It has happened again: fans on social media have realized that Robert Redford is “the guy in the nodding meme,” confusing younger users who were sure it was Zach Galifianiakis. This is something that pops up on Twitter about once every three to six months, and it’s always entertaining to see the reactions when fans realize that the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Captain America: The Winter Soldier star is the guy they’ve been sharing around the web all this time. The image, from Redford’s 1972 movie Jeremiah Johnson, is a popular reaction GIF, often used by people who weren’t actually born when Jeremiah Johnson was a movie people regularly talked about.
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This is a classic example of social media collectively realizing something that many see as obvious, and others see as totally mind-blowing. It’s fun to watch the dynamic play out, and not too dissimilar to the super-sexy photos of Patrick Stewart with hair…which are actually photos of Spartacus TV series star Andy Whitfield.
In Jeremiah Johnson, a Mexican-American War veteran, Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford), heads to the mountains to live in isolation. Woefully unequipped for the task at hand, Johnson is fortunate to come across a seasoned mountain man (Will Geer) willing to teach him the necessary survival tactics. As life continues in the mountains, Johnson finds himself a native bride (Delle Bolton) and an adopted son (Josh Albee). However, their peaceful existence is threatened when Johnson incurs the ire of the Crow Indians.
You can see some of our favorite reactions below.
