Robert Redford

Robert Redford: (on fear) I'm not afraid of the dark. I'm not afraid of the unknown. I'm attracted to the unknown. I don't want to be a prisoner of what is known, so I like not knowing certain things. I like mystery.

Robert Redford: (on corporate-owned distributors/producers investing in independent films) It certainly presents a hazard. Whereas money is a means to an end for a filmmaker, to the corporate mind money is the end. Right now, I think independent film is very confused, because there's excess pressure in the marketplace for entertainment to pay off.

Robert Redford: (on the Sundance Film Festival) One year black filmmakers emerged, then there was a rash of young filmmakers in their twenties. Last year women filmmakers were particularly strong. What I've always liked about the festival is that it's eclectic in nature: No two years are identical.

Robert Redford: You have to go someplace and get in touch with it. You can't put those kinds of words on the screen without some kind of reference. It would be impossible. It wouldn't make any sense. I know that territory, by association, not necessarily personal experience, but by association.

Robert Redford: I am perhaps the best looking grandfather around, apart from Marlon Brando of course!

Robert Redford: I learned early that you'd better know what you're talking about. You'd better realize that certain issues are going to be so hot - no matter what reason, what logic you apply to it - you're going to be met with an opposition just because their viewpoint is different, and there's no way they're going to accept your reasoning. Furthermore, they're going to attack you because you will be portrayed as not being credible: "You're an actor. What do you know?"

Robert Redford: You should prepare when you go to a public event to be public. That's when I will sign autographs. But not when you're going about your normal business.

Robert Redford: I have to be human, of course, to be flattered by attentions from the public. How could you not be? But it gets pretty intense when people are going after your clothes, and mobbing you in the streets, and you have to hide. That's kind of amusing, and kind of mind-boggling when it happens - you kind of go with it and have fun with it. Then it gets tiring, and then it gets worse when you realize you're being robbed of a vital part of your life, which is your privacy. And you also know what's coming your way is artificial, because those people are reacting to something they saw on the screen, not you as a person.

Robert Redford: I used to feel competitive about a career, but now the only things I'm really passionate about are my family, the environment and Indians. (quoted by Robert Osbourne, Academy Awards 1974 Oscar Annual)

Robert Redford: As a director, I wouldn't like me as an actor. As an actor, I wouldn't like me as a director.