'Goodbye to all that': Robert Redford, 80, reveals intention to retire from acting...and refocus on directing

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After spending half a century in front of the camera, Hollywood icon Robert Redford has announced he will soon be retiring from acting.

The 80-year-old, who has starred in All The President's Men and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, revealed during a Walker Art Center interview with his grandson Dylan Redford that he would like to stop acting following the completion of two upcoming projects.  

Robert, who admitted he was 'getting tired' of the profession, told Dylan that once his two roles were finished, 'I'm going to say, "Okay, that's goodbye to all that," and then just focus on directing.'

'Goodbye to all that': Robert Redford revealed during an interview with his grandson Dylan Redford that he has plans to stop acting once he's finshed a couple of upcoming projects

'I'm an impatient person, so it's hard for me to sit around and do take after take after take. At this point in my life, age 80, it’d give me more satisfaction because I’m not dependent on anybody. 

'It's just me, just the way it used to be, and so going back to sketching—that's sort of where my head is right now,' Robert said, after being asked by his grandson if he considered pursuing painting again. 

'So, I'm thinking of moving in that direction and not acting so much. I've got two acting projects in the works: Our Souls at Night, with Jane Fonda, a love story for older people who get a second chance in life, and Old Man with a Gun, a lighter piece with Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek. 

'Once they're done then I'm going to say, "Okay, that’s goodbye to all that," and then just focus on directing.' 

Acting icon: Robert is perhaps best known for his roles in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Way We Were, All The President's Men, and The Sting, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award (pictured in January in Park City, Utah)

Red, white, and blue: Redford starred opposite Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in All The President's Men

During their interview, Robert recalled some of the pitfalls of fame, recalling a time when he visited Dylan's elementary school for Grandfather's Day, only to be flooded with attention by other family members. 

'I remember that Grandparents’ Day and realizing, "Jesus, Dylan and Lena, they don’t know. They're probably wondering what the hell is going on here, because I'm going to Grandparents' Day but I'm suddenly not a grandparent. I'm a celebrity." People would come up to me and they wanted autographs and I'm thinking, "Wow, this feels very uncomfortable." It was very disturbing.' 

Now a producer and Oscar winning director, Robert is perhaps best known for his roles in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Way We Were, All The President's Men, and his Academy Award nominated performance in The Sting.

Hands up! Redford and Paul Newman in a scene from The Sting

Robert's passion for bringing stories onto the big screen eventually led him to create the Sundance Institute, and of course, the now world famous Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. 

The actor said his intention in creating the institute and film festival was to give independent filmmakers a shot in getting their stories heard.   

'While I was doing large studio films, I was also able to make these smaller films that I thought would give me more satisfaction because they were different stories to be told,' he told his grandson. 'But it was just me doing it. It needed to be expanded and so I thought, "What about other people like myself?" That’s what led to the idea of Sundance.'

Fight to survive: The actor received numerous nominations - including a win from New York Film Critics Circle Award - for his role in All Is Lost

Love story: Robert and Barbara Streisand starred as each others romantic interests in The Way We Were

Robert has four children with his first wife Lola Van Wagenen, who he was married to from 1958 to 1985. 

The actor and Lola's first son Scott tragically died in 1959 from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. 

Following his divorce from Lola, Robert remarried in 2009 to Sibylle Szaggars.

Robert will appear on big screens in 207 in Come Sunday, Our Souls At Night, The Discovery, and The Old Man and the Gun.  

Iconic: Redford starred opposite Katharine Ross and Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid