Remembering Robert Redford’s Montana Legacy

We lost Robert Redford today. That one stings. He wasn't just a Hollywood star; he was someone who made Montana seem larger than life on the big screen. He was telling stories that felt and sounded like home.

Read More: Here's Why Robert Redford Missed Out on 'Yellowstone'

Why Redford Is a Home for Montanans

Redford acted in Jeremiah Johnson, which was a classic mountain man film of the 70s. I can’t tell you how often I’ve quoted or heard quoted lines from that movie sitting around a campfire or glassing up and down some ridgeline. It’s basically every outdoorsman’s favorite. He did it so well you could swear he really lived on elk meat and cabin smoke.

Then Redford sat in the director’s chair and delivered us A River Runs Through It. That’s Missoula’s story. The Blackfoot River, the fly rods, the way he told it, was still one of the greatest love letters to Montana that was ever written. That’s why so many people suddenly wanted to learn how to cast a fly rod, and why some of them wound up moving here.

And don’t get me started on The Horse Whisperer. Redford didn’t only direct it; he also played the lead. A whole lot of that movie was shot out here in Montana. Big ranches, wide skies, the Absarokas and Beartooths in the distance, you can practically smell the sagebrush looking at those shots.

More Than Just Acting, Directing & Storytelling

That’s the thing about Redford. He was an actor, yes, but he was a storyteller too.  It didn’t matter if it was a line in Jeremiah Johnson or a nonchalant moment in A River Runs Through It, because he somehow made it so you felt like you were standing right there inside of it.

Mountain Man & Montana

On a personal note, I dish out a Jeremiah Johnson line on every elk hunt. I’ve referenced it while breaking trail in deep snow or when I ask myself if elk know how to count. That movie is woven into our outdoor DNA.