Actor, director and producer Robert Redford, who was both the quintessential handsome Hollywood leading man and an influential supporter of independent films through his Sundance Institute, had died at the age of 89.

Redford passed away at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah surrounded by his loved ones, Cindi Berger, CEO of the publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK, said in a statement.

Robert Redford pictured in 2015. Credit: AP

Once dismissed as “just another California blond”, Redford’s charm and craggy good looks made him one of the industry’s most bankable leading men for half a century, and one of the world’s most recognisable and best-loved movie stars.

Redford made hearts beat faster in romantic roles such as Out of Africa , got political in The Candidate and Al

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