Barbra Streisand Had a Secret ‘Crush’ on Robert Redford, Says ‘The Way They Were’ Director in Book

The intoxicating romance between Katie (Barbra Streisand) and Hubbell (Robert Redford) in the 1973 drama The Way They Were might have had a bit of reality to it.

According to Robert Hofler's recently released book The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen, Streisand was interested in Redford while shooting the film, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this month.

Hofler reported that the performer became "infatuated" with Redford after having dinner together for the first time.

"Barbra was delighted because she had a crush on him, even before we started," said Sydney Pollack, the film's director, per Hofler. "It was hard for women not to have a fixation because he was everywhere, like Elvis. He was the Golden Boy long before Hubbell came along."

Arthur Laurents, who wrote the film, got the same impression, according to Hofler. "She was simply mesmerized by him because she found him so beautiful," the screenwriter told the author. "She was infatuated with Robert Redford, who handled it well, neither encouraging her nor using her crush to his advantage."

In an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, My Name is Barbra (out Nov. 7), Streisand described her impression of Redford in her own words. "Bob is that rare combination … an intellectual cowboy … a charismatic star who is also one of the finest actors of his generation," she wrote. "But like my husband, he's almost apologetic about his looks, and I liked that about him."