Irish Film Institute -PAUL NEWMAN: AMERICAN ICON

PAUL NEWMAN: AMERICAN ICON

Paul Newman (1925-2008), Oscar-winning actor, Palme d’Or-nominated director, noted philanthropist, and prize-winning auto racing competitor, represents the classic Hollywood movie star. After serving in WWII, Newman moved to New York to join Lee Strasberg’s legendary Actors Studio. While making his Broadway debut in 1953, he met Joanne Woodward, with their subsequent marriage lasting until his death. Part of a generation that included James Dean and Marlon Brando, Newman’s career also exploded thanks to a Tennessee Williams adaption, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958), which saw him receive the first of nine Oscar nominations for acting. The 1960s saw Newman appear in numerous iconic roles in films including The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961), Hud (Martin Ritt, 1963), Cool Hand Luke (Stuart Rosenberg, 1967), and, in 1969, George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. The phenomenal reaction to his pairing with Robert Redford saw the two reunite with Hill for The Sting (1973). From the mid-1970s, Newman’s stature allowed him to perform as he pleased, working with the likes of Sidney Lumet and Sydney Pollack as well as more idiosyncratic talents such as Robert Altman, before finally winning his Oscar with Martin Scorsese in 1986’s The Color Of Money. The 1990s saw Newman take fewer roles, though there remained highlights such as Nobody’s Fool (Robert Benton, 1994) and Road To Perdition (Sam Mendes, 2002), his final live action appearance. Newman’s body of work is indicative of a restless talent, an actor who prized originality and challenging roles above all else.

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