On the set of one of his movies, Robert Redford is said to have felt so much sexual tension that he had to “protect himself.”
In 1972, when he was filming The Way We Were with Barbra Streisand, the Oscar-winning Hollywood heartthrob, who is now 86, put some safety measures in place to try to cool things down.
Double The Protection
Robert Hofler wrote in his book, The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen, that Robert Redford wore two sets of underwear for his sex scene with Barbra Streisand.
Robert Redford Wore ‘Two Athletic Supporters’
Hofler wrote,
To protect himself in more ways than one, (Redford) wore two athletic supporters for his love scene with Streisand, who chose to don a bikini.
Robert Redford Allegedly Didn’t Like Her
The author said that Robert Redford didn’t want to work with the Evergreen singer because he didn’t think she was a “serious actress.”
On the other hand, Streisand was “infatuated” with him from the moment they met.
She Had A “Crush” On Him
Sydney Pollack, who was in charge of making the movie, said that Streisand “had a crush on him even before we started.” In the book, another cast member said that she had “affairs with many of her leading men.”
Robert Redford tried to stay safe.
It was said that Streisand and Redford’s love scene was something she was looking forward to. But the second man, who at the time was a happily married father of four, didn’t want to get involved so he put on two jock straps for safety.
They Did A Lot Of Takes
The book also says that they had to do “a lot of takes,” which made Redford lose his temper. Pollack had to finally tell Streisand,
I think we’ve got it.
The book came out on the 50th anniversary of the movie.
The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen came out on January 24. This is the 50th anniversary of the movie, which was made from August to November 1972 and shown in 1973.
In the movie, they both played married people.
The love story of Hubbell Gardiner and Katie Morosky, who are played by Redford and Streisand, is at the center of this romantic drama.
Redford didn’t want to do a follow-up movie.
Even though the set was a mess, the movie was a commercial and critical hit, and Streisand was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. People talked about making a second movie, but Redford wasn’t interested.