A new book claims Robert Redford went to extreme lengths to protect himself when filming a love scene with Barbra Streisand in their classic movie, The Way We Were.
The book – titled The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen – details the making of the 1973 film, in which author Robert Hofler writes that Redford wore two pairs of underwear to “protect himself” from Streisand, who was reportedly “infatuated” with him.
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In excerpts obtained by the Daily Mail, the Hollywood leading man wore “two athletic supporters” before getting into bed with his co-star for the first time as he was a happily married man of four and Streisand – dressed in a bikini – was apparently “mesmerised” by his good looks.
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Additionally, Hofler writes that Redford did not think highly of Streisand and did not consider her a “serious actress”.
“Her reputation is as a very controlling person. She will direct herself. It’ll never work,” Redford reportedly said at the time, while fearing the film would turn into a musical.
“She’s not going to sing, is she? I don’t want her to sing in the middle of the movie.”
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Despite Redford’s concerns, Streisand went on to earn a Best Actress Oscar nomination in 1974 for her role as Katie Morosky in the film. She also ended up singing the movie’s theme song, The Way We Were, which won her an Oscar for Best Original Song.
According to the book, the film’s director Sydney Pollack knew that pairing Redford with Streisand was cinematic gold as he needed strong personalities to play the lead roles.
“Barbara had never worked with a really strong leading man,” Pollack, who died in 2008, said in a previous interview.
“She has a tendency to take over a picture, just by the size of her talent and larger-than-life presence. It’s hard for a co-star to stay in the same ring with her.”
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