While real-life outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were closely bonded, actor Paul Newman revealed that during the time of filming, he had some resentments over the young Robert Redford.
A real testament to their acting skills, Newman, playing Robert LeRoy Parker or “Butch Cassidy,” and Redford as Harry Longabaugh “Sundance Kid,” were convincing in their portrayals of the Wild West buddies, notorious criminals who were on the run from the law after a string of bank and train robberies.
The 1969 movie about the real-life outlaws won four Oscars and holds up as one of the greatest Westerns ever made. Four years later, the stars–both handsome heartthrobs–partnered up again for another caper film, The Sting (1973).
Newman and Redford are both legends and together, they made magic happen. But have you ever wondered how the Hollywood stars got along off the set?
Newman, who played Butch when he was 44, confessed that he wanted the role played by the younger Redford, who at the time was 33.
In an interview with BBC’s Talking Pictures, Newman said, “We have a lot of fun together, we bounce off each other really well.” He continued, “I would have preferred to have played Sundance. I feel a little more comfortable with that cooled-out kind of quality. I suppose it’s the easier part!”Redford was a rising star, whose performance alongside Natalie Wood in the 1965 film Inside Daisy Clover, earned him a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year.
Newman had already reached superstar status after appearances in films like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Taylor (1958) and Cool Hand Luke (1967).
It was after Steve McQueen turned down a part in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid–he later turned down Dirty Harry (1971), The French Connection (1971) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)–that Redford was cast, playing next to Newman, who was collecting awards in both acting and directing.
The BBC reports that according to Newman’s biography, “The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir,” the two stars weren’t really friends at the time.
Newman said, “You can’t depend on Redford. You’re never sure he’s going to be there. That’s simply discourteous.”
Newman’s youngest daughter, Claire Newman Soderlund–whom he fathered with his second wife Joanne Woodward–said she believes that their tensions were a result of contrasting approaches to work.
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