Robert Redford

Revered American actor and film director Robert Redford made his acting debut in 1962 with the movie War Hunt.

Redford founded the successful Sundance Film Festival in 1978, to highlight lesser known films.

Soon after making his acting debut, Redford co-starred with Natalie Wood and Jane Fonda and then opposite Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Equally famous Redford roles include that of Jay Gatsby in the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, reporter Bob Woodward in All the President's Men, and baseball ace Roy Hobbs in The Natural.

Three years after founding the Sundance Film Festival, Redford won an Oscar for Best Director for the drama Ordinary People; the film also won Best Picture and marked his first appearance behind the movie camera.

At the 25th opening of the Sundance Film Festival in 2009; "Change is in the air. Change is, of course, inevitable. It could bring good times. It could bring bad times. There's no reason to think the times coming have to to be so filled with dread that we can't look for some sport of optimism and hope. There's always some space for opportunity. I'm thinking this could be a very inspiring time for artists."Fox News: Redford Focuses on Optimism... (January 16, 2009)

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• August 18, 1936: Born

• 1967: Barefoot in the Park

• 1969: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

• 1972: The Candidate

• 1973: The Sting

• 1976: All the President's Men

• 1980: Ordinary People - won Oscar as director

• 1981: Founded Sundance Film Festival

• 1984: The Natural

• 1992: A River Runs Through It

• 1996: Up Close & Personal

• 2001: Spy Game

• 2007: Lions for Lambs