Burt Reynolds

Personal context

Summary

Burt Reynolds was an actor known for action films and comedies including Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, and The Cannonball Run, as well as his Golden Globe-winning performance in Boogie Nights. His screen work often drew on a swaggering, humorous outsider persona. In interviews, Reynolds criticized Hollywood’s treatment of black people and lack of Black directors, writers, and producers; he also said he changed insulting dialogue about native Americans and challenged directors and producers over their portrayal in his Westerns. He described himself as neither a Republican nor a Democrat and said he liked Donald Trump personally, while expressing concern about Trump’s approach to war. No public record of sustained political campaigning or activist affiliations is established.