Robert Redford’s Good Looks Cost Him the Lead Role in This Iconic Comedy
by JM McNab · Cracked.comR.I.P. Robert Redford
September 16, 2025
Legendary writer, director, philanthropist and one-time Zach Galifianakis lookalike Robert Redford just passed away at the age of 89. The Hollywood icon appeared in classic films like The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men, plus a number of underrated gems like Sneakers and The Hot Rock.
Not to mention that Redford helped to launch the Sundance Film Festival, which he named after his famous Western character. Presumably it was a toss-up between “Sundance” and “The Horny Rich Guy From Indecent Proposal Film Festival.”
But Redford also came surprisingly close to starring in one of the most famous satirical coming-of-age movies of all-time: Mike Nichols’ The Graduate.
The movie that was released, of course, stars Dustin Hoffman as the awkward and aimless Benjamin Braddock, who is seduced by the older Mrs. Robinson before falling for her daughter Elaine — and it all culminates in a final scene that plays a lot better if you haven’t already seen Wayne’s World 2.
But before Benjamin became a diminutive Jewish nerd, Nichols and co-writer Buck Henry envisioned him as a tall, blond dude who grew up with a family of surfers. “Mike and I never thought that a short, dark guy with a big nose” should be the lead of The Graduate, Henry once revealed. “Sand in the genes, the roar of the ocean. Robert Redford and Candice Bergen, the ideal couple — that’s what we were thinking.”
Just prior to making The Graduate, Nichols had directed Redford in a Broadway production of Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park. According to Mike Nichols: A Life by Mark Harris, Redford wanted the part of Benjamin “badly” and Nichols even shot a screen test with Redford and Bergen.
But Nichols eventually realized that Redford was all wrong for the role. Why? Well, because he was just too attractive. “I said, ‘You can’t play it. You can never play a loser,’” Nichols once recalled. “And Redford said, ‘What do you mean? Of course I can play a loser.’ And I said, ‘Okay, have you ever struck out with a girl?’ and he said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he wasn't joking.”
Incidentally, Redford would go on to appear alongside two of The Graduate’s stars in two of his biggest films. Hoffman obviously played Carl Bernstein to Redford’s Bob Woodward in All the President’s Men, and Katharine Ross played the love interest in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
While he will be missed, Redford’s passing is as good a reason as any to rewatch Sneakers this week.
Tags:
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flipboard Reddit Scroll down for the next article
VIRAL ON CRACKED
1.
How ‘The Chevy Chase Show’ Sabotaged Stand-Up Comics
2.
31 Migrating Bits of Trivia That Are About to Land in Your Brain After A Long Flight From Down South
3.
The 6 Most Disturbingly Evil Birds
4.
Woody Allen Gushes About ‘Charming and Personable’ Dinner Host Jeffrey Epstein
5.
31 of the Weirdest Things People Saw in Someone Else’s Home
SIGN UP FOR.