# Who was better looking, Paul Newman or Robert Redford? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [June 11, 2023, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315 "2023-06-11T03:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/21 "2023-06-11T18:24:46Z")
Ha! They lie. All those actors’ stats are lies. I’ve seen a number of celebrities in-person, and they’re always shorter than they claim to be. And it wasn’t just that Newman was short. He’d be called petite if he were a woman. Rather fine-boned and delicately framed. The movies are magic. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/22 "2023-06-11T19:10:20Z")
Newman was handsome. Redford was ridiculously handsome. The 'stache sat better on Newman in _The Sting_, though. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/23 "2023-06-11T19:34:54Z")
How they looked in their primes put both of them on the short list of “male celebrities I crush on.” Newman gets the slight nod from me over Redford, due to personality. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/24 "2023-06-11T19:47:59Z")
A friend who’s 5’8" met Newman 35 years ago. He said that Newman was his height. And a very nice guy, friendly and unassuming. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/25 "2023-06-11T19:52:25Z")
Yea, my brother is 6’1", and Newman came about an inch above his shoulder. I guessed 5’8". Actors lie about their height. News at Eleven. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/26 "2023-06-11T20:31:22Z")
Just awesome. ![](https://media.tenor.com/Kmz6sqmfH_EAAAAC/paul-newman-robert-redford.gif "Paul Newman Robert Redford GIF - Paul Newman Robert Redford - Discover &...") ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/27 "2023-06-12T00:36:42Z")
Answering this question with great objectivity as I’m straight male. Redford is more classically handsome, whereas Newman had a certain charisma that Redford lacked. I’d call it a draw. Then there was Ben Murphy. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/28 "2023-06-12T00:46:34Z")
This is such a funny thread. Straight male here, but I thought it was fairly clear it was Paul Newman. However, I guess it is not so clear. ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/29 "2023-06-12T01:15:48Z")
He was 11 years older, though. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/30 "2023-06-12T03:22:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > This is such a funny thread. Straight male here, but I thought it was fairly clear it was Paul Newman. > > However, I guess it is not so clear… I have had the same conversation with many women that just don’t believe me when I tell them that I honestly can’t judge a man’s attractiveness. It’s really not a macho thing. I just cannot tell. I can tell if they’re well dressed or clean looking but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/31 "2023-06-12T03:24:36Z")
And you’d like to meet his tailor. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/32 "2023-06-12T19:13:47Z")
Steve McQueen, I thought everybody knew that. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/33 "2023-06-12T19:37:23Z")
This came up in another thread recently. It’s all in the eyes. Newman! ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/34 "2023-06-12T19:45:08Z")
Big crush on Redford as a teenager (when BC&TSK came out), but I rewatched it recently and nah. Newman all the way. He was the guy they invented the word sexy for, and he kept it to the end. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/35 "2023-06-13T19:24:37Z")
I, cis het female, have that issue in reverse. i always thought Ginger was prettier than Mary Ann and Jennifer was prettier than Bailey. Apparenrtly the male population is of the other opinion. I think Newman aged into being great looking, In “the Verdict” was the first time I thought he was really good looking. Redford, I always thought was a hunk. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/36 "2023-06-13T19:41:26Z")
I agree. In his early films there was something unappealing about Newman for me. The older Newman is miles better. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/37 "2023-06-13T19:53:37Z")
> [@adhemar](#): > > I, cis het female, have that issue in reverse. i always thought Ginger was prettier than Mary Ann and Jennifer was prettier than Bailey. **Apparenrtly the male population is of the other opinion.** (bolding mine) Not exactly. Even horny men can tell that Mary Ann and Bailey were much nicer and approachable women. I don’t think those preferences are really based on physical beauty alone. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/38 "2023-06-13T20:01:53Z")
Said another way, Mary Ann was plenty cute enough and would probably say “Yes” if asked. Ginger was hotter and more professionally beautiful but would say “No” for sure. At least to the likes of me. In those circumstances I vote for “yes”, even just maybe “yes” every time. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/39 "2023-06-13T21:03:39Z")
Ginger was “high maintenance” as known in the trade. Moody, prone to vindictiveness. “No matter how hot, some poor SOB is sick of her shit” Mary Ann - arguably hotter nay unto incendiary territory, yet down to earth and approachable. Plus coconut cream pies. Q.E.D. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315/40 "2023-06-14T03:50:52Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > I have had the same conversation with many women that just don’t believe me when I tell them that I honestly can’t judge a man’s attractiveness. It’s really not a macho thing. I just cannot tell. I can tell if they’re well dressed or clean looking but that’s about it. > [@adhemar](#): > > I, cis het female, have that issue in reverse. I’m (a guy) the same; I can’t tell what guys women are going to swoon over. For that matter, I’m sometimes surprised at what women some guys go gaga for. > [@](#): > > i always thought Ginger was prettier than Mary Ann and Jennifer was prettier than Bailey. Apparenrtly the male population is of the other opinion. The reason Mary Ann stands out is because she goes against the expectation of what kind of woman guys are supposed to be attracted to. Ginger is a glamorous, bombshell movie star; every man’s dream, right? Well, no, not every man’s; but I’m sure she has plenty of admirers, too. That’s pretty much the whole message of this thread; people’s tastes differ. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-better-looking-paul-newman-or-robert-redford/985315.md?page=3)