In an unexpected twist of events, a celebrated Hollywood icon found himself set to meet a notorious figure.

Back in June 2013, Robert Redford agreed to a meeting with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender whose notoriety had become linked with scandal, power, and abuse.

Recently uncovered documents from Epstein’s private calendars, accessed by the Daily Mail, reveal that this meeting was scheduled to take place in Santa Fe, New Mexico—a location of significance for both men.

For Epstein, Santa Fe housed his expansive Zorro Ranch, one of several properties he allegedly used for his criminal activities involving young girls.

Meanwhile, for Redford, New Mexico was more than just a backdrop; he once called it his second home and used it as a filming site for his iconic 1969 western, “Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid,” describing the state as having a unique ‘soul.’

The calendars show the two had agreed to a date and location, but there is no record of what the men discussed or whether the encounter actually took place. 

Newly released files reveal disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and late actor Robert Redford (right) made plans to meet in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2013 

Representatives for Redford did not return the Daily Mail’s multiple requests for comment. 

What was known, however, is that Epstein had taken a keen interest in Hollywood, and the prospect of meeting Redford – who died aged 89 on September 16 – would have been alluring.

An entry in Epstein’s calendar dated Saturday April 27, 2013, reads: ‘Reminder: Robert Redford and Richardson.’

‘Richardson’ appears to refer to Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico, who was close friends with Epstein and was named by his accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre as one of the men she was trafficked to. Richardson died aged 75 in 2023.

An email from Epstein’s assistant Lesley Groff dated May 30, 2013, reads: ‘2013 June. REMINDER BOB REDFORD IS ASKING IF YOU COULD HAVE LUNCH WITH HIM EARLY JUNE in Santa Fe.

‘YOU SAID YES BUT ALSO SUGGESTED ANYTIME IN AUG’

‘REMINDER: IF YOU ARE IN FL (Florida) ANYTIME IN JULY YOU MUST RE-REGISTER AT THE FL STOCKADE.’

Redford (pictured), whose most memorable films include the 1969 western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, at one point lived in New Mexico, where some scenes of the movie were filmed 

Epstein had a sprawling estate in Stanley, New Mexico, just outside Santa Fe, known as Zorro Ranch (pictured), which he used to lure and abuse girls 

The three-level main house spanned 30,000 square feet complete with four bedrooms, a living room, library (pictured) and gourmet kitchen

One of the four bedrooms inside the sprawling mansion at Epstein’s ranch 

The message was referring to the prison where Epstein served his 15-month sentence for soliciting sex from minors – the sentence length was part of a sweetheart plea deal he scored in 2008.

As per the terms of his release, he was registered as a sex offender and had to notify various authorities whenever he was in the area.

By the time of the apparent meeting with Redford, then 76, Epstein’s proclivities had been extensively reported, raising deep questions over the actor’s judgment.  

It is possible that Redford, who went on to direct various independent films later in his career, might have looked at Epstein’s wealth as a potential lifeline for his movies – but his motives remain a mystery.

During the 2010s, Epstein used his money to try to rehabilitate his public image, pouring millions into elite universities like Harvard and MIT.

He was a prolific donor to Democratic causes, including giving tens of thousands of dollars for Bill and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns.

An interior shot of the main house on Zorro Ranch 

The plans show that Epstein’s master bedroom takes up most of the space on the first floor, where there were also two relatively tiny en-suite bedrooms and a fourth ‘staff bedroom’

But after his arrest and death by suicide in 2019, those donations became radioactive, and his ties to the Clintons became toxic for them.

Working with Redford would have also allowed Epstein, who was just four years out of his 15-month sentence, to try to rehabilitate his reputation.

Epstein’s calendar entries have been released by the House Oversight Committee after they were subpoenaed from his estate.

At the time of the meeting, Redford was about to release the now-critically acclaimed 2013 one-man movie, All is Lost. The film, which is about a sailor’s struggle when his boat hits a wayward shipping container in the Indian Ocean, won him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.

Redford, who founded the Sundance Film Festival in 1974 to champion independent filmmakers, often spoke about how hard it was to secure funding to make the movies he wanted.

He told Variety in 2013 that it took him four years to secure financing for The Company You Keep, a movie about former members of the left wing 1960s terrorist group Weather Underground.

Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson (pictured) was also set to be at the meeting. He was named by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre as one of the men Epstein trafficked her to. Richardson died in 2023

Redford, pictured with co-star Barbra Streisand after receiving an honorary Oscar in 2002, died on September 16 

Due to the modest budget, all of the locations had to be shot in Vancouver – even though the film takes place in upstate New York, Manhattan and Maine. 

In another interview from the time, Redford said Hollywood was ‘not the same as it was when I first entered the business.’

‘It felt to me like it was starting to narrow down and centralize itself around what would… make money,’ he said.

‘I just felt the films that I liked might get thrown away, so I committed to doing whatever I could… to give a chance to those kinds of voices that would continue to make those films.’