Top quotes by Robert Redford

I don't know what your childhood was like, but we didn't have much money. We'd go to a movie on a Saturday night, then on Wednesday night my parents would walk us over to the library. It was such a big deal, to go in and get my own book. Votes: 25

He's meant to be that classic Homer, Ulysses, Hercules - a character who goes out or has some gift of some kind. He goes on a journey of discovery and part of that is falling into darkness - the temptations of life. Votes: 19

When you get older, you learn certain life lessons. You apply that wisdom, and suddenly you say, 'Hey, I've got a new lease on this thing. So let's go.' Votes: 18

I had just arrived in New York from California. I was nineteen years old and excited beyond belief. I was an art student and an acting student and behaved as most young actors did - meaning that there was no such thing as a good actor, 'cause you yourself hadn't shown up yet. Votes: 18

Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better. Votes: 18

I am a cynical optimist. Big opening weekends are like cotton candy. The films you will remember over time are the films that stick in the consciousness of the audience in a good way. Votes: 17

Well first of all it's a business and it's a tough business, and you have to have the strength to survive all the set backs all the failures that make this a mean business, that's getting meaner and meaner every year in my opinion. Votes: 13

The way you really find out about the performer's seriousness about the cause is how long they stay with it when the spotlight gets turned off. You see a lot of celebrities switch gears. They go from the environment to animal rights to obesity or whatever. That I don't have a lot of respect for. Votes: 13

Journalism has changed tremendously because of the democratization of information. Anybody can put something up on the Internet. It's harder and harder to find what the truth is. Votes: 11

I believe in mythology. I guess I share Joseph Campbell's notion that a culture or society without mythology would die, and we're close to that. Votes: 10

I have the freedom to take chances, to say no. I have the freedom to be who I really want to be, rather than have to conform to this or that just to stay alive. Votes: 10

Part of me is drawn to the nature of sadness because I think life is sad, and sadness is not something that should be avoided or denied. It's a fact of life, like contradictions are. Votes: 10

Sundance was started as a mechanism for the discovery of new voices and new talent. Votes: 10

Sport is a wonderful metaphor for life. Of all the sports that I played - skiing, baseball, fishing - there is no greater example than golf, because you're playing against yourself and nature. Votes: 9

I've always liked speed. I own a car that I shouldn't be talking about because I'm an environmentalist, but the 1955 Porsche Spyder 550 RS is the finest sports car ever made. Votes: 9

I was seen in earlier years by family members and people of authority as somebody wasting his time. I had trouble with the restrictions of conformity. It made me edgy. Votes: 9

I'm interested in that thing that happens where there's a breaking point for some people and not for others. You go through such hardship, things that are almost impossibly difficult, and there's no sign that it's going to get any better, and that's the point when people quit. But some don't. Votes: 9

It felt to me like America was always wanting to resolve things too quickly, without thinking through what the costs and consequences would be and how that affects an individual living in that world. Then as I grew up and went about my life, I think I just got more and more interested in that gray area where things are not so easily quantified. Votes: 8

I did not, like my children and people today, grow up with television as part of my life. Votes: 7

Be careful of success; it has a dark side. Votes: 6

People are becoming more and more aware of how the dominance of development and business is altering their lives and, in particular, their own heritage. Votes: 5

I believe the American people care a lot about the environment. Votes: 5

I'm fascinated by journalism. I put a keen eye, not a negative eye, on its role, particularly how it is changed by the times we're living in. Votes: 4

Generally speaking, I went through that. I came to a place where I realised what true value was. It wasn't money. Money is a means to achieving an end, but it's not the end. Votes: 3

The focus of entertainment is taking away from what the public needs as news. I think investigative journalism will always be important and always find its way, be it on the Internet or wherever. Votes: 3

There is nothing I can do about this stuff and I am pretty well ok with the fact that I think Sundance is not going to be stopped by it, because he Festival is itself now, and doesn't need me out there to talk about it like I did years ago. Votes: 3

All of the films that I've made are about the country I live in and grew up in... And I think if you're going to put an artist's eye to it, you're going to put a critical eye to it. I've always been interested in the gray area that exists between the black and white, or the red and blue, and that's where complexity lies. Votes: 3

I was never a good student. I had to be dragged into kindergarten. It was hard to sit and listen to somebody talk. I wanted to be out, educated by experience and adventure, and I didn't know how to express that. Votes: 3

I love making films more than anything, but it's tough. Votes: 3

It's an honor putting art above politics. Politics can be seductive in terms of things reductive to the soul. Votes: 2

I don't see myself as beautiful. I was a kid who was freckle-faced, and they used to call me 'hay head.' Votes: 0

If you want to slice into America, it's pretty red, white, and blue in terms of how it goes about things, but there's a gray area there, and I've always been interested in where things are complicated. Votes: 0

You can't completely control the sport - Tiger Woods comes close. The test is against yourself and nature's own way. I find golf a particularly good metaphor for this story. Votes: 0

I am passionate. I am political about my country, about what it is, how strong it is, how strong it remains. Votes: 0

I can't go into a bar anywhere without someone starting to play 'the Entertainer'. Votes: 0

The technology available for film-making now is incredible, but I am a big believer that it's all in the story. Votes: 0

I think documentary filmmakers need as much protection as possible under journalist's privilege. How else is the public to know what is going on? Votes: 0

Filmgoers are starved for new ideas, voices and visions. Votes: 0

I think that people should be paying a lot more attention to other issues, rather than who's the top 10 this or... who's the sexiest or the most beautiful. Votes: 0

Lastly get emotionally connected to your story so you can deliver it, you know, if you can't deliver the emotions to your script there's no point to your story. Story is the key. Votes: 0

Because, you know, you're in Utah. And because of its political conservatism, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Votes: 0

I work because I want to work. Work keeps me going. Votes: 0

Any time I saw people treated unfairly because of race, creed, whatever - it struck a nerve. Votes: 0

A lot of what acting is is paying attention. Votes: 0

He has the attention span of a lightning bolt. Votes: 0

God, I just love baseball. Votes: 0

In fact you've got your hands tied behind your back when somebody chooses to take a low road in to you, there is nothing you can do about it, and so you just live with it and move on. Votes: 0

If you stay in Beverly Hills too long, you become a Mercedes. Votes: 0

Once you leave Sundance suddenly you run into bulldozers and concrete and cranes, and all that heritage that the Mormon culture used to be so proud of is turned into out of control develpoment. Votes: 0

Golf has become so manicured, so perfect. The greens, the fairways. I don't like golf carts. I like walking. Some clubs won't let you in unless you have a caddy and a cart. Votes: 0

I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend? Votes: 0

Between 18 and 19 years old [in the 1950s] I came to Paris. I studied art. And that experience really did change my life. I was living hand to mouth. I walked everywhere. I thought, this city is incredible but you really have to experience it by walking it. Votes: 0

I can't think of anything outside of having the gift yourself and creating yourself. I can't think of the next better thing to do than being able to put it back. Creative expression, I think, is vital to the success of any society.... A society without art will die. Votes: 0

So what if my face is falling apart? I don't give a damn. Anyway, it gives me character. Everyone thinks that they can stay pretty forever but some come out of Beverly Hills surgeries looking scary to me. Votes: 0

Ideas aren't real estate, they grow collectively and that knocks out the egotistical loneliness that generally infects art. Votes: 0

Now is not the time to repudiate environmental balance, but rather it is the time for all of us to work together - politician, advocate, rancher, scientist, and citizen. Only by doing this will the United States move forward and be a leader in environmental issues and ensure sustainability to our delicate ecosystem. Votes: 0

I'm not a facelift person. I am what I am. Votes: 0

I didn't want the attacks to affect me. I don't believe you should be led by fear. Votes: 0

It's hard to pay attention these days because of multiple affects of the information technology nowadays. You tend to develop a faster, speedier mind, but I don't think it's necessarily broader or smarter. Votes: 0

I don't think about when it's going to stop and what you do before it stops. You just keep moving. Votes: 0

The way I deal with arthritis is to keep moving. As long as I can play hard tennis, as long as I can ski or ride a horse - all kinds of things can come your way. As long as you can, do it. People who retire die. My dad retired and died shortly after. Just keep moving. Votes: 0

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. Votes: 0

Once the festival achieved a certain level of notoriety, then people began to come here with agendas that were not the same as ours. We can't do anything about that. We can't control that. Votes: 0

The big moment for me was making 'All the President's Men'. It was not about Watergate or President Nixon. I wanted to focus on something I thought not many people knew about: How do journalists get the story? Votes: 0

Storytellers broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us. Votes: 0

For me, personally, skiing holds everything. I used to race cars, but skiing is a step beyond that. It removes the machinery and puts you one step closer to the elements. And it's a complete physical expression of freedom. Votes: 0

We've poisoned the air, the water, and the land. In our passion to control nature, things have gone out of control. Progress from now on has to mean something different. We're running out of resources and we are running out of time. Votes: 0

When I grew up, shame was used as a tool for check and balance. If you stood a chance of hearing someone say, "Shame on you," or "You should be ashamed of yourself," you thought twice. It doesn't seem to be a factor today. Votes: 0

Never revisit the past, that's dangerous. You know, move on. Votes: 0

When people start thinking of you more as a persona, they are less inclined to allow you to move into different areas. Sometimes they're wrong. Sometimes they're just very stereotypical or restricted in their own thinking of what they'll allow you to do. Votes: 0

Other people have analysis. I have Utah. Votes: 0

Celebrity is a big part of the American social system. I'm certainly grateful for what it's done for me, but I do think that celebrity is overdone in our society. I think it's got a dangerous side to it. Votes: 0

Ambiguity is something that I really respond to. I like the complexity of it. Votes: 0

When I was a kid, nobody told me I was good-looking. I wish they had. I would've had a better time. Votes: 0

'Butch Cassidy' was the only film I ever enjoyed making. Votes: 0

I think a lot of people thought my career started with Butch Cassidy. Votes: 0

I've been able to carve out spaces for myself. At Sundance, I'm in the mountains - my property is private. I get on a horse and ride for three, four hours. Sometimes five. I get lost. But when I'm in, I'm in. Votes: 0

I have a lot of land. I bought it because I had a very strong feeling. I was in my early twenties, and I had grown up in Los Angeles and had seen that city slide off into the sea from the city I knew as a little kid. It lost its identity - suddenly there was cement everywhere and the green was gone and the air was bad - and I wanted out. Votes: 0

I never had a problem with my face on screen. I thought it is what it is, and I was turned off by actors and actresses that tried to keep themselves young. Votes: 0

I'm not a left-wing person. I'm just a person interested in the sustainability of my country. Votes: 0

I have no regrets, because I've done everything I could to the best of my ability. Votes: 0

It's good to say, 'Look, I can't always be right, but my gut tells me this' - and then you confirm with your gut. Votes: 0

As an actor and as a person you come together with being in familiar territory although that has not been my whole life. That's been a part of it. I think a lot of people associate me with the west because of Sundance. Votes: 0

Films don't always tell a story; some films can achieve effect just by being razzle-dazzle or rock n' roll. That's part of the fare that's out there. And that's okay. For me, I place more value on a story. Votes: 0

Usually I like to improvise. Sometimes, depending on the nature of the piece, I like to improvise because I think it brings certain freshness and a reality to it, as long as it doesn't go too far out of the box. Votes: 0

I remember my dad came from Ireland and Scotland, and so he carried with him the fear of poverty. So when I wanted to break loose, it kind of made him very nervous. Votes: 0

...if our humanity - our soul as a society - is overtaken by the materiel and cosmetic, there will be no hope of peace. Votes: 0

[Making Ordinary People] was a wonderful experience. Tremendous. I haven't seen it since. It belongs to the public now; it no longer really belongs to me. Votes: 0

All my life I've been dogged by guilt because I feel there is this difference between the way I look and the way I feel inside. Votes: 0

As a director, I wouldn't like me as an actor. As an actor, I wouldn't like me as a director. Votes: 0

As an artist I just can't think of a better life than the one I've been blessed with. It's just a great ride. Votes: 0

Criticism challenges current findings. The effort to defend one's position can lead to deeper insights or consideration of options previously not considered. Votes: 0

Curiously, directing my own films have made me more tolerant and patient. I've always been an extremely impatient actor. Waiting around drove me nuts. But now I'm much more sympathetic to a director's struggle. Votes: 0

Essentially, my kids grew up with the emphasis on the environment because I became a political activist in about 1969 and it was not an easy time. Those were the days when the oil and gas companies pretty much controlled the show and anybody speaking about solar energy or carbon energy would get smashed down as being a radical or a tree-hugger or what have you. So I was out there feeling very often alone and my kids would get that. Votes: 0

From my experience in my country, America over and over again takes itself right to the brink, it puts one foot over but it never goes over. It wakes up at the last minute and says woah, and then pulls back. Votes: 0

Have a strong vision about the story you want to tell and how you want to tell it. Votes: 0

Hollywood was not a place I dreamed of getting to. I never could take seriously the obsession people have about being a celebrity or getting to Hollywood - I was born next door. Votes: 0

I can't watch completed films - my wife makes fun of me. Votes: 0

I didn't think about politics until I came to Europe. Votes: 0

I don't remember spending any time with anybody on set. I don't spend a lot of time with people. Votes: 0

I don't think you can ever return, really. Votes: 0

I guess some mistakes you never stop paying for. Votes: 0

I guess the optimistic thing is that those people in Congress who are climate deniers, I think their time has run out. Votes: 0

I have a very low regard for cynics. I think it's the beginning of dying. Votes: 0

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?" Votes: 0

I look at going to Hollywood as going behind enemy lines. You parachute in, set up the explosion, then fly out before it goes off. Votes: 0

I never had to worry about divestment because I never invested. Votes: 0

I started as an actor in the theater playing a lot of character parts, and suddenly, I found myself in this place where it felt like I was getting locked into a kind of a stereotype, and it did bother me. Votes: 0

I think "quiet" sometime is a greater power than noise. It can harbor and reveal feelings that can't be expressed. Votes: 0

I think Hollywood... well, there is no Hollywood anymore so let's just call it the mainstream since the business is no longer Hollywood producing its own films and then distributing, they just distribute. Votes: 0

I think independent filmmakers, documentary filmmakers - they are journalists. Votes: 0

I think there was something that made us not pay attention to climate change. Something that was up there. There was a saying when we were trying to pay attention to the environment that people used this phrase NIMBY - not in my back yard. People were saying, 'I don't care, it is not in my back yard.' But now it's in everyone's back yard. Votes: 0

I think you just keep going. I've been that way, my whole life. Votes: 0

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. Votes: 0

I was blessed to look well and retain a youthful look but that was just genes. I was disappointed when critics started pointing out my wrinkles. I thought, you mean this is what it's gonna be about now? I'm not going to be permitted to be human? Votes: 0

I was producing things I was acting in, but I had never directed and I felt it was time. I was looking for a piece of material that was about behavior and feelings. When I read Judith Guest's book, I thought, This is it. Votes: 0

I was raised in California during the Second World War and into the '50s and everything was fine, everything was great. The sun always shone, everybody looked healthy and wore ties and smoked in restaurants, and there were cars for everybody - except us, because I came from a lower class neighbourhood. But [in France] I realised there was a different point of view, so when I came back to America a year and a half later I was much more focused on my own country culturally and politically. Votes: 0

I would see my hometown, Los Angeles, change. Green space and orange groves gave way to cement, freeways flooded with traffic, and air pollution, all in the name of "progress." I felt like I was losing my home. It had a profound effect on me, and I realized just how important nature was to my spirit, my soul, my point of view. Votes: 0

I'd been influenced by reading books on art and colonies that existed in Paris and places like that and so when I came to Europe I came to France and I had very little money, and I had to live low and stayed in a bohemian section of Paris with a lot of other students, who were from medical school, science school and art school. We all lived in a kind of communal way and I was challenged politically, because I didn't have a clue and they would ask me questions about the Algerian War, which was very big in France in the late '50s. Votes: 0

If we want energy security, then we have to reduce our appetite for fossil fuels. There's no other way. Other issues may crowd the headlines, but this is our fundamental challenge. Big challenges require bold action and leadership. To get the United States off fossil fuels in this uneasy national climate of terrorism and conflict in the Persian Gulf, we must treat the issue with the urgence and persistance it deserves. The measure of our success will be the condition on which we leave the world for the next generation. Votes: 0

If you can do more, you should. Votes: 0

If you could ever do a project that really has magic in it, and justifiable magic, you should do it. Votes: 0

I'm always moving forward and trying new things. Votes: 0

I'm gonna die but I haven't thought about retiring. Votes: 0

I'm not good at compromise. Votes: 0

I'm not interested in a film about golf but I am interested in golf as a metaphor. Votes: 0

I'm not much interested in sport just as sport. I wouldn't be interested in making a golf film or baseball or fishing film. Votes: 0

I'm not that interested in someone that one-dimensional, but I'm interested in playing somebody that's more complicated. Votes: 0

In 1973, I was shown a graphic of how dependent the United States was on nonrenewable resources like oil and coal and that little was being done to change that. It seemed irrefutable that we needed a change in direction or we'd be paying a huge price down the road. That's when I made a commitment to become a political activist. Votes: 0

In fact, I think more broadly about what an audience requires, but I want an audience to be fascinated by the process of finding an answer, or finding out there isn't one. Votes: 0

It seems everyone in Hollywood is getting pinched, lifted and pulled. I'm looking weird because I'm not. Votes: 0

It's a creative enterprise, just like art, just like painting, music. Creating something can be done in different categories, so to do it in film is just another expression, which is great. Because it translates so well because so many people see the work, if you're lucky. Votes: 0

It's all about greed and money and it's the driving force in Hollywood. Votes: 0

I've always wanted to try new things because it's exciting and it keeps you active and alive. Votes: 0

Let's get something straight - I don't see myself as beautiful. Votes: 0

Like all actors, I was open to taking on new challenges, including those outside my comfort zone. Votes: 0

Not taking a risk is a risk. That's how I see it. Votes: 0

People are finally able to look around and say, 'I can see the drought, I can see the rising sea levels, I can see the crops dying. Okay, now I get it.' It is finally beginning to sink in that there has been a lot of damage. Votes: 0

People have been so busy relating to how I look, it's a miracle I didn't become a self-conscious blob of protoplasm. Votes: 0

Problems can become opportunities when the right people come together. Votes: 0

Radio, newspapers, they were normal parts of my life. In those days, you had to go somewhere to watch television and leave something to see it. Votes: 0

San Franciscans are very proud of their city, and they should be. It's the most beautiful place in the world. Votes: 0

Sometimes the failures can be exciting and fun. It's just a step on the road, it's not the end of something. Votes: 0

Storytelling is important. Part of human continuity. Votes: 0

Storytelling was a way to see the world bigger than the one you were looking at, and that had great appeal for me. I think since that was part of my upbringing, it became part of me, and I wanted to pass it along to my kids and my grandkids. Votes: 0

Success is a tricky mistress. It's nice to have but it's a tricky thing to embrace. Votes: 0

Sundance started with two acres back in 1963 that I bought from a sheepherder for $500. What has happened, I could see development starting to descend on the state of Utah. I thought I had better acquire more land to protect it. I thought that would probably be my legacy, to protect land. Votes: 0

Television tells us only the things it wants to. It still feeds us heroes, it still offers villains. And even though we know better than to always trust it, we still watch. Votes: 0

The art of making a film and its content are far more interesting to me than the result or impact. Votes: 0

The country is so wounded, bleeding, and hurt right now. The country needs to be healed-it's not going to be healed from the top, politically. How are we going to heal? Art is the healing force. Votes: 0

The important thing about a sport is the people who devote their lives to it. Votes: 0

The mainstream usually follows trends, it seldom sets them except for a few films. Votes: 0

The measure of our success will be the condition on which we leave the world for the next generation. Votes: 0

The meter is ticking [particularly in the face of climate change], so you've got to get to as much as you can as fast as you can. I grew up with 'This Land Is Our Land,' and public land doesn't belong to that administration or this one. We want our kids to grow up with real natural places, not just photos of them. Votes: 0

The tough thing about adulthood is it starts before you even know it starts. Votes: 0

The world around us is in a sea change, and I think the glory of art is that it cannot only survive change, it can lead it Votes: 0

There's a lot of hyperventilation that takes off before the [Sundance Film] Festival, a lot of buzz. Every year we hear, this is going to be the new this, this is going to be the new that, and it never is. The buzz just doesn't mean anything. I'm glad it doesn't. Because I think the festival shows that what succeeds is content. Votes: 0

There's a lot of money to be made by strip-mining and drilling the dirtiest oil on the planet. But why should the rest of us pay the price? Votes: 0

Times change; Hollywood is not the same as it was when I first entered the business. It felt to me like it was starting to narrow down and centralize itself around what would... make money. Votes: 0

Utah is changing. There are good people in Utah. More people want to change the discriminatory laws than want to keep them. People should be able to marry whomever they love. Votes: 0

Water is the sleeping giant issue of the 21st century and we all need to wake up about it. Votes: 0

We program the festival, after 20 years, exactly the way we did on the first day. Votes: 0

What I would do is when I was younger I would draw in a sketch book something that happened in my life and then write a little something on the side about what happened or what the story. Votes: 0

What is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth? Votes: 0

What we are living with is the result of human choices and it can be changed by making better, wiser choices. Votes: 0

When did Noah build the boat? - Before the rain. Votes: 0

When I became successful, I put up a caution. I didn't think it was fair to have the shadow of that kind of success thrown on my family. And I was cautious about being taken by things that could destroy you. Votes: 0

When I started, I was an artist; I wanted to be an artist. I became an actor almost by accident. I acted for fifteen years and tried to produce. I looked for stories that were the story beneath the story that you thought you knew, like 'The Candidate'. Votes: 0

When I was a kid I was not a good student. I went to the University of Colarado, my grades were poor. I was asked to leave after a year. What I really wanted to do was to be an artist. Votes: 0

When I was about fifteen, I went to work at Yosemite National Park. It changed me forever. Nature had carved its own sculpture, and I was part of it, not the other way around. Votes: 0

Whenever there's chaos, there's ambiguity, and where there's ambiguity, there's fear. And fear gets manipulated. Votes: 0

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. Votes: 0

You work like hell to get yourself ahead in the business. You could go anywhere before, and suddenly you can't go anywhere. It's like being a cartoon character. Votes: 0

You're never going to be the same person you are right now. Votes: 0