The legendary actor Robert Redford slapped in the face: “Spit came out of his jaw”
Some names instantly command respect, and Robert Redford is certainly one of them. Carved out of Hollywood limestone, the famed actor made a career out of being one of the most charismatic faces on the big screen. His ability to ooze sex appeal while demonstrating a typically gruff sense of masculinity made him a shoo-in for a range of roles.
Redford captured the glimmer in Hollywood’s eye in the 1960s; his golden boy looks paired with a natural star quality made him the leading man material. But it was his role opposite Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid that cemented his status as a screen icon—a portrayal that was lousy with charm, rebellion, and danger, a part that would typify the era.
While that level of charisma is usually inherent, one could argue that he gained a lot of his confidence from his earliest roles. Given the opportunity to appear in the television play In The Presence of mine Enemies Redford would deliver an astounding performance as Sergeant Lott in the 1960 production which also featured George MacCready as his commanding officer.
The role gave Redford exposure to television recordings and a chance to work with legends like MacCready and the acclaimed Charles Laughton. But perhaps the most unusual opportunity was to give that iconic actor a swift slap around the chops. Laughton’s stature as a legend was already well known, and it left Redford a little nervous: “Oh, yeah, he was intimidating. It was one of my first parts.”
Discussing one of the more tense scenes of the play, in which Redford’s Lott is helping a pogrom take place, the actor remembered: “There’s a tension between the rabbi, played by Charles Laughton, and MacCready. And there’s an intellectual challenge involving Nietzsche and God and so forth. So I’m just there clueless. I’m this young, innocent, naive guy. And at one point, Laughton drops something. He drops his Bible. And I reached down to pick it up, which is a no-no.”
The scene plays out as Lott connects with the rabbi compassionately: “I reached down to pick up the Bible. And so he looks me in the eye. And the look is like, I see who you really are. I see who you really are. MacCready says, apparently, you feel like you have to be sympathetic to the rabbi. Hey says, therefore, I instruct you to slap him. So then I supposedly slap him – I am reluctant, but I slap him.”
However, Laughton, perhaps in his own mind too esteemed to be hit, said to the fledgling star: “Laughton comes up, and he says, ‘Dear boy, you can’t give me the slap. What are you going to do?’ And I said, ‘What do you mean what am I going to do?’ He said, ‘What are you going to do because I can’t be hit'”. It’s a difficult spot for any actor to be in, but for a young man still working on his craft to be told not to complete the actions within the play by a veteran actor is a tough situation to negotiate.
“So I go to the director, and I said, ‘What am I supposed to do here?’ And he said, ‘Oh, gee, don’t bother me. I’ve got enough troubles'”. Not the helpful note one might expect from somone in charge of the production. Rather than simply ignore the issue, Redford found himself becoming more and more irked by the request.
The tension boiled over during the production: “As we’re getting to the moment, I’m thinking, ‘Who is this guy to tell me what I’m supposed to – what I can’t do, what I can do?’ And I got so riled up, and I was so nervous on top of it that when it came time, I thought, ‘Who’s he to tell me what I can do or can’t do?’ So I hauled up and really whacked him. And it wasn’t a slap. It was a whack. And his jaw – spit came out of his jaw. You know, and he looked at me, and tears came out of his eyes.”
There’s no doubt it would have left a ringing in Laughton’s ears, but the thwack came with a ringing endorsement too: “When it was over, I thought, ‘Oh, boy, you know, I’m going to get a mouthful.’ So I go to his dressing room to apologise — ‘I’m really sorry’ — He says, ‘No, you did the right thing. You did the right thing'”.
While Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid may have made Robert Redford’s name as the bruising comic relief capable of stealing your horse and your wife, his swashbuckling ways were established a little earlier on.
