If you hear the identify Robert Redford, your thoughts in all probability goes straight to the traditional picture: golden-haired, impossibly cool, the main man of the New Hollywood period. You consider The Approach We Have been, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Child, or perhaps his Oscar-winning directorial flip with Extraordinary Individuals. Mainly: status, gravitas, and charisma in spades.
However right here’s the factor Hollywood historical past books usually skip over: Robert Redford has some deeply nerdy movies in his again catalog. We’re speaking hacker thrillers, eco-activist cowboy flicks, and sure — his surprising flip within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Redford wasn’t simply the golden boy of ’70s cinema; he was additionally, at instances, a geek’s geek. The form of actor who may anchor a spy thriller that also will get cited by conspiracy nerds on Reddit, or make hikers rethink their stamina on the Appalachian Path.
Sadly, it was introduced that the actor handed away on the age of 89 years outdated. We need to honor his cinematic legacy by celebrating the Redford movies that permit our nerd flags fly. Listed below are six of the nerdiest Robert Redford motion pictures to rewatch, reappraise, and completely geek out over.
1. Sneakers (1992)
If there’s a single movie that earns Redford lifetime geek cred, it’s Sneakers. Give it some thought: a hacker heist film earlier than hacking was cool, starring a nerd dream crew of Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn, and Redford himself as Martin Bishop, the reluctant chief of this codebreaking crew.
The film is equal elements comedy, caper, and cyber-thriller, the place the group stumbles onto a bit of tech able to cracking any encryption on the earth. That’s proper—earlier than you have been defending your Netflix password with two-factor authentication, Redford was out right here preventing off authorities companies, mobsters, and thriller males over a magical black field. Tech nerds nonetheless cite this movie for its prescient have a look at digital surveillance, and fandom nerds adore it for its pure ensemble power. Sneakers is principally the Dungeons & Dragons celebration setup of ’90s cinema, and Redford is your sensible however weary dungeon grasp.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Now, let’s be trustworthy: none of us had “Robert Redford joins the MCU” on our bingo card. And but, there he was in The Winter Soldier, suited up as Alexander Pierce, a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. official with sinister ties.
Marvel followers misplaced it. As a result of this wasn’t simply stunt casting—it was a direct nod to Redford’s legacy in ’70s political thrillers like Three Days of the Condor. By pulling him into a contemporary comedian guide conspiracy, Marvel created a cinematic Easter egg that rewarded movie buffs and superhero nerds alike. Redford performs the function together with his signature gravitas, elevating a storyline about Hydra infiltration into one thing that felt ripped from a paranoid Chilly Warfare traditional.
For nerds, this was like seeing your favourite comedian artist present as much as ink a superhero crossover occasion. It’s iconic, it’s meta, and it made Robert Redford part of Marvel fandom historical past ceaselessly.
(Whispers: it additionally holds up as among the finest Marvel motion pictures so far)
3. The Sizzling Rock (1972)
Typically the nerdiest factor you are able to do is fail — spectacularly. Enter The Sizzling Rock, a criminally underrated heist comedy the place Redford performs Dortmunder, a thief who can not catch a break. Each try and steal a beneficial diamond goes hilariously fallacious, and the caper retains resetting like a comic book guide facet quest.
Based mostly on Donald E. Westlake’s novel, the movie has cult attraction for followers of quirky crime tales and absurdist humor. If Sneakers was Redford’s hacker cred, The Sizzling Rock is his misfit gamer cred, the film equal of taking part in a marketing campaign the place your cube rolls preserve touchdown on ones. Nerd comedy gold.
4. The Electrical Horseman (1979)
Redford plus a glowing, LED-lit rodeo outfit? That’s nerdy sufficient. However The Electrical Horseman isn’t simply in regards to the flashy costume; it’s about eco-activism, anti-corporate rebel, and one man liberating a horse from the clutches of capitalism. Sure, actually.
The movie stars Redford as a washed-up rodeo cowboy who steals a company mascot horse to reserve it from exploitation, sparking a highway journey journey with Jane Fonda because the reporter protecting his stunt. Eco-nerds, sustainability geeks, and anybody who’s ever side-eyed a company sponsorship will discover a lot to root for right here. Consider it as cowboy cosplay meets environmental manifesto, with Redford using off into the evening to show that even a neon cowboy has morals.
5. Three Days of the Condor (1975)
For conspiracy nerds, this movie is the holy grail. Redford stars as Joe Turner, a CIA researcher whose complete workplace is assassinated whereas he’s out grabbing lunch. Abruptly, the bookish analyst has to outwit hitmen, uncover authorities secrets and techniques, and determine who he can belief. Spoiler: virtually nobody.
This movie is a cornerstone of paranoid thrillers, cited in every single place from assume items about Watergate to popular culture references in exhibits like Mr. Robotic. It’s the Redford movie that also will get name-checked on web boards at any time when a brand new authorities scandal breaks. Mainly: if you happen to’re the kind of nerd who can’t resist connecting dots on a corkboard with purple string, Condor is your cinematic bible.
6. A Stroll within the Woods (2015)
Late in his profession, Redford took a detour into outdoorsy nerd territory with A Stroll within the Woods. Based mostly on Invoice Bryson’s beloved journey memoir, the movie follows two outdated mates, Redford and Nick Nolte, making an attempt to hike the Appalachian Path.
Now, is it glamorous? No. Do they battle? Consistently. However that’s precisely what makes it resonate with mountaineering nerds, literature nerds, and anybody who’s ever thought, “Certain, I may completely thru-hike the AT.” Spoiler: it’s loads more durable than Instagram influencers make it look. Redford leans into the humor and coronary heart of the story, giving us one final reminder that even Hollywood icons can nonetheless geek out over the sweetness (and chaos) of nature.
Robert Redford might ceaselessly be remembered because the cool man of American cinema, however his nerdiest roles show he was by no means afraid to geek out proper alongside us. Whether or not he’s cracking codes in Sneakers, plotting paranoia in Three Days of the Condor, or becoming a member of forces with Cap in The Winter Soldier, Redford confirmed us that even the smoothest legends could be honorary nerds at coronary heart.
And actually? That’s the form of crossover occasion we’ll all the time present up for.