Tim Robbins
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Radio: Bio of actor/director Tim Robbins
December 31, 1969
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Tim Robbins made his acting debut in 1972 at the Theatre for the New City in New York City. After graduating from UCLA, Tim made his professional debut on television’s “St. Elsewhere” in the same year as he co-founded the Actor’s Gang, an ensemble in its 22nd year for which Robbins serves as Artistic Director.
In 2004, in the critically acclaimed film “Mystic River,” directed by Clint Eastwood, Robbins was honored with an Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Broadcast Film Critics Society Award and citations by critics’ groups for Best Supporting Actor. He then went on to star in Michael Winterbottom’s critically acclaimed “Code 46” in the fall of 2004. Robbins just completed production on the family adventure film “Zathura,” directed by Jon Favreau and will next be seen on the big screen this summer on June 29th in Steven Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds” with Tom Cruise.
In 1992, Robbins received critical acclaim for his portrayal of the amoral studio chief in Robert Altman’s “The Player,” a performance that earned him the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. That same year, his starring performance in “Bob Roberts” also earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
Other notable acting performances include “The Shawshank Redemption” for which Robbins received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Actor, Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts” giving Robbins his second Golden Globe Award, Tony Bill’s “Five Corners,” the Coen Brothers’ “The Hudsucker Proxy,” Adrian Lyne’s “Jacob’s Ladder” and Ron Shelton’s “Bull Durham” and Michel Gondry’s “Human Nature.”
As a filmmaker, Robbins most recently directed a film version of a play which he wrote entitled “Embedded”. The film, “Embedded Live,” which was accepted to the 2004 Venice Film Festival, takes a speculative look at the war in Iraq and the accuracy of the media’s reporting as a result of embedding journalists and “Embedded Live” is being released on DVD through Netflix on May 31st and airing exclusively on the prestigious Sundance Channel in August 2005. Robbins also wrote, directed and produced “Cradle Will Rock,” which debuted to a standing ovation at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. The film, which chronicles the real-life drama behind the Orson Welles production of Mark Blitzstein’s 1930’s musical, won the National Board of Review Award for Special Achievement in Filmmaking and won Best Film and Best Director at the Barcelona Film Festival.
Robbins also wrote, directed and produced the highly acclaimed film, “Dead Man Walking,” adapted from the book by Sister Helen Prejean. Robbins received the Best Screenplay Award from the Austin Film Festival for his script and an Academy Award nomination for Best Director along with four awards at the Berlin Film Festival, the Humanitas award and the Christopher award. The film also earned a nomination for Best Actor for Sean Penn as well as the Academy Award for Best Actress for Susan Sarandon.
Robbins made his directing and screenwriting debut with the award-winning political satire, “Bob Roberts,” a “mockumentary” about a dubious right-wing candidate’s race for the Senate. Robbins also starred in and co-wrote the songs for this film which was nominated for a Golden Globe award and received the Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor Award at the Boston Film Festival, as well as Best Film at The Tokyo International Festival.
Robbins also executive-produced “The Typewriter, the Rifle, and the Movie Camera,” a documentary about filmmaker Sam Fuller, which won the 1996 Cable ACE Award for Best Documentary.
In 2002, Robbins performed in “The Guys,” a play about a fire captain who lost eight of his men on September 11th. Robbins performed with Swoosie Kurtz at the Flea Theatre in New York and at Lincoln Center with Susan Sarandon. The play was then performed at the Actor’s Gang Theatre in Los Angeles with Helen Hunt and at the Edinburgh Festival and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin with Susan Sarandon.
Robbins co-founded the Actors’ Gang in 1982, the highly acclaimed and respected Los Angeles theatre ensemble dedicated to the production of wild, original and provocative theatre. He is currently its Artistic Director as it celebrates its 22nd anniversary. The Actors’ Gang has received over 100 Awards including Dramalogue, L.A Weekly and Ovation Awards, and the prestigious Margaret Hartford Award for “continued excellence.” Robbins himself was honored with the LA Weekly Award for his direction of the Gang’s debut production, a midnight performance of UBU ROI, and earned a nomination for Best Director from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle for the group’s production of Brecht’s “The Good Woman of Szechuan.”
In 2004, with a three-month run, the Gang performed “Embedded” at the New York Public Theater and then went to stage the production at the Riverside Theater in London in September, 2004. Most recently The Gang has produced “Mephisto,” “The Seagull,” “The Guys,” “Exonerated,” “Alagazm,” and “Orlando,” and has developed educational outreach programs in the arts with local schools.
Robbins lives in New York City with his family, his proudest accomplishments and finest production to date.
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