Robert Redford to Receive Film Society of Lincoln Center's 2015 Chaplin Award, 4/27

The Film Society of LINCOLN Center announced this weekend at the 52nd New York Film Festival, which they sponsored, that actor Robert Redford will be the recipient of the Chaplin Award.

"The Board is thrilled to have Robert Redford as the next recipient of the Chaplin Award," said Film Society of LINCOLN Center chairman Ann Tenenbaum. "Not only is he an internationally known and loved actor, director, and producer, but perhaps no other single artist has done more to champion the work of independent filmmakers. This makes him a truly distinguished honoree - the Film Society, the New York Film Festival, and the film world in general are immensely richer because of his contributions."

Deadline reports that Redford will officially receive the award at the Film Society of LINCOLN Center's awards gala on April 27, 2015.

Ever since its inception in 1972, legendary actors have received the Chaplin Award. Previous winners include, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Laurence Olivier, Federico Fellini, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas, Sidney Poitier, Catherine Deneuve, Barbra Streisand and, last year, Rob Reiner.

Charles Robert Redford Jr., better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Academy Awards: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime Achievement in 2002. In 2010, he was awarded French Knighthood in the Legion d'Honneur.

In April 2014, Time magazine included Redford in its annual TIME 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World" declaring him the "Godfather of Indie Film."