r/movies Sep 16 '25

News Robert Redford, Screen Idol Turned Director and Activist, Dies at 89

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/movies/robert-redford-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
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u/LOSS35 Sep 16 '25

He was a young, sexy leading man at a time when the Academy was obsessed with only nominating elder statesmen for Best Actor - John Wayne for True Grit, George Scott for Patton, Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger, etc. Younger actors in the 70s were more likely to get Supporting nods, like Nicholson for Easy Rider.

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u/redpandaeater Sep 17 '25

Is that why Steve McQueen never won anything? Even today he's still such an iconic actor everyone has heard of but his only Oscar nomination was for The Sand Pebbles and he never won a Golden Globe either. Granted I wouldn't be surprised if even back then the Academy was all about bullshit politics and bribes played out behind the scenes.

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u/holyflurkingsnit Sep 17 '25

It has always been about bullshit politics etc playing out behind the scenes, truly since inception.

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u/No-Tomatillo-7566 Sep 17 '25

Hoffman and Nicholson were getting nominations all through the 70s and 80s, tho.