Robert Redford Planning to Retire from Acting After Two More Films

Robert Redford is almost done hanging out in front of the camera. The 80-year-old actor and director was recently interviewed by his grandson, Dylan Redford, for the Walker Art Center, and he reflected on his career, which spans six decades, and revealed that he plans to finish the last two films he has in production and then retire from acting.

His grandson asked him about his love of sketching and painting, and Redford revealed that he’s interested in returning to his artistic roots. “Yeah, a lot—and a lot lately because I’m getting tired of acting,” Redford said. “I’m an impatient person, so it’s hard for me to sit around and do take after take after take. At this point in my life, age 80, it’d give me more satisfaction because I’m not dependent on anybody. It’s just me, just the way it used to be, and so going back to sketching—that’s sort of where my head is right now.”

Redford continued by explaining the projects he has in the works. “So, I’m thinking of moving in that direction and not acting so much,” he said. “I’ve got two acting projects in the works: Our Souls at Night, with Jane Fonda, a love story for older people who get a second chance in life, and [The Old Man and the Gun], a lighter piece with Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek. Once they’re done, then I’m going to say, ‘Okay, that’s goodbye to all that,’ and then just focus on directing.”

Redford most recently starred in Pete’s Dragon with Bryce Dallas Howard. He’s also directed nine feature films, and won the Best Director Oscar in 1980 for Ordinary People.