Barbra Streisand shared a heartfelt tribute to her The Way We Were costar Robert Redford after his death.
“Every day on the set of The Way We Were was exciting, intense and pure joy,” Streisand, 83, wrote alongside a photo with Redford shared via Instagram on Tuesday, September 16. “We were such opposites: he was from the world of horses; I was allergic to them! Yet, we kept trying to find out more about each other, just like the characters in the movie.”
Streisand’s caption continued, “Bob was charismatic, intelligent, intense, always interesting— and one of the finest actors ever. The last time I saw him, when he came to lunch, we discussed art and decided to send each other our first drawings. He was one of a kind and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him. #RobertRedford.”
Redford died at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah on Tuesday morning, his publicist, Cindi Berger, confirmed to The New York Times. In a statement to the outlet, Berger shared that Redford passed away at “the place he loved surrounded by those he loved.”
Streisand and Redford shared a special bond after working together on 1973’s The Way We Were. The Sydney Pollack-directed romantic drama earned several Academy Award nominations, including a Best Actress nod for Streisand for her portrayal of Katie Morosky alongside Redford’s Hubbell Gardiner.
The actress looked back at her time working with Redford in her 2023 memoir, My Name Is Barbra.
“I had a particular actor in mind for Hubbell … Robert Redford … who happened to be good friends with Sydney, so everything seemed to be falling into place,” she wrote.
Streisand said that she was “drawn to him not because of his appearance … guys with blond hair and blue eyes were never my type. I did think he was very handsome … a wonderful jawline … great teeth. But what intrigued me most about Bob was his complexity. You never quite know what he’s thinking, and that makes him fascinating to watch on screen.”
Initially, Redford was not interested in starring in the film and turned down the part due to concerns “that the script was so focused on Katie that Hubbell’s character was underdeveloped.”
After some major persuading, negotiation talks “went down to the wire” and Redford agreed to take the role. Streisand received a telegram from agent Sue Mengers while she was working on Up the Sandbox in Africa. The note contained only two words: “Barbra Redford!”
“That’s when I knew he’d finally said yes … and I was so thrilled,” Streisand remembered in her book. “The courtship had been tough, but Bob’s reluctance had a big influence on the script and ultimately resulted in a richer, more interesting character.”
Streisand recalled having a phone conversation with Redford ahead of the film’s 50th anniversary.
“Bob was wonderful … open and thoughtful and engaging, as always,” she wrote. “We talked for over an hour about everything, from working together on the film to politics and art.”
Streisand recalled, “When we were hanging up, he said, ‘I gotta go, Babs. I love you dearly, and I always will’ … I told him, ‘I love talking to you,’ and he said, ‘I love talking to you. I always do.’ It was a sweet reminder that the connection we had during that movie still exists.”