7 Facts About The Shawshank Redemption Actor Tim Robbins: Details About his Professional and Personal Life

Tim Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, film producer, director, and musician, who is perhaps most known for his phenomenal turn as Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption. 

An Academy Award-winning actor of Mystic River (2003) and an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker of Last Man Standing (1995), Robbins recently starred in the second season of the Hulu psychological-thriller anthology series, Castle Rock.

Here are seven facts about Tim Robbins:

7. Breakthrough Role in The Shawshank Redemption

Tim Robbins is most widely known for playing Andy Dufresne in the iconic 1994 drama movie, The Shawshank Redemption. 

Adapted from the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Andy is a banker who is wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover.

Ranked among the greatest movies ever made it jump-started the career of Robbins, who had a tour de force performance alongside Morgan Freeman.    

6. Part of the Ensemble Cast of High Fidelity

Tim Robbins was one of the ensemble cast of A-list actors that made up the main cast of the 2000 romantic-comedy-drama movie, High Fidelity.

Adapted from the eponymous 1995 novel by Nick Hornby, the movie starred John Cusack, Lisa Bonet, Jack Black, Iben Hjejle, and Todd Louiso and tells the story of record store owner Rob Gordon as he recounts his top five breakups.

The movie turned twenty in March 2020, a mere month ago, and the cast has gone on to become legendary actors and performers since then.  

5. Father of Two Sons with Ex-Partner Actress Susan Sarandon 

To date, Robbins remains unmarried. He was, however, in a relationship with the Academy Award-winning American actress, Susan Sarandon. They had a live-in relationship that started in 1988.   

On May 15, 1989, Robbins became a father for the first time when Sarandon gave birth to their son, Jack Henry Robbins.

Robbins became a father for the second time on May 4, 1992, with the arrival of another son, Miles Robbins.

Despite living together for and having shared interests, namely in acting and activism, the two never got married. They separated in 2009 after over two decades together. 

4. Oscar-Nominated Director of Last Man Standing, Starring Then-Partner, Susan Sarandon

Besides being one of the finest performers to have stepped in front of the camera, his antics behind the camera are not shabby either. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for the 1995 crime-drama film, Dead Man Walking, along with three other nominations the movie received. 

The movie starred Sean Penn and his then-partner Susan Sarandon. Sarandon herself was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, which she went on to win. 

To date, her win at the 68th Academy Awards marks her only Academy Award win out of five nominations.  

3. Academy Award-Winning Actor of Clint Eastwood-Directed Mystic River

Robbins won his long-overdue Academy Award for his supporting role as Dave Boyle in the Clint Eastwood-directed and scored 2003 neo-noir mystery drama film, Mystic River.

The movie starred Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, and Laura Linney and was based on the eponymous novel by Dennis Lehane. 

The movie was nominated for six Academy Awards and with Sean Penn's win for Best Actor, it became the first movie since 1959's Ben-Hur to win both the Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor categories. 

2. Part of Two Cancelled HBO Shows, The Brink, Here and Now

Recently, Robbins has been appearing increasingly on television. Since 2015, he has been a part of the main cast of three TV series.

He starred as United States Secretary of State Walter Larson alongside Jack Black in the-now-canceled 2015 HBO comedy series The Brink.

He faced a similar misfortune when the HBO drama series, Here and Now, was canceled after its first season. He was part of the main cast as Greg Boatwright alongside Holly Hunter and Jerrika Hinton.

He has found a modicum of good luck in the second season of the Hulu psychological horror anthology web series, Castle Rock. He was part of the main cast of the second season along with Lizzy Caplan and Paul Sparks. 

1. Has a Net Worth of $60 Million

As of April 2020, Tim Robbins has a net worth of $60 million. Robbins is an Academy Award-winning actor and an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker.

Most known for his stellar turn in the 1994 prison drama, The Shawshank Redemption, Robbins won the Oscar for his performance in the 2003 neo-noir crime drama, Mystic River.

Robbins has also been part of many TV shows including St. Elsewhere, Hardcastle and McCormick, Hill Street Blues, The Brink, Here and Now, and Castle Rock.