Tim Robbins

Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958)[4] is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and musician. He is well known for his portrayal of Andy Dufresne in the prison drama film The Shawshank Redemption (1994).

His other roles include Nuke LaLoosh in Bull Durham, Jacob Singer in Jacob's Ladder, Griffin Mill in The Player, and Dave Boyle in Mystic River, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and for directing such films as Dead Man Walking and Bob Roberts, both of which received critical acclaim. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director for Dead Man Walking.

In 2015, he played Secretary of State Walter Larson in the HBO comedy The Brink, and in 2018, he portrayed Greg Boatwright in Alan Ball's drama series Here and Now.

Early life
Robbins was born in West Covina, California, and raised in New York City. His parents were Mary Cecelia (née Bledsoe),[5] an actress, and Gilbert Lee Robbins,[6] a musician, folk singer, actor, and former manager of The Gaslight Cafe.[7][8][9] Robbins has two sisters, Adele and Gabrielle, and a brother, David. He was raised Catholic.[10][11]

He moved to Greenwich Village with his family at a young age, while his father pursued a career as a member of the folk music group, The Highwaymen. Robbins started performing in theater at age twelve and joined the drama club at Stuyvesant High School (Class of 1976).[12] He spent two years at SUNY Plattsburgh and then returned to California to study at the UCLA Film School, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama in 1981.[13][14]

Career
Robbins's acting career began at Theater for the New City, where he spent his teenage years in their Annual Summer Street Theater and also played the title role in a musical adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince. After graduation from college in 1981, Robbins founded the Actors' Gang, an experimental theater group, in Los Angeles with actor friends from his college softball team (including John Cusack).[citation needed]

In 1982, he appeared as domestic terrorist Andrew Reinhardt in three episodes of the television program St. Elsewhere. In 1985, he guest-starred in the second episode of the television series Moonlighting, "Gunfight at the So-So Corral". He also took small parts in films, such as the role of frat animal "Mother" in Fraternity Vacation (1985) and Lt Sam "Merlin" Wells in the fighter pilot film Top Gun (1986). He appeared on The Love Boat, as a young version of one of the characters in retrospection about the Second World War. His breakthrough role was as pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh in the 1988 baseball film Bull Durham, in which he co-starred with Susan Sarandon and Kevin Costner.[citation needed]

He received critical acclaim and won the Best Actor Award at Cannes for his starring role as an amoral film executive in Robert Altman's 1992 film The Player. He made his directorial and screenwriting debut with 1992's Bob Roberts, a mockumentary about a right-wing senatorial candidate. Robbins then starred alongside Morgan Freeman in the critically acclaimed The Shawshank Redemption (1994), which was based on Stephen King's novella.[15]

Personal life
In 1988, Robbins entered into a relationship with actress Susan Sarandon, whom he met on the set of Bull Durham. They have two sons: John "Jack" Henry (born May 15, 1989) and Miles Guthrie (born May 4, 1992). Robbins, like Sarandon, is a lapsed Catholic,[23] and they both share liberal political views. The end of Robbins' relationship with Sarandon was announced in late December 2009.[24]

Robbins supported Ralph Nader's 2000 presidential campaign and appeared on stage in character as Bob Roberts during the "Nader Rocks the Garden" rally at Madison Square Garden.[25] In December 2007, Robbins campaigned for Senator John Edwards in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.[26] He delivered a speech critical of Hillary Clinton and the DLC while introducing Bernie Sandersat a 2016 campaign stop.[27]

He publicly opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2003, a 15th anniversary celebration of Bull Durham at the National Baseball Hall of Fame was canceled by Hall of Fame President Dale Petroskey. Petroskey told Robbins that his stance helped to "undermine the U.S. position, which could put our troops in even more danger."[28] Durham co-star Kevin Costner defended Robbins and Sarandon, saying, "I think Tim and Susan's courage is the type of courage that makes our democracy work. Pulling back this invite is against the whole principle about what we fight for and profess to be about."[28]

Robbins is an avid baseball and ice hockey fan. He supports the New York Metsand the New York Rangers and frequently attends games. In 1995 Robbins did a series of promos for MSG Network advertising upcoming Rangers games, and has narrated a documentary on the 1969 Mets for SNY.[citation needed]