Retirement need not be the end of the role

Robert Redford, one of Hollywood’s living legends, has announced he is retiring from the silver screen at the ripe young age of 81. This comes at a time when his older contemporary, Clint Eastwood, at 87 has begun shooting this June for yet another film. Not only is there no use-by date in films, clearly, actors are only as old as they — and the box-office — feel. Of course, at this stage in their careers, they are not exactly holding up the promotion line as they are in a separate league, equalled and preceded only by Kirk Douglas, who acted till he was 88 and even appeared at the Golden Globes earlier this year at 101. That they also act in age-appropriate roles rather than aspiring for a euphemistic tag that many Indian actors routinely earn — evergreen — is commendable. Dilip Kumar, who retired 20 years ago at 76, is a noteworthy Indian parallel.

Not that retirement is a rare phenomenon in Hollywood, with the much-acclaimed Daniel Day-Lewis announcing last year at just 60 years of age that he would be hanging up his boots. The speculation about what he will do after his last film highlights why many actors, and those in other professions, probably never call it quits. Day-Lewis has a myriad of options, being an accomplished writer, cabinet-maker and motorcycle enthusiast; how many can claim that they too have a life beyond the rat race?