrassment of riches in the performance category. (For a similarly stacked category, just look to Best Actress.)

At the very least, if Tom Hanks needs to drown his sorrows with a friend, he can call his also-shut-out Saving Mr. Banks co-star, Emma Thompson. Someone order them two spoonfuls of sugar. It might help these snubs go down.

Expectations of the Robert Redford vehicle A Walk In the Woods should be shifting with news that the director of the Sacha Baron Cohen prank-fueled comedies Borat and Bruno has signed on to helm, replacing Redford. Deadline reports Larry Charles will helm the road trip comedy that co-stars Redford and Nick Nolte as two estranged friends whose bond is put to its limit on an ill-advised hiking trip.

Regarding his hiring, Charles joked with the outlet:

Little Miss Sunshine's and former Star Wars: Episode VII screenwriter Michael Arndt adapted the script from Bull Bryson's best-selling memoir A Walk In The Woods: Rediscovering the Appalachian Trail. The movie will star Redford as the author, an American who after spending many years abroad in England decides to reacquaint himself with the glory of the United States by traversing the Appalachian Trail with an ornery old high school friend (Nolte). The pair pack up warm clothes, camping manuals, and plenty of food, yet are ill prepared for the emotional wear and tear they'll undergo on their 2,000 mile journey. Between the cast, which boasts two celebrated heavyweights, and the arduous nature of such a trek, you might suspect this to be a drama, but Bryson's book was celebrated for its comic telling of his hectic trip. Between this and the road trip element, Charles seems a sharp choice, as ridiculous road trips are clearly his forte.

After eight years of trying to get production on this project rolling, Redford, who is also a producer on A Walk in the Woods, was lined up to direct the adaptation himself - but this was after Richard Linklater (Before Midnight) had dropped the reins. Prior to that Barry Levinson had been considered. The Deadline piece gives no explanation as to why Redford has opted to hand over the director's chair rather than helming himself, but it may just be that he'd rather focus on acting rather than having to also consider every other aspect of the film's production.

A Walk in the Woods is expected to begin shooting in March of 2014.

In 2011 J.C. Chandor broke through in a major way with his Academy Award-nominated, star-studded directorial debut Margin Call. But for his follow-up this fast-rising writer-director attempted something even riskier than making sense of the 2008 financial crisis. He tossed away the use of dialogue, cast out to sea, and charted his entire film around one star, living screen legend Robert Redford. Using only a brief opening soliloquy and a smattering of exclamations, Chandor and Redford aimed to turn a 35-page script--made up mostly of stage directions--into a high-seas thriller about one man's struggle to survive when all seems lost.

Redford stars as this unnamed sailor who was out at sea, alone on his yacht, when disaster struck. Snoozing in his below deck cabin, this man, who I will call Captain, is awakened to the sound of rushing water as a free floating freight container tears a hole in the side of his boat. Rather than panic, our captain instantly and silently begins to assess the situation. His hi-tech gear is waterlogged, leaving him no way to easily navigate or contact help. To survive, he must rely on his stamina and wits.

No real background is given as to who this man is, where he came from, or why he is here 17,000 nautical miles from the Sumatra trade straits. Chandor instead hopes his hero's peril will be enough to bind audiences to his journey, a move even Alfonso Cuarón deemed too risky to commit to in the critically heralded Gravity. However, where Gravity could likely have jettisoned much of its backstory and still have been successful in snaring audience empathy, All Is Lost could have used some. Or else it could have taken a queue from that feature's dialogue, which carefully laid out the stakes of each sequence.

It's an exhausting cliché to have a character speak aloud to themselves to communicate what we the audience need to know. Savvy cinephiles may rightly roll their eyes at obvious exposition lines like "I am running out of air!" Or "If I can't pump out all this water, the boat will sink in less than an hour!" While there are more graceful ways to give us information like this, the key thing is that we are given it. Otherwise, the stakes of a situation can be unclear and thereby disengaging.

This was my main problem with All Is Lost. Faced with the possibility of his own death, Captain wordlessly begins working out a strategy to keep his head literally above water, but he keeps this plan to himself, never sharing it with those of us watching. Chandor takes for granted audiences may know exactly nothing about boating or open ocean sailing. As Captain never says anything along the lines of, “The first thing I have to do is plug up that hole!” or “If I don’t find fresh water I’ll die of dehydration before I can drown,” we are on our own to decipher what he is up to for large swaths of the narrative.

For me this was initially bewildering, then frustrating. Too often I was left wondering what this quiet protagonist was attempting to achieve. Without clear stakes on the situation's degradation, I got distracted and began to wonder why this nameless man was out here to begin with. By the film's final scene I had grown flat out flustered, feeling I knew Captain little better than I did when I caught him napping at the film's start. And with neither a clue who he is nor insight into the specifics of his conflict, I was rudderless for this journey, and left deeply bored by this supposed thriller. Redford is admirable in his commitment to such an unconventional film and such a physically demanding role. But without much character work to dig into, he is lost in Chandor’s ambitious but ultimately dead in the water endeavor. It was a noble experiment, but by my count it failed.

All Is Lost is screening at the New York Film Festival. For our complete New York Film Festival coverage, click here.

A devoted admirer of Bill Bryson's memoir A Walk in the Woods, Robert Redford has been trying to get a movie version made since 2005. However, the actor-director has run into repeated troubles getting the adaptation moving. But after nearly eight years, Screen Daily reports Redford is making it happen by taking on the reins of director, producer, and star himself.

This is a surprising announcement since it was only last month that Richard Linklater was lined up to direct the film, hot off of praise for Before Midnight. There's no word on why Linklater has since left the project, but that's about par for the course for this Walk in the Woods. Redford has been having repeated troubles getting the film going.

It was first mentioned as a possible reunion piece with his recurring co-star Paul Newman. Sadly, the Butch Cassidy to Redford's Sundance died in 2008. By then, Barry Levinson was in talks to helm. Then three years went by before the movie made headlines again. This time it was to announce Nick Nolte's involvement, but by then Levinson was out of the director's chair. Basically, it has been a long road for Redford, but with the film's distribution rights going on sale at Cannes, he seems closer than ever before to getting this movie made.

Adapted by celebrated Little Miss Sunshine scribe Michael Arndt, A Walk in the Woods will be a comedy that follows an aging author (Redford) seeking to reinvigorate himself and his career with a treacherous trek of the Appalachian Trail along with his out of shape, alcoholic childhood pal (Nolte). There's no news on when this comedy might kick into production.

Robert Redford helped create the Sundance Film Festival in in 1978, and this past January director David Lowery wowed the audiences of Park City, Utah with his feature Ain't Them Bodies Saints. So it totally makes sense that the two filmmakers would want to team up on a project together - and today they have apparently forged a deal.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Lowery is now set to both adapt and direct The Old Man and the Gun, a film based on a 2003 New Yorker article, with Redford attached to both star and produce. The article, written by David Grann, tells the story of a man named Forrest Tucker, a bank robber who spent almost his entire life either in prison or breaking out of it (including escapes from both Alcatraz and San Quentin). At the age of 78, while living in a retirement community with his wife, he once again tried to stick up a bank, only to once again get caught.

The trade notes that the movie will focus on one particular part of his life, but it's unspecified which part (if Redford's age is any indication, however, it will be fairly late in the game). The project has actually been making its way around Hollywood for some time now and at one point had Wolfgang Petersen attached to helm.

Redford's next film, The Company You Keep - which he also directed - was put into limited release last weekend, and it was recently announced that he will star alongside Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Lowery, meanwhile, was recently hired to direct a remake of the kid's movie Pete's Dragon.

Bill Bryson is one of America’s most interesting travel writers, able to weave together humor in with what it takes to be a human on Earth, instead of just listing locations and describing their histories. His frequent dabblings in science, history and language are just as interesting, but aren’t as easy to adapt. Robert Redford has been trying to get Bryson’s 1998 travel diary A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail produced for around eight years now, with directors like Chris Columbus and Barry Levinson coming into the fold and leaving without a lot of progress following those announcements.

Let’s hope we aren’t being dragged down an Appalachian Trail of false hopes here, as the L.A. Times reports cult director Richard Linklater has taken the reins on the independently financed project, which Redford is still set to produce. Linklater is still riding the buzz from the third film in his Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy Sunrise/Midnight series, which our own Katey took quite a liking to. Fingers crossed, Redford said Linklater could have the film in production as early as this fall.

A Walk in the Woods will feature Redford playing Bryson and Nick Nolte as Bryson’s recovering alcoholic friend Stephen Katz as the two men share various observations about the entirety of the world around them as they make the 2,100 mile trek. Considering the beginning of Linklater’s career was filled with existential dialogue-driven films, this seems like a perfect fit on all fronts.

Redford, whose last directorial efforts were the thrillers The Conspirator and the upcoming Weather Underground-inspired thriller The Company You Keep, doesn’t seem too angry to leave the high stakes dramas alone for a while.

“A Walk in the Woods is the kind of movie that has something to say but can also be really commercial because it’s just so funny,” says Redford. “It will be nice to get back to doing a comedy.” And it will be nice to see Nick Nolte play Nick Nolte in a movie again.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has featured more than its fair share of truly brilliant actors, from Jeff Bridges to Tommy Lee Jones, to Anthony Hopkins, but now another legend of the silver screen is seemingly ready to make his way into the comic book universe.

Deadline has learned that Robert Redford is now in talks to join the cast of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the upcoming sequel to 2011's The First Avenger which will be in theaters early next year. While there aren't too many details available - most notably a character name - the site says that should the Oscar winning performer sign on he will play a senior leadership role in S.H.I.E.L.D., meaning that he could have a very close role with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. What's more, it's possible that the part will expand into the larger movie universe and that Redford could end up appearing in other Marvel Studios films as well.

Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, the superhero sequel already has an impressively stacked cast, which, of course is headed by Chris Evans who will play Captain America for the third time. The film is also set to see the return of Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, and other newcomers include Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, Frank Grillo as Crossbones, and Anthony Mackie as The Falcon. The film will be in theaters on April 4, 2014 and production is expected to start up in the next few months.

Redford will next be seen in the thriller The Company You Keep - which he also directed.

The Sundance Channel has been featuring original programming from the more recent Iconoclasts to the veteran Anatomy of a Scene for more than a decade. However, it was only in 2010 that the Sundance Channel incorporated scripted programming into the network via Carlos. Slowly but surely, more scripted programming has become a staple on the network, and now the channel wants to spend more time focusing on drama projects. Five dramas are currently in development for the 2013-2014 season.

The only tie seemingly binding these projects is that they will all have a dramatic edge. Otherwise, the projects all feature very different plotlines and characters, producers and writers, and source material. Robert Redford, Sarah Condon, Stanley Tucci, Steve Buscemi, and Ira Glass are all around producing one series or another—but we’ll have to wait and see whether Valentines, Behind the Sun, The Descendants, T, or Death in the Modern Age have an easier time of finding an audience.

Until then, fans of the Sundance Channel can get a taste of Sundance’s original programming via Restless, a miniseries on the network starring Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery, Never Let Me Go’s Charlotte Rampling, and Captain America’s Hayley Atwell. Restless will air on December 7 and December 14 at 9 p.m. ET. Additionally, the Sundance channel has two other series slated for midseason, Rectify and Top of the Lake are set to appear. If none of that suits your fancy, you can check out more about the network’s upcoming fodder, below.

Ideally Robert Redford would have collaborated on a series of comedies with Diane Keaton back in the 1970s and ‘80s. But since we lack a proper time machine, we’ll have to settle on the Hollywood icons co-starring in The Most Wonderful Time, a holiday comedy that was recently acquired by Relativity Media, according to Deadline.

Redford and Keaton are eyeing this ensemble piece, which would be centered around multiple characters as they prepare for the busy holiday season. Steve Rogers -- whose credits include Stepmom and P.S. I Love You -- penned the screenplay, which will be directed by Jessie Nelson (I Am Sam).

The creative credits of the collaborators have me worried that Time will be maudlin and sappy, but it’s possible we’re going to get a snappy Love, Actually-type project, depending on what direction Rogers’ script chooses and which actors Nelson continues to bring in. The screenwriter actually compares the project to Amelie, with characters clinging to their pasts, which prevents them from living in the proper present.

Truthfully, I’d give Most Wonderful Time a shot just to see if Redford can bring a little Ordinary People to the proceedings, or if Keaton can contribute some of the warmth and humor that once lifted The Family Stone, Father of the Bride or her countless Woody Allen comedies. There’s likely to be more casting news on Wonderful Time as the production moves forward. If Relativity decides to hit theaters during the holidays, we might have to wait until November or December 2013. We’ll report more once we know for sure.

First-time filmmaker J.C. Chandor made a smashing debut at the Sundance Film Festival last year with his understated drama Margin Call, in part because of the expansive and extraordinary cast he'd pulled together for the ensemble piece. Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci, Zachary Quinto and Demi Moore all brought their considerable talents to the tale, and this along with Chandor's topical exploration of the 2008 financial crisis has drawn the newbie writer-director plenty of buzz and even an Oscar nod for Best Original screenplay. Unsurprisingly, Chandor also earned the notice of Sundance founder Robert Redford, who was rumored in December to be in talks to star in his sophomore effort, All is Lost.

Today Deadline confirms Redford is set to star in the gritty drama, which will center on one man's efforts to survive when left adrift at sea. There's no word yet on how this poor wretch—to be played by Redford—comes to such a terrifying predicament, but Deadline does offer a curious revelation, calling Redford "the sole castmember" of All is Lost. Does this mean Chandor is actually jumping from a fast-paced ensemble drama to an inevitably slow-paced, singularly set solo-piece? That's a pretty big leap to make, but with Redford on board it's sure to draw interest. The question will be if All is Lost can maintain it.

Production on All is Lost is set to begin this summer in Rosarita Beach, Mexico, at Baja Studios. Lionsgate is set to distribute the film domestically, though a release date has not yet been announced.

It wasn't even at Sundance, where she co-wrote and starred in two different hit films, that I realized Brit Marling was going to be a big deal. It was a few weeks later, when Marling popped up on Community as Britta's new "lesbian" friend, that she suddenly seemed to be everywhere. The actress who starred in Another Earth (recently released by Fox Searchlight) and Sound of My Voice (coming later this year) has a bewitching, serene quality about her that made her an instant It Girl at this year's Sundance-- and apparently her appeals have translated well beyond the indie sphere.

According to Vulture, no fewer than three huge names have been after Marling for their films in recent weeks. She apparently passes on a part in Magic Mike, Steven Soderbergh's "Channing Tatum stripper movie" set to star Alex Pettyfer as a younger version of Tatum. And now Robert Redford and Tom Cruise both want her for their respective films, Redford for his movie The Company You Keep in which he'll play a member of the Weather Underground unmasked after years on he lam, and Cruise for One Shot, the vehicle in which he'll play drifter-turned-investigator Jack Reacher. Christopher McQuarrie is the one actually directing that film, before you start entertaining images of Cruise himself knocking on Marling's door.

The reason she turned down Soderbergh is because of a commitment she's already made to her Sound of My Voice collaborator Zal Batmanglij, who is planning an October start for his follow-up The East, though Fox Searchlight still isn't sure they'll fund it unless a major star signs on. But both The Company You Keep and One Shot have September start dates that would also conflict with The East, so if she takes either of them, it might be a sign that The East is not moving forward as planned. Either way, it's interesting to see an actress who recently hit it so big with indie films trying to balance both commitments to her small-scale collaborators and what are probably some very alluring offers from Hollywood. The roles she'll play in any of those films probably won't be as fascinating and well-drawn as what she had to work with in Another Earth and Sound of My Voice, but the paychecks might give her and her collaborators bigger budgets to work with-- and in that case, everybody wins.

Robert Redford's new film The Conspirator aims to tell a section of American history that few of us know, the trial following Abraham Lincoln's assassination of the Confederate sympathizers who planned the attack (no, it wasn't just John Wilkes Booth acting alone). The only woman put on trial was Mary Surratt, who owned a boarding house where the conspirators met and whose son had already been convicted of participating in the plot; assigned by the government to defend her was Frederick Aiken, a veteran of the Union army who was understandably hesitant to defend the woman who may have helped kill his President.

The story of Aiken's defense, Surratt's likely innocence and the fraught political atmosphere of the time makes up The Conspirator, and James McAvoy, who stars as Aiken, admitted there was a lot of reading and research that went into the process of being prepared to make it. Not only was he playing a character who he says "represents America" at the time, but he was a Scotsman learning about history that even Americans don't learn; on top of it all he was acting in front of Redford, a legendary director as well as actor whom McAvoy says he was afraid would watch his leading man performance and say behind the camera, "I wouldn't do it like that."

I talked to McAvoy on the phone earlier this week about the research that went into starring in The Conspirator, how he got over his initial terror of Redford, and why this particular segment of history resonates with him. We touched very briefly on X-Men: First Class at the end, where it becomes pretty clear that his intimidation at Redford is nothing compared to what the comic book geeks will bring out when that movie hits theaters in June. Check out the interview below, and look for The Conspirator in theaters this Friday.

This movie tells part of American history that nobody knows, and given that you're not American it must have been even more of a lesson for you. Was there a lot of history to learn before going into this?

Yeah, a hell of a lot. I knew about Lincoln and I knew what happened, but I didn't know anything else really. It was actually an interesting film for me, especially rehearsals and the period when I was researching, because I got to read so much that I probably wouldn't have gone to myself.

Do you like that aspect of making historical movies, the research?

Yeah, I do. I like reading about the past. I'm definitely not a history buff, but I do read a bit of history now and again, and to do that for work is really exciting. To read about another country, about America. I don't read that much about American history. The history that I've read is weirdly more focused on the colonies and the kind of fall of the empire. It was really good to diversify.

There are all these clear parallels to modern times and the way we've handled rights during this more recent war, and Robert Redford seems very interested in those parallels. Was that part of the conversations you had during filming, or before filming?

It was impossible not to see the parallels, and how abundantly resonant it all is. I think this story would and probably should be told anyway whether there are parallels or not. We didn't really talk about the parallels that much on set, because it's so clear. You have to be blind to miss them. It became incumbent on us not to point them out too much, because it was already pointed out, you couldn't hide it. Otherwise it's ramming it down peoples' throats.

You focus on the character and the actions on the screen. We did some research and some etiquette and all that, but Bob is really into being streamlined and simple in our storytelling so that the story comes to the fore.

You say etiquette-- did you have to go to 19th century charm school?

Not quite so much, no. We formalized everything a little bit. We couldn't abbreviate words, everything was the long way around a sentence. It was actually kind of beautiful sometimes, and just a kind of stiffness. And most of the men in the film are lawyers and professionals, orators and men who have held positions of middle to high command in the army. They're used to speaking with authority and being obeyed.

You have to own the space in all those courtroom scenes, speaking in this way that you wouldn't normally.

It was really lovely, to get that massive space for the courtroom, which was an arsenal, a storeroom in an arsenal because they didn't want to take that trial anywhere outside of a fortified place. To be able to do it like a piece of theater, and Bob would generally let me run takes as long as I wanted, because that's kind of the way I like to do it, not break it up.

Is that improvisation, or just taking your time with the words?

If a scene is three pages long, quite often people break it up and do a page, say "cut" then move on to the next bit, they do it in cuts. I don't really like doing that, I like to go through it all in one organic run, then give notes afterward. A little bit more like theater. And he was really cool with that. I think he prefers working like that anyway.

Robert Redford has this storied acting career before moving on to being a director. Is there a difference working with someone who is both an actor and director?

No, not really. All directors are different anyway, and he was equally different from everybody else. I don't think him being an actor changed too much. He's got a lot of respect for actors, he loves actors. But then I've worked with a couple of directors who are in love with actors, and they've never been actors themselves. I'll tell you what is different is I've seen his work, I've see him be exceptionally good, and it is intimidating knowing that I'm playing the leading man when that would usually be his role, and he's probably sitting there going "I wouldn't do it like that." That is kind of intimidating.

I assume like all of us you grew up with him. Was there a moment going to the set that you were scared to death of him?

Yeah totally, I was for the first couple of days. But he kind of forces you to call him Bob while you're insisting on calling him "Mr. Redford," then eventually he just becomes Bob. The mystique and the terrors melts away and he becomes a human being. He sheds his exoskeleton and he becomes [in an American accent] Bob. He is a really pleasant guy.

The cast also includes all these actors who have been working for a long time. Was there a terror factor with any of them as well?

Robin Wright was brilliant. I was never scared, it was more like "Wow, she's been amazing." I was kind of happy t be in the room with her. She's a relays special actress, a truthful actress. Everyone should be truthful, but she's truthful to the nth degree. She's an open soul, when she's acting anyway.

There's this opening bit in The Conspirator on the battlefield, that's this really intense sequence. What was the experience of shooting something like that, it's just a few lines but you have to put yourself into the moment of this battle?

It was kind of strange, because it was half a day's filming, and suddenly we're both dying, then the rest of the film is talk talk talk. It was kind of weird, actually, it felt like a different movie that day. It put the film into perspective a little bit to show the state the country was in at that time. It was already raw and aching and wounded and desperately trying to heal itself, then Lincoln gets assassinated and it's just insult to injury and tearing open the wounds. In a lot of ways Frederick in this story represents America. He's on the crossroads, he doesn't know which way to go and he's tempted to give in to his reactionary urge for revenge and his struggle to take the higher ground and uphold the constitution and ultimately serve his country.

Do you feel pretty good playing a character who represents America like that?

Yeah, I think so. He's a good character, first and foremost, but also a really important and interesting time in American history. To be able to play somebody like that who personifies what the nation is going through, it's brilliant really.

It's no more pressure than playing Professor X I guess.

Ah, no, nothing's as intense as playing Professor X.

The nerds are ready! I think they're on your side, but they're tough.

I hope so. I dearly, dearly hope so.