Robert Redford died at age 89 at his home in Utah on Tuesday.
The silver screen legend had many close bonds in Hollywood with one of his strongest being with Brad Pitt, 61.
Redford was a mentor to Pitt – who looked a lot like the icon – when they first met in the early 1990s.
Redford was directing Pitt in his first big blockbuster, the soulful A River Runs Through It, when they first broke bread.
Pitt played the rebellious yet charming Paul Maclean, a journalist and gambler who lived life on the edge in rural Montana as he fly-fished with his more sensible brother.
Redford hand-picked Pitt for the lead role in the 1992 biographical film and was quoted as saying that Pitt reminded him of himself.
Redford recognized Pitt’s potential for stardom from their first meeting, stating, ‘Brad had that. When he first came in, he had a look about him. I said, “Yeah, you’re looking at it. He’s going to succeed.”‘
Robert Redford was a mentor to a young Brad Pitt – who looked a lot like the Hollywood icon – when they first met in the early 1990s
Redford was directing Pitt in his first big blockbuster, the soulful A River Runs Through It, when they first broke bread
Redford emphasized that Pitt’s success was due to more than his good looks, highlighting his ‘special, smart, talented, hard-worker and humble’ qualities.
They also worked together on the thriller Spy Game from director Tony Scott which came out in 2001.
In Spy Game, Redford stars as CIA operative Nathan Muir, who is on the brink of retirement from the field, when he learns his protégé Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been arrested in China on a charge of espionage.
No stranger to the machinations of the CIA’s top echelon, Muir hones all his skills and irreverent manner in order to find a way to free Bishop.
Seeing the two together on screen was like seeing a father/son relationship as they looked so much alike.
And they stayed close throughout the years as Pitt would appear at Redford’s famed Sundance Film Festival.
They also worked together on the thriller Spy Game from director Tony Scott which came out in 2001
The stars are seen during filming in the center of Budapest in 2000 on Spy Game
Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Redford during 2002 Sundance Film Festival in Utah
Pitt has credited Redford with helping shape his acting approach and career, seeing Redford’s work as a mentorship.
At times it seems as if Pitt has used Redford’s long and brilliant career as a roadmap.
Like Redford, Pitt has gone on to produce a number of films such as The Lost City and Bullet Train.
Pitt also seems to have at times copied Redford’s fashion sense with 70s garb and oversized sunglasses and hairstyle with longer, disheveled blonde locks.
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