Robert Redford Had 'Difficult Times Walking' in Final TV Role, Co-Star Says

robert redford, who died at 89 in September, made his final television appearance on the AMC crime drama Dark Winds and continued to be a visible presence on set even as he struggled with mobility. The disclosure from co-star Zahn McClarnon comes as Season 4 of the series airs and the show prepares a tribute for a producer who had held the adaptation rights for decades.

Robert Redford on Dark Winds set

Redford served as an executive producer on Dark Winds alongside George R. R. Martin, and his involvement extended beyond executive offices to regular visits to the production. McClarnon said Redford visited the set frequently, laughed and joked with cast and crew, and took part in on-camera moments — most notably a Season 3 cameo in which he and Martin played chess in a jail cell and traded banter with McClarnon.

McClarnon described Redford as “completely all there, mentally, ” while acknowledging that Redford had some “difficult times walking. ” Despite those physical challenges, McClarnon said Redford was smiling and enjoying the company of colleagues during filming. The actor noted that Redford had controlled the rights to the Leaphorn & Chee novels for roughly 30 years before the project found a home at AMC, a chain of events that directly enabled the series’ development and eventual pickup.

Dark Winds is now in Season 4, airing Sundays at 9 p. m. on AMC and AMC+, and the series has been renewed for Season 5. McClarnon, who made his directorial debut in Season 4, said the production plans to hold a memorial this season: the series films in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Redford lived and had a visible presence in the wider community, and cast and locals alike reacted with sorrow at his passing.

Redford’s day-to-day engagement with the show — from visits on set to an on-screen cameo and long stewardship of the adaptation rights — helps explain why the production is arranging a formal remembrance during a season produced without him.

Downhill Racer and the endurance of a character

Beyond his work on Dark Winds, Redford’s screen persona continues to resonate in other corners of American culture. The 1969 film Downhill Racer introduced a character, David Chappellet, whose lone-wolf drive and nonconformist approach have remained touchstones for U. S. downhill ski racers. Contemporary athletes and former teammates describe the role as emblematic of an ethos that endures in the sport.