The son of folk singer Gil Robbins, Tim Robbins was born in West Covina, Calif., on Oct. 16, 1958. At UCLA, he founded the Actors' Gang theater company, with which he's still active.Small parts in 1980s youth comedies led to bigger ones in Top Gun (1986) and his breakthrough role in Bull Durham (1988) as a dim-witted rookie pitcher. His success in Robert Altman's The Player started Robbins toward more politically and socially conscious films, such as the "mockumentary" Bob Roberts (which he also wrote and directed).
Two prison dramas have had lasting impact on Robbins's career -- the cult favorite The Shawshank Redemption and Dead Man Walking, the death penalty docudrama he adapted and directed (and for which he received a Best Director Oscar nomination). His sensitive performance as a murder suspect and abuse survivor in Mystic River brought Robbins his first Oscar in 2004.
The Shawshank RedemptionFramed in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden (Bob Gunton). During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired... Read More
Jacob's LadderIn this supernatural thriller, Vietnam veteran Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) returns home to New York City, only to be haunted by his son's death, plagued by flashbacks from the war and tortured by psychological demons. Despite support from his ex-wife (Patricia Kalember), his girlfriend (Elizabeth... Read More
The PlayerDirector Robert Altman's wickedly funny masterpiece about a slick Hollywood studio executive named Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) -- a hotshot whose life is falling apart -- is packed with irreverence and myriad star cameos (including appearances from Steve Allen, Cher, John Cusack, Peter Falk and Jeff... Read More
Nothing to LoseAn advertising executive thinks he's having a bad day when he discovers his wife in bed with his boss. But the day goes from bad to worse when he drives around aimlessly and soon finds himself staring down a carjacker. Read More
