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.
She said, “My father was very much a stickler for timeliness and Bob, that was never really his strength. It was hard work for dad. He worked very hard at it because he wanted to be good and he wanted to be successful and Bob was more of a free spirit.”
When Newman died of lung cancer in 2008, Redford, now 86, spoke with ABC News and said, “It was just that connection of playing those characters and the fun of it that really began the relationship,” he said, reflecting on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. “And then once the film started, once we went forward, we then discovered other similarities that just multiplied over time, a common ground that we both had between us, interests and so forth, and differences.”
