Redford did most of his own stunts in the nearly wordless thriller about a man stranded at sea. He is 77 years old .
Robert Redford in All is Lost
Daniel Daza / Roadside Attractions
These are just a few of the things 77-year-old Robert Redford endures in All is Lost, about a nameless man who becomes stranded in the Indian ocean while sailing solo in his yacht: Hang off the side of the yacht to repair a gash in its hull; climb to the top of the yacht's mast to repair the radio; get pummeled by crashing waves in a storm; tumble inside the yacht as it flips upside down; and get tossed overboard into the roiling water.
For the most part, it really is Redford doing all of those stunts. And to repeat, the man is 77 years old.
To be fair, when writer-director J.C. Chandor (Margin Call) first approached Redford to play the nearly wordless role, their initial understanding was that the Hollywood legend wouldn't have to do almost any stunts at all. "I said to [Chandor] when I read it, because of my age and everything, I've always been physical in sports and I've always wanted to do my own stunts, but at a certain point, you have to accept reality," Redford said with a laugh. "He said, 'Look, you know, we'll just sort of use you for close-ups, and we had doubles who can do some of this stuff.'"
Chandor saw things a bit more starkly: "Speaking as a director, it is catastrophic to injure an actor or crew member, but if you injure Robert Redford, you're really in trouble!"
Yup, still Robert Redford in All is Lost
Richard Foreman / Roadside Attractions
But once Redford arrived on set in Mexico, where Chandor had spent months designing a specially rigged yacht in the giant water tank set first used for Titanic, all that caution got thrown to the wind. "Of course what kicked in was ego," said Redford with a smile. "It was also a professional attitude about your craft. I've always felt as an actor, you owe everything you can give of yourself. It always used to bother me when you see close-ups of somebody, and then you realize as soon as they started to move around, somebody else would [be there]. I felt that as an actor, you have to be there completely."
So when it came time to roll camera on his first stunt, Redford turned to Chandor and said, "Let me try this." And that was all the encouragement Chandor needed. "Once that happened," said Redford, while Chandor laughed next to him, "being the kind crazed person he is, JC started rubbing his hands saying, 'OK, I think I'll push him a little bit.'"
In truth, they say they both pushed each other, to see how many stunts Redford could safely pull off himself. "It was scary for both of us," said Chandor. "There's no one else to shoot. So if he skinned his knee, it's a problem, because you lose a day. So it was intense."
