Tim Robbins soared to fame in the late eighties and early nineties with roles in major productions like Top Gun, Shawshank Redemption, and Jacob’s Ladder.
However, as of late, he has been notably absent from the silver screen. Rest assured, though, he still is very much involved in show business.
If you’ve ever wondered what the future held for the man who made a notable impression as the quiet and honest Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, read on to find out whatever happened to Tim Robbins.
Early Life
Robbins was born on October 16th, 1958, in West Covina, California. However, the family soon moved to New York City, where he was raised.
His parents were no strangers to show business as his mother, Mary Cecelia, was a musician, and his father, Gilbert Lee Robbins, was a singer in the folk group The Highwaymen, an actor and manager of the popular venue the Gaslight Cafe.
Robbins is one of four children, having two sisters and one brother who followed in his parent’s footsteps and became a composer.
During his upbringing in Greenwich Village, Robbins became interested in theater, starting on stage with Theater for the New City at just twelve years old. By the time he was a teenager, he was a prominent member of Stuyvesant High School’s drama club.
Upon graduating, Robbins attended SUNY Plattsburgh for two years before heading to California to take up studies at UCLA Film School. There, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama, graduating in 1981.
Rise to Stardom
Post-graduation, Robbins founded an experimental actors group with actor friends from his college softball team and John Cusack. The Los Angeles-based club was called the Actors’ Gang.
While participating in the avant-garde club, Robbins also looked for formal work, appearing in three episodes of St. Elsewhere as domestic terrorist Andrew Reinhardt in 1982.
His second role was equally as small, a guest part in the comedy-drama series Moonlighting.
However, when he began accepting film roles is when Robbins truly broke onto the scene. He was frat animal "Mother" in Fraternity Vacation, Lt Sam "Merlin" Wells in the smash hit Top Gun, pitcher Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh in Bull Durham alongside Susan Sarandon and Kevin Costner, and Jacob Singer in Jacob’s Ladder.
In addition to acting, Robbins slowly began to try his hand at other facets of movie-making. He was the writer and director of his satirical mockumentary Bob Roberts, in which he also played the main character.
The Shawshank Redemption
But the dreams of directing and writing were briefly put on hold when Robbins obtained his biggest role in 1994. He was offered the part of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption.
His character was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, receiving two life sentences for a crime he did not commit. Unlike the other prisoners, he is honest and kind.
Eventually, he escapes the prison to take up residence in Mexico, where he reunites with fellow prisoner Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman).
Since the film’s popularity, Robbins has been quoted saying, "I thought the script was the best script I’ve ever read," however, he was surprised when it reached the levels of success that it did.
Dead Man Walking
After the Shawshank Redemption, Robbins continued acting but genuinely began focusing on his other talents. He was the writer and director of Dead Man Walking, a film that, in addition to its actors and actresses, was nominated for and won several accolades. The most prominent being a nomination for best director by the Academy Awards.
After Dead Man Walking, Robbins directed a musical by the title of Cradle Will Rock. Additional directing credits include an adaptation of George Orwell’s novel 1984 and two episodes of HBO’s Treme.
Robbins’ accolades weren’t only for directing, though. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2004 for the 2003 American neo-noir crime drama film Mystic River. Robbins played Dave Boyle, a quiet, blue-collar worker who was abused as a child and is suspected of being a murderer. The film was a huge success and was nominated for six awards overall.
Following another role in a critically acclaimed film, Robbins continued acting in small and large roles both in film and television. Such as Zathura, War of the Worlds, City of Ember, and Green Lantern. Television series include Portlandia, The Brink, and Here and Now.
What is Tim Robbins Doing Now?
Tim Robbins is still active as an actor. Most recently, he appeared on Apple TV’s "Silo".
"Silo" is an American science fiction dystopian television series based on the "Wool" series of novels by author Hugh Howey.
The series is set in a dystopian future where a community of 10,000 people exists in a giant silo that extends hundreds of stories underground. This society lives under regulations that they believe are meant to protect them​.
Robbins plays the character of Bernard Holland on the show, the strict head of the IT Department in the Silo.
Previously Robbins acted in 2019’s Castle Rock as Reginald "Pop" Merrill, who was a main cast member for two seasons, and Tom Terp in the film Dark Waters also in 2019.
His original passion, the Actors’ Gang, is still going strong, celebrating its 40th anniversary with a revival of ‘Ubuthe King’ and a virtual play called We Live On in 2021.
Today, he continues acting while dappling in directing, writing, and making his own music.
Personal Life
Though Robbins has been in the spotlight for most of his life, her personal matters have been kept quite quiet. From 1988 to 2009, he kept a rather private relationship with Susan Sarandon.
They had two children, John "Jack" Henry, born May 15th, 1989, and Miles Robbins, born May 4th, 1992. Robbins shocked the world when he filed for divorce in January 2021.
No one knew he was married, but he wed Gratiela Brancusi on February 1st, 2017, in secret. He remained married to the Eastern European actress until the split on July 1st, 2020.
Still, the world didn’t know of the marriage or break up until the divorce papers in 2021.
His new love interest seems to be director Reed Morano, who regularly appears on his social media, which you can follow for all of Robbins’ latest activities and interests.
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