Robert Redford's Twilight Zone Episode Remains A Must-Watch 64 Years Later

Several major movie stars appeared in "The Twilight Zone," including the recently departed Robert Redford. Before finding success as a bona fide Hollywood superstar, he had a notable role in Season 3's "Nothing in the Dark" episode, in which he plays Death.

The episode centers around a battle of wits between a reclusive elderly woman, Wanda Dunn (Gladys Cooper), and Redford's character. She's been going out of her way to evade Death for most of her life, so he has to get creative to convince her to join the afterlife. This version of Death isn't as scary as other on-screen incarnations, though, as Redford brings a lot of likability to the character. In fact, the message behind the episode is that moving on to the other side is only terrifying because it's unknown.

"Nothing in the Dark" is one of the truly great "Twilight Zone" episodes, with IMDb ranking it as the seventh best at the time of this writing. What's more, Redford had fond memories of being part of Rod Serling's beloved fantasy show.

Robert Redford enjoyed subverting expectations as an on-screen Death. Recalling the experience at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2014, he noted that he enjoyed throwing the audience off-guard and starring alongside Gladys Cooper. Despite loving the story, though, Redford didn't anticipate just how successful the episode would become.

"It was just a wonderful script, but I had no idea that it was going to have the ongoing impact that it did until I got a note from the company that produces that show. [They made a] little certificate saying that show is the most often viewed Twilight Zone episode there was. That was nice."

Of course, "The Twilight Zone" wasn't Redford's only TV credit. In the '60s, he also lent his talents to shows like "The Virginian" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour." His final small-screen role, meanwhile, can briefly be heard in 2023's "White House Plumbers," in which he voices the journalist Bob Woodward — his character in "All the President's Men."