Tim Robbins

Tim Robbins was born in West Covina, California, and raised in New York. He is the son of actress Mary Robbins and singer and musician Gil Robbins. He began acting at age 12 at the Theatre New City while attending Stuyvesant High School.

He studied acting at UCLA. After graduating, he co-founded the theater group Actor's Gang in 1981, through which he began staging avant-garde plays with social and political themes.

In the 80s, he worked on television series. In film, he began with small roles in movies such as "Click, Click," directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Demi Moore. Later he took on more important supporting roles, including a brief appearance in "Top Gun" (1986), directed by Tony Scott.

In 1988, he began a relationship with actress Susan Sarandon, whom he had met on the set of the film "Bull Durham."

In 1992, he made his debut as a director and screenwriter with the political satire "Bob Roberts." In 1994, he masterfully played the convict Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, alongside Morgan Freeman.

He has since taken on many lead and standout supporting roles. In 2003, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in "Mystic River," directed by Clint Eastwood. In 2005, he stars in Isabel Coixet's film "The Secret Life of Words," winner of the Best Film award at the 20th Goya Awards.

He has been known for his strong opposition to the international policies established by George Bush, and has supported protests against him alongside his then-partner Susan Sarandon, or alongside fellow actor Sean Penn.

He directed a stage version of George Orwell's novel 1984, which was performed in Madrid and Barcelona in late September 2009.

In December 2009, he announced the end of his relationship with Susan Sarandon, after 23 years together, during which the couple never married.