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As the world mourns the loss of Hollywood icon Robert Redford, countless tributes to him and anecdotes about him have hit social media, from similarly legendary co-stars such as Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda and Barbara Streisand, to tweets about his prowess as a ladies man going viral on social media.
One particular Robert Redford story that’s been widely shared in the day since his passing is an anecdote from famed director Mike Nichols, known for his films Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Regarding Henry, The Birdcage, and many more.
Back in 2003, Nichols recalled Redford arguing that he could have played the Dustin Hoffman part in Nichols 1967 classic The Graduate. Nichols, however, was adamant that he couldn’t, as Redford simply could not convincingly play a loser.
To make his point, Nichols says he asked Redford if he had ever struck with a woman. It clearly wasn’t a useful example, though, as Nichols said that Redford *literally* did not comprehend the concept he was proposing — as if getting rejected was not something he knew happened to the human male.
The Graduate director Mike Nichols once said that Robert Redford did not understand the concept of being striking out with a woman
“I said, ‘You can’t play it. You can never play a loser.’ 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,” Nichols explained over 20 years ago.
“He didn’t even understand the concept,” Nichols continued. “To him, it was like saying, ‘How many times have you been to a restaurant and not had a meal?'”
The snippet from a 2003 Mike Nichols interview went viral on Twitter twice, so here are both instances below:
rip robert redford pic.twitter.com/AVkuSv7cmR
— Sylvian (#1 Skinamarink Fan) (@TheAlexSylvian) September 16, 2025
RIP Goat of getting laid pic.twitter.com/zmJizxbuyM
— McRib (@McR1B69) September 16, 2025
Now that’s a life well lived. Rest in Peace, Robert.