Meryl Streep shares emotional tribute to Out of Africa costar and ‘lovely friend’ Robert Redford after his death
Streep earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her role opposite Redford in Sydney Pollack’s classic drama.
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- Meryl Streep shared an emotional statement following the death of Robert Redford.
- Streep starred with Redford in the Sydney Pollack classic Out of Africa.
- The Oscar winner remembered Redford as her “lovely friend.”
Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep has shared a simple, moving statement in the wake of her Out of Africa costar Robert Redford’s death.
When reached for comment following news that Redford died Tuesday morning at age 89, Streep’s publicist, Ashton Fontana, shared a statement on behalf of the Hollywood icon.
“One of the lions has passed,” Streep says in the statement, nodding to the noble thematic significance of lions in the Sydney Pollack-directed film.
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She finishes the statement by praising Redford’s friendship, as they have remained close ever since filming the 1985 drama.
“Rest in peace my lovely friend,” Streep concludes.
Streep and Redford led the classic drama, which takes place in colonial Kenya, where a Danish plantation owner (Streep) falls for a hunter (Redford) in the region.
The film earned 11 Oscar nominations, ultimately winning seven — including Best Picture. Streep scored a Best Actress nomination for her work in the film, though Redford was left off the nominations list.
After working together on the film, which earned $227 million at the global box office, Streep and Redford reunited to work on Redford’s 2007 directorial effort Lions for Lambs.
Another of Redford’s memorable costars, Jane Fonda, also paid tribute to the late legend, with Fonda releasing a statement to EW hours after Redford’s death.
“It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone. I can’t stop crying,” Fonda said.
The 87-year-old added that her Our Souls at Night and Barefoot in the Park costar “meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way,” and said that he “stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
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Redford leaves behind a momentous legacy in the entertainment industry, having appeared in many iconic projects (including the beloved Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) as well as establishing the Sundance Film Festival in 1978.
Though he never won an Oscar for acting, Redford did earn an Honorary Award from the Academy in 2002, in addition to winning the Academy Award for Best Director for his work on the literary adaptation Ordinary People.
