Burt Reynolds Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, director and producer. He first rose to prominence starring in television series such as "Gunsmoke" (1962–1965), "Hawk" (1966), and "Dan August" (1970–1971). His breakout film role was as Lewis Medlock in "Deliverance" (1972). Reynolds played the leading role in a number of subsequent box office hits, such as "The Longest Yard" (1974), "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977), "Semi-Tough" (1977), "Hooper" (1978), "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980), "The Cannonball Run" (1981) and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982). After a number of
Casting By to show us the profession’s evolution from studio system type-casting to the rise of large ensemble films populated with unique and diverse casts. In their July 25, 2013 cover story on the film ("Rise of the Casting Directors"), "Backstage" wrote, "the film features what is arguably the greatest assemblage of talking-head star power in any documentary ever made." The interviewees include numerous Hollywood legends: Woody Allen, Ed Asner, Jeanine Basinger, Ned Beatty, Tony Bill, Peter Bogdanovich, Stephen Bowie, Jeff Bridges, Glenn Close, Ronny Cox, Robert De Niro, Richard Donner, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Duvall, Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Taylor