Skip to main content

In 1980, Robert Redford directed for the first time in a film starring Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland, Timothy Hutton, and Judd Hirsch. Redford said he enjoyed the experience of directing these actors. He particularly liked some of Moore’s work. In one scene, he said she demonstrated some of the most skillful acting he’d ever seen.

Robert Redford said Mary Tyler Moore’s acting impressed him

Redford was the director of Ordinary People, a film about an affluent family in an Illinois suburb. While it was his first time directing, he had a sense of what made for a good scene. 

“For me, I know it’s right when I feel this twinge behind my nose, somewhere behind my sinuses [laughs],” he told Rolling Stone. “I mean, when you’ve looked at a scene over and over again, and you still like it.”

He said a scene with Moore did this for him. In it, she was giving one of the best performances he’d ever seen.

“There’s a scene with Mary Tyler Moore that has some of the finest, most subtle acting I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I never get tired of it. It’s like driving up to my place in Utah. There’s never any time, when I’m driving up the canyon, that I tire of it. And so I know it’s good.”

Redford went on to win the Oscar for Best Directing.

He spoke about his experience directing the film

Though Redford only had experience acting at this point, he found that he quite enjoyed directing.

“I’ve been moving in that direction anyway, getting more involved in different areas,” he said. “The more I get into it, the more I realize that it’s important to do it all yourself. But in the end, you are still sharing with someone. Not that I mind it — many of the people I work with are enormously talented. But I still want the experience of doing it myself.”

He also liked working with the cast of Ordinary People. He found it was easy to get along with everyone.

“[I wasn’t nervous] with the actors,” he said. “I like actors, so we got along well.”

Redford directed multiple other films after Ordinary People.

Mary Tyler Moore was nominated for an Oscar for the Robert Redford movie

Moore did an excellent job on the film, but many doubted her ability to take on a dramatic role. Audiences primarily knew her as a sitcom star.

“She had only done these bright, happy things, so I felt pretty awkward going in there and suggesting she play a darker character,” Redford told Entertainment Weekly (via People).

Related

Robert Redford and His Oscar-Winning Co-Star ‘Survived’ a Project by Bonding Over What a ‘Load of S***’ It Was 

Moore said she looked forward to taking on a new kind of part, though.

“I think, like all actors, I was open to taking on new challenges, including those outside my comfort zone,” she said. “But this was not why I took the role. The appeal was the powerful story with its vivid characterizations – including a family dynamic I could relate to.”

Redford said that many studios passed on the film, at least in part because of Moore’s role in it. Once people saw the film, though, they realized they were wrong to doubt her. Moore received a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars. She won a Golden Globe for the role.

Best in News