At the age of 15, he was discovered by
Lynn Stalmaster, who was scouting for the movie
Deliverance. Stalmaster recommended Redden to director
John Boorman—though Redden was not an
albino child, as Boorman had requested—and Redden was cast. He portrayed a
banjo-playing "local" in the film's famous "dueling banjos" scene. Boorman felt that Redden's skinny frame, large head, and almond-shaped eyes made him the natural choice to play the part of an "
inbred from the back woods." Because Redden could not play the banjo, he wore a special shirt that allowed a real banjo player to hide behind him. The scene was then shot with carefully chosen camera angles to conceal the player, whose arms were slipped around Redden's waist to play the tune. The hidden banjo player was shown playing in the bare-fingered "
clawhammer" style, while the banjo heard on the soundtrack was played in three-finger "
Earl Scruggs" style, using finger picks. After
Deliverance, Redden was cast in
Lamberto Bava's 1984 film
Blastfighter. The film was recorded in and around
Clayton, Georgia, and many people recall it as a mixture of
Deliverance and
First Blood. Redden next appeared in
Tim Burton's 2003 film
Big Fish. Burton was intent on getting Redden, as he wanted him to play the role of a banjo-playing "welcomer" in the utopian town of Spectre. Burton located Redden in Clayton, where he was part-owner of the Cookie Jar Café, and also worked as a cook and dishwasher. In 2004, Redden made a guest appearance on
Blue Collar TV, playing a car repairman named Ray in a "Redneck Dictionary" skit. He represented the word "raisin bread" (as in "Ray's inbred"). He played a banjo in the skit. In 2009, Redden was cast as a banjo player in Ace Cruz's film
Outrage: Born in Terror. In 2012, 40 years after the release of
Deliverance, Redden was interviewed in association with a documentary,
The Deliverance of Rabun County (2012). It explored the feelings of people in
Rabun County four decades later about the 1972 film. Redden said that though
Deliverance was the best thing that happened to him, he never saw much money from the movie: Noting some locals objected to the stereotypes in the movie, Redden said that the people in Rabun County were good people: ==Filmography==