In the early 1970s, Robert Redford would not have been kind to Barbra Streisand.
According to the book
The Way They Were
by Robert Hofler, published on Tuesday January 24, the American actor was reluctant to shoot with the young actress in
Our most beautiful years
(1973), by Sydney Pollack.
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The major obstacle?
His refusal to work with the young actress and singer, who, having turned in musicals or "light" films, was, according to him, not a "serious actress".
(Barbra Streisand will win - no offense to Robert Redford - the Best Actress Oscar for the film they made together.)
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Robert Redford
In images, in pictures
See the slideshow23 photos
See the slideshow23 photos
A thunderbolt
So Sydney Pollack had to woo the actor for no less than eight months for him to agree to shoot in the film.
Uncompromising, Robert Redford would nevertheless have negotiated that she does not sing during the feature film.
Paradoxically, Barbra Streisand was "immediately infatuated" with Robert Redford, said Sydney Pollack at the time.
"Even before we started shooting, she had a crush on him," added the director.
Barbra Streisand was therefore impatiently awaiting her first love scene with Robert Redford.
According to a cast member quoted in the book, she also maintained "liaisons with many of the main actors with whom she played".
A scene of love, two attitudes
The first sex scene goes like this: Katie (Barbra Streisand) gets into bed with Hubbell (Robert Redford), dead drunk.
She wakes him up, revives him, and they make love.
Not having the same fondness for each other, the two actors made opposite arrangements for the sequence.
He chose to equip himself to "protect himself", writes the author of the new book.
“He was wearing two superimposed sports briefs (
therefore thicker, tighter than ordinary underwear, Ed
.).”
Known anecdote: to a journalist who asked him what he was wearing exactly, the actor mentioned a brand, “Aramis”.
Conversely, the actress opted for a simple bikini.
"Redford has never been bad in bed"
In a sultry second sequence, the two main actors feed each other grapes and, as the temperature rises, Hubbell was expected to tell Katie, "It'll be better this time."
But Robert Redford, wanting to preserve his reputation as a
playboy
, flatly refused to say the line.
Robert Hofler, projecting himself into the head of the actor, writes: “Redford has never been bad in bed.
So how could Hubbell be?
Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand backstage at the 74th Academy Awards at the New Dolby Theater, after the actor received a lifetime achievement award.
(Los Angeles, March 25, 2002.) Abaca
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After the success of the first opus, the producers also wanted to make a second one.
But the project fell through because of Robert Redford's refusal: “I didn't want to, but Barbra, she wanted it,” he would have said one day.
However... years later, the actress seems to have (finally) won the esteem of her colleague: in 2010, he surprised her by covering her with praise at the microphone of Oprah Winfrey.
He then declared that he loved “his energy and his spirit”.
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