Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward Say Robert Redford Called During Watergate

The 1976 film All the President’s Men likely would not have been made were it not for Robert Redford — and not just because the actor starred in the film as journalist Bob Woodward.

The biographical political film about the Watergate scandal — based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Woodward and Carl Bernstein — starred Redford and Dustin Hoffman as the two journalists who investigated the scandal for The Washington Post. 

At a recent reading of their book, the two journalists spoke about how Redford contacted them early on to let them know that he felt “the real story” wasn’t just the political scandal itself — but how the two men covered it.

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“There is one other thing we should say about the role of Robert Redford in how we got here tonight and how we even got to this book,” Bernstein said at the reading, which took place in Guild Hall, East Hampton on August 25, 2025. “Because Redford called Woodward early on in Watergate and said he thought that the real story might be [how] interested people would be about the two of us covering this story.”

He continued: “And Woodward came over to me and said he had gotten this call from Redford, and I said, ‘Do not ever talk to him again.’ Because if anybody ever heard that Hollywood is knocking on the door and Redford is calling us in the middle of…”

“We’re finished,” Woodward interjected.

Added Bernstein: “We’re finished and do not pick up the godd— phone if Bob Redford calls.”

According to Woodward, Bernstein went so far as to walk over to his desk and rip the phone cord out of the wall.

But Redford was insistent that the most interesting part of the story was the relationship between the journalists and how they navigated the reporting of such a complex and delicate story.

“Redford said it’s about the relationship between two people who are completely different and the tension and the distrust and the inevitable trust that builds when you undertake an enterprise like this. And so he kept pushing on that,” Woodward said. “And we thought, uh, you know, that’s crazy … But Redford had something that was essential to us … he truly believed in it.”

Woodward added: “He never faltered on doing this story. And it was built on that premise of the relationship here.”

Redford went on to star in the film and also serve as its co-producer.

The Hollywood icon died at age 89 on Sept. 16, 2025.

“Robert Redford passed away on Sept. 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” Cindi Berger, chairman and CEO of Rogers & Cowan PMK, told PEOPLE in a statement. “He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy.”

Redford starred in a number of classic films over the course of his career, including 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and 1985’s Out of Africa. He earned a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for 1973’s The Sting, the Best Director award for 1980’s Ordinary People and another Best Director nomination for 1994’s Quiz Show.

Redford was also passionate about supporting filmmakers and artists, and founded the Sundance Institute before launching the Sundance Film Festival in 1984.