I liked Sydney Pollack. I really liked him. My first memory of him was his performance in Tootsie (1982). For years Sydney essentially played the same character over and over – usually a strong, no-nonsense, humane executive, agent, or ‘all-business’ leader type. But, unlike some actors who do that, Michael Caine for example, I’ve never grown tired of it.
I’ve enjoyed watching him interviewed on Charlie Rose a half dozen times. I’ve followed him in the press. He seemed like a really nice guy – certainly intelligent, highly respected and very good at what he did.
He was consistently good in Tootsie (1982), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Random Hearts (1999), Changing Lanes (2002), The Interpreter (2005) and Michael Clayton (2007).
Of course he was also a producer and a terrific director. Actually a better director than he was an actor having directed The Way We Were (1973), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Electric Horseman (1979), Absence of Malice (1981), Tootsie (1982), Out of Africa (1985), The Firm (1993) the remake of Sabrina (1995) (though the original was better), Random Hearts (1999), and The Interpreter (2005) among many others. Not all were great but most were very good.
Without a doubt he was a top-tier Hollywood director but I’ll miss his on screen performances the most.
Reference: 
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| Appearances on Charlie Rose
Funny, but I never thought of Sydney Pollack as an actor. It was seeing his name as the director of some, as you say, very good (and successful) movies that I remember most.