Robert Redford, who died at 89 at his home in Utah on Tuesday, served as a mentor to Brad Pitt after directing and casting the then-unknown actor in the 1992 film A River Runs Through It.
Redford hand-picked Pitt for the lead role of Paul Maclean, a rebellious journalist and gambler, when the director cast the film in the early 1990s. Redford later described seeing potential in Pitt from their first meeting, saying, "Brad had that. When he first came in, he had a look about him. I said, 'Yeah, you're looking at it. He's going to succeed.'" He also noted Pitt's work ethic and talent alongside his look.
The two reunited on screen in Tony Scott's 2001 thriller Spy Game, in which Redford played CIA operative Nathan Muir and Pitt portrayed Muir's protégé, Tom Bishop, who is arrested in China on espionage charges. In that film, critics and viewers noted an on-screen dynamic that read as father and son, a resonance reinforced by their physical likeness and years of association.
Their professional relationship extended beyond individual films. Pitt made appearances at Redford's Sundance Film Festival and has spoken publicly about Redford's influence on his approach to acting and career decisions. Over time, Pitt followed a path familiar to Redford, moving into producing as well as acting; publications have cited films such as The Lost City and Bullet Train among projects on which Pitt took producing roles.
Observers have also pointed to occasional stylistic echoes between the two actors, including a preference for retro, 1970s-inspired casual wear and longer, tousled hairstyles at points in their careers. Those similarities, combined with shared screen time and public appearances, contributed to a long-running association in Hollywood circles.
Redford's decision to cast Pitt early in the actor's career and their subsequent collaborations illustrated a pattern of mentorship and professional continuity that marked Redford's influence on later generations of performers. The relationship between the two men is among several in Redford's decades-long career that reflected his roles as director, actor and festival founder, positions from which he helped shape other artists' careers while maintaining a visible presence across the American film industry.