Robert Redford was only two centimeters taller than Paul Newman (1.79 and 1.77, respectively) but on screen, he seemed larger than his colleague. Taller, better fed, more happily handsome than Newman. And Paul Newman was no less handsome than Robert Redford (this was debated worldwide for decades without reaching a conclusion) but he always had a more nervous air, like a city boy raised in small and dark spaces, ironic in his smile and accepting in his attitude. The paradox is that Robert Redford, in reality, was the same as what Newman represented: he was a misfit teenager in Los Angeles who traveled like a beatnik to Europe and returned intoxicated and with a sense of life failure. Which of the two was the better actor, which of the two had a greater impact on 20th-century culture, which of the two embodied what ideas of beauty and torment? The opposition between Redford and Newman fueled two masterpieces of cinema, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, but it was never a rivalry. On the contrary.
The beginning of that partnership is documented. Redford had success in Barefoot in the Park (1967), a romantic comedy, urban and charming to the extreme where everyone was handsome and everything went well. For Robert Redford, the film by Mike Nichols was a breakthrough but, in reality, it was just a first step in building his career. In 1967, Robert Redford was not yet competing for the prestigious roles of that transitional Hollywood, halfway between its golden age and its 1970s auteur rebirth.
Paul Newman, 11 years older than Redford, did have that status, did have great projects tailored to him. That was, in 1969, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film was written but needed an actor to play Sundance Kid and provide the counterpoint to its protagonist. Jack Lemmon was considered but turned down the role because he didn't ride horses well. Warren Beatty lost interest because the character somewhat resembled Clyde from Bonnie and Clyde and Beatty didn't want to repeat himself. Steve McQueen also received the script but at that time was at odds with Paul Newman due to jealousy. So, it was Paul Newman who suggested Redford with a tremendous phrase: "I want an actor."
"It was a very important compliment for me because I think it reflects how we both saw the work of making movies: as a craft that we took seriously," Redford later said.
Let's talk about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a fun, charming, and sparkling film, unlike anything else. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was not like the epic westerns of the previous generation or the upcoming expressionists. Its characters were not brutal or rough like John Wayne, but rather witty and flirtatious, a bit cynical but also sweet. They sang Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head between heists, winked their eyes, and seemed like New Yorkers in their witty dialogues. Newman was the star embodying the spirit of the film in the character of Butch Cassidy. Redford was Sundance Kid and represented the opposite: a silent, charismatic, and tragic gunslinger who foreshadowed that the comedy would end badly. Surprise: in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Redford portrayed the handsome tragic figure and Newman the charming one. The film won five Oscars.
The work led to a sincere and long-lasting friendship. Redford mentioned that he became inseparable from Newman after working with him, to the point that both had houses in Connecticut about a mile and a half apart, and their families became close. For four years, the world awaited the reunion of the pair. During that time, The Godfather arrived, and the codes of the New Hollywood of the seventies and almost alternative prevailed, but The Sting was not that. It was more of a classic Hollywood genre film, shot with sobriety without frills and meticulously written. This time, Redford was at the center of the story. He played a con artist who had flown too high, almost a premonition of his Gatsby, and embarked on a revenge mission that was also beyond his reach. Newman became his partner: defeated, disillusioned, ironic, charismatic... Newman was a stoic with a touch of irony. Redford, a tormented gentleman. Redford slept poorly; Newman slept well. Redford seemed more than he was. Newman was just a hardworking crime worker. In the end, it seemed like betrayal was their destiny, but no. The audience always wanted Newman and Redford to be on the same side.
And that was it. There was no third movie that brought the two actors together. Redford tried, buying the rights to a novel by Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, for which he had thought of his friend. Redford ended up starring in that story alongside Emma Thompson and Nick Nolte in 2015.
And everything else? It is clear that Paul Newman came from Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando, the great tragic heroes of Hollywood, intense and theatrical. Robert Redford, on the other hand, was a more modern figure, less intense but equally complex. He could be more things: he could be Cary Grant in a romantic comedy or he could be a hippie like Peter Fonda. Neither of the two was less of an actor than the other.