Michael Feeney Callan – författare

The long-anticipated biography of Robert Redford.Among the most widely admired Hollywood stars of his generation, Redford has appeared onstage and on-screen, in front of and behind the camera, earning Academy, Golden Globe, and a multitude of other awards and nominations for acting, directing, and producing, and for his contributions to the arts. His Sundance Film Festival transformed the world of filmmaking; his films defined a generation. America has come to know him as the Sundance Kid, Bob Woodward, Johnny Hooker, Jay Gatsby, and Roy Hobbs. But only now, with this revelatory biography, do we see the surprising and complex man beneath the Hollywood façade.From Redford’s personal papers—journals, script notes, correspondence—and hundreds of hours of taped interviews, Michael Feeney Callan brings the legendary star into focus. Here is his scattered family background and restless childhood, his rocky start in acting, the death of his son, his star-making relationship with director Sydney Pollack, the creation of Sundance, his political activism, his artistic successes and failures, his friendships and romances. This is a candid, surprising portrait of a man whose iconic roles on-screen (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, The Natural) and directorial brilliance (Ordinary People, Quiz Show) have both defined and obscured one of the most celebrated, and, until now, least understood, public figures of our time.From the Hardcover edition.

A national symbol of romance since the 1970s, Redford's stardom has often eclipsed the life and trials of the man himself. In this biography -- written with Redford's personal papers, journals, script notes, correspondence, and hundreds of hours of taped interviews -- Michael Feeney Callan strips away the Hollywood façade, exposing the complicated, surprising man beneath.The life of Robert Redford is a series of contradictions: descended from impoverished East Coast barbers on his father's side and once-wealthy Texans on his mother's side,the young Redford suffered from aimlessness and semi-poverty, dropping out of college and briefly spending time in jail before launching a career in theatre.Redford has contributed more -- and more widely -- to entertainment than most stars of his calibre. As an actor, he's appeared on Broadway and film, with an Oscar-nominated performance in 1973's The Sting. As a director, he's earned Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director and has received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Director.He won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1980 for Ordinary People.And as a producer of independent films -- including the patronage of his Sundance Institute -- he's worked on films including All the President's Men and 2004's The Motorcycle Diaries.This is a fascinating exploration of one of our most celebrated and least understood public figures, and an essential read for anyone interested in the rocky road to Hollywood.