Back in 2014 I was lucky enough to be in the same room as Robert Redford, and I wrote about the experience, it was the only time in my life I have literally lost my mind to fandom. Today I awoke to the news he had died, aged 89 and surrounded by loved ones in Utah.
I am profoundly saddened by this news - not because I knew him or was a close loved one, but because he was an icon of a time, and marked history with his art that we attached to our own life moments.
The Way We Were is one of those epics that embody the hopes and dreams of those that are misfits but brilliant and normally overlooked by the world, and we wait for someone bright enough to notice we are worth the trouble, and Robert Redford's character Hubbell was that for me.
Out of Africa was another seminal moment in time. Meryl Streep was the hero but was only met in strength again by Robert Redford's characterisation of her lover Denys. She wrote today "rest in peace my lovely friend."
Then the inspiring "All the Presidents Men", celebrating the journalists that revealed the watergate scandal that toppled a president
These characters, the quiet strength, the ability to look past the obvious to find something kind, deep and real, were who Robert Redford was for me. A giant, that understood with grace his power and didn't abuse it, but used it to make the world a better place.
He is a counter point to the celebrity of late, all glitz, hubris and narcissism. A good human first and foremost, with looks and talent that made him a star. Lucky for sure, but his response to that luck is what made me cry this morning, for a man I almost met once, for a man that shaped a generation, we will miss you.
Thank you for what you gave us Hubbell, Denys, Sundance and Bob.
