Capitol Lens | The way he was

By Chris Hale, Bill Clark and Tom Williams

Posted September 16, 2025 at 4:27pm

Actor and film director Robert Redford died on Tuesday at the age of 89. “There was a period of time when he was the hottest. I thought he was great,” President Donald Trump said of the actor upon hearing of his death.

Redford, who also founded the Sundance Film Festival, was a conservation and climate change advocate who often spoke to lawmakers about these issues. Here are photos from the Roll Call archives of some of his appearances on Capitol Hill.

Redford chats with Sens. Joe Lieberman and Barbara Boxer during a news conference in 2001 to discourage the opening of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for oil drilling. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Redford speaks with Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler during a House Appropriations hearing in 2008. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Redford is pictured in 2006 with then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid during a conference at the Washington Hilton. Redford spoke about energy independence. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)