Back at it! Burt Reynolds made a rare public appearance on Saturday, May 9, and while he looked strikingly different than years back, the veteran actor is still as charming as ever.
Reynolds, 79, who has shied from the public eye in recent years, stepped out at Wizard World Comic Con in Philadelphia this past weekend, attending the fan event for his first time. “I think it’s a good time to find out what it’s all about,” he told The Philadelphia Inquirer of the event. “I always enjoy talking to fans and I’m usually very pleased with their curiosity about my career, what I’m doing, what I’m not doing, and why I’m not doing more.”
One thing the Boogie Nights star has been doing less of lately is starring in movies or TV shows. He recently lent his voice to a couple of off-camera projects including episodes of American Dad! and Archer, but his filming schedule has declined dramatically in the last decade.
Reynolds has been struggling with his health but still found the time to pen a highly anticipated upcoming memoir, due out in November. But Enough About Me is expected to touch on Reynolds’ time in rehab for an addiction to painkillers, and subsequent heart surgery and ensuing weight loss.
While he has evolved from the dashing heartthrob of his Evening Shade days, Reynolds was still the witty charmer at Saturday’s event. He fielded questions from reporters and fans, making jokes about his former rival Marlon Brando, discussing the 1970s classic Smokey and the Bandit, and touching on his ex and frequent collaborator Sally Field.
Reynolds, who has been acting for nearly 60 years, nodded to his many famed costars — a list that includes Julianne Moore, Heather Graham, Mark Wahlberg, Catherine Deneuve, Jon Voight, Chris Rock, and Farrah Fawcett, among many others — in an interview with the Inquirer ahead of Comic Con about his memoir.
“I got along great with 98 percent of them, and a few of them I didn’t like at all,” he said of those he’s starred alongside. “When you write a book like this, you have to tell the whole thing, and there are days when everything isn’t wonderful and there were people who I thought were asses.”
“At this age, I’m proudest of the fact that I’m working and I’ve been working very steadily almost the entire time,” Reynolds added. “It’s been a very mixed bag, but it’s been good.”
