Tim Robbins Biography

Summary

"Timothy Francis Robbins" (born October 16, 1958) is an American Academy Award-winning actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon, with whom he shares liberal political views. At 6 ft 5 in (196 cm), Robbins is one of the tallest actors in Hollywood.

Biography

Early life

Robbins was born in West Covina, California, the son of Mary (née Bledsoe), an actress, and Gilbert Robbins, a publishing executive, nightclub owner, musician and folk singer. Robbins has two sisters, Adele and Gabrielle, and a brother, David. Robbins was raised Catholic. 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 doing theater at age twelve and joined the drama club at Stuyvesant High School. He spent two years at SUNY Plattsburgh and then returned to California to study at the UCLA Film School.

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. He also took small parts in films, such as the role of frat animal 'Mother' in "Fraternity Vacation" (1985). His breakthrough role was as pitcher 'Nuke' LaLoosh in the 1988 baseball movie "Bull Durham".

He received critical acclaim and won the Best Actor Award at Cannes for his starring role as an amoral movie 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", which was based on Stephen King's short story.

Robbins has written, produced, and directed several films with strong social content, such as the critically acclaimed capital punishment saga "Dead Man Walking" (1995), starring Sarandon and Sean Penn. The film earned him a Oscar nomination for Best Director. His next directorial effort was 1999's Depression-era musical "Cradle Will Rock". Robbins has also appeared in mainstream Hollywood thrillers, such as 1999's "Arlington Road" (as a terrorist) and 2001's "Antitrust" (as a malicious computer tycoon). Robbins has also acted in and directed several Actors' Gang theater productions.

Robbins won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar and the SAG Award for his work in "Mystic River" (2003), as a man traumatized from having been molested as a child. In 2005, he won the 39th annual Man of the Year Pudding Pot Award given by the Hasty Pudding Theatricals of Harvard. His most recent acting roles include a temporarily blind man who is nursed to health by a psychologically wounded young woman in 'The Secret Life of Words' and an Apartheid torturer in 'Catch a Fire'.

In early 2006, Robbins directed an adaptation of George Orwell's novel "1984," written by Michael Gene Sullivan of the Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe. The show opened at Actors' Gang, at their new location at The Ivy Substation in Culver City, California. In addition to venues around the United States, it has played in Athens, Greece, the Melbourne International Festival in Australia and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Robbins is considering adapting the play into a film version.

In 2007, Robbins filmed "The Return" (2007) with co-star Rachel McAdams. Shooting took place in Illinois, including scenes filmed at Mojo's Music in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Personal life

Robbins lives in New York City. Since 1988, Robbins has been in a relationship with actress Susan Sarandon whom he met on the set of "Bull Durham". They have two sons: Jack Henry (born 1989) and Miles Guthrie (born 1992). Robbins, like Sarandon, is a lapsed Catholic.

Robbins is an avowed supporter of Ralph Nader and appeared on stage in character as Bob Roberts during the 'Nader Rocks the Garden' rally at Madison Square Garden during Nader's campaign for president in 2000. Robbins is a prominent spokesperson for anti-globalisation, a frequent critic of U.S. President George W. Bush, and a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.

In 2003, a 15th anniversary celebration of "Bull Durham" at the National Baseball Hall of Fame was cancelled by Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey. Petrovsky, who was on the White House staff during the Reagan administration, said Robbins' public stance against Bush and the war represented 'a danger.' "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.'

Robbins is an avid baseball and hockey fan. He supports the New York Mets and the New York Rangers and frequently attends games. In 1995, Robbins did a series of promos for the MSG network advertising upcoming Rangers games.