Robert Redford: A selection of iconic film roles

The title of this 1984 sports drama, "The Natural," is a label that not only applies to the character portrayed in the film — a baseball player with a great "natural" talent — but also to Redford himself due to his inherent charisma and versatility as an actor. Redford has died at the age of 89.

Despite his charisma, Robert Redford still had difficulty getting started as an actor in the mid-1960s. Following minor Broadway roles in New York City, he appeared in different television series, including "Maverick" in 1960, and then starred opposite Natalie Wood in "This Property is Condemned" (photo, 1966), which marked his silver screen breakthrough.

He was teamed for the first time with Jane Fonda in "The Chase" in 1966. A year later, Redford and Fonda co-starred again in the 1967 romantic comedy "Barefoot in the Park," based on a Neil Simon play, in which they portray a young newlywed couple whose extremely passionate relationship descends into comical hostility.

Starring alongside Paul Newman, Redford's iconic role as the Sundance Kid in the 1969 Western "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" helped launch the actor into superstardom. In honor of the character, Redford later founded the Sundance Institute and the annual Sundance Film Festival, dedicated to supporting independent filmmakers.

Westerns remained one of Redford's favorite film genres. In the box office hit "Jeremiah Johnson," he portrayed a Mexican War veteran who takes up the life of a mountain man in the Rocky Mountains. The actor insisted on filming it in Utah's cold and rugged landscape to make it feel more authentic; he later described it as one of his favorite films due to the character's resilience.

In the political satire "The Candidate," Redford plays a US presidential candidate who, at first, is not given the slightest chance. The film proved to be ahead of its time by examining the machinations involved in political campaigns and portraying how an idealistic candidate can be corrupted into becoming a media-driven opportunist.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford reunited in the 1973 caper film, "The Sting," portraying two professional fraudsters aiming to con a mob boss. Inspired by a true story, the movie became a huge box office hit and won seven Oscars, cementing Redford's reputation as a major Hollywood star.

In the 1973 romantic drama "The Way We Were," directed by Sydney Pollack, Barbra Streisand portrays a staunch Marxist Jew with strong anti-war opinions, while Redford is a carefree young Protestant without any particular political stance. Their paths cross on different occasions throughout the 20th century. It is considered one of the greatest love stories in American cinema.

Another one of his signature roles came with "The Great Gatsby," based on the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Despite mixed reviews, Redford perfectly embodied the charm and melancholy of enigmatic millionaire Jay Gatsby.

Another classic is the political thriller about the Watergate scandal that brought down US President Richard Nixon. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman portray the two journalists, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, who investigated the case for The Washington Post. Based on the journalists' own nonfiction book, the film combined politics and entertainment in a groundbreaking way.

The comedy-drama directed by Sydney Pollack brought Redford and Jane Fonda back together in a movie. It tells the story of a former rodeo champion who is hired to promote a breakfast cereal brand on an electric-lit horse; he, however, decides to run away with the horse when he finds out it has been abused. Redford was a skilled rider who performed his own stunts.

It was also in one of Pollack's films, "Out of Africa," that Robert Redford delivered another one of his most memorable performances. His chemistry with co-star Meryl Streep was a key element of the film's appeal. Set in colonial-era Kenya, the epic romantic drama won seven Oscars.

In the 1993 box office hit, Redford is a billionaire who offers a million dollars to a stranger (Woody Harrelson) to spend a night with his wife (Demi Moore), testing the couple's relationship. The film's controversial premise sparked strong reactions; Redford's signature charm and charisma was praised for adding nuance to a character that could have been seen as purely villainous.

From the 1990s onwards, screen appearances by Redford became increasingly rare, as the actor got more involved in making his own movies; he ultimately directed nine films, including "A River Runs Through It" (1992) and "The Horse Whisperer" (1998), which starred a young Scarlett Johansson. In 2001, he starred opposite Brad Pitt in the political thriller "Spy Game."

His last films roles include a legendary solo performance in the survival drama "All is Lost" (2013), as well as a portrayal of the last controversial days of US news anchor Dan Rather in "Truth." His final on-screen appearance came with a cameo role as Alexander Pierce in "Avengers: Endgame" in 2019.