Tom Cruise Almost Starred in 'The Shawshank Redemption' He has the essential quietness to his performance that Andy needs for his character to be convincing. Before Robbins was cast as the central character of Andy Dufresne, another big name was once considered for the role: Tom Cruise!
Tom Hanks' decision to decline the role of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption was due to previous commitments to other projects. However, one can't help imagine how the film might have differed with Hanks' involvement.
Tom Hanks declined to act in The Shawshank Redemption as Andy to star in Forrest Gump, which was the most beneficial choice for his career. When Tom Hanks was offered the role of Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, he turned the offer down in favor of starring in Forrest Gump, a career-defining role.
Was Tim Robbins the first choice for Shawshank Redemption?
It might have been because it was competing with "Pulp Fiction" and "Forrest Gump", because it was a prison movie with no female major characters, or maybe because the title didn't mean anything to movie fans. Tim Robbins wasn't the first choice to star in the movie.
What is the famous line from Shawshank Redemption?
“I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your āss belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank.”
Who Else Almost Starred In The Shawshank Redemption? | Casting Calls
What is the most famous scene in Shawshank Redemption?
You know the scene. Halfway through the iconic “Shawshank Redemption,” Andy Dufresne walks into the Warden's office and plays a recording of “Le Nozze di Figaro,” specifically the Duettino “Sull'aria” across the main speakers to the entire prison. It earns him a stay at solitary confinement.
During the movie, Andy asked him why he was called that. Red replied, "Maybe it's because I'm Irish," and then he simply strutted off. Despite his surname being Redding, this was an inside joke because, in Stephen King's novel, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Red was actually a red-headed Irishman.
Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Kevin Costner were offered, and passed on the role—Hanks due to his starring role in Forrest Gump, and Costner because he had the lead in Waterworld. Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, and Charlie Sheen were also considered for the role at different stages.
The Shawshank Redemption is not a true story, but a film based on Stephen King's novella. The movie greatly expanded on King's work, making changes to characters and the ending for a more satisfying experience.
Travolta almost filled Forrest Gump's Nikes in the iconic film before Hanks was slated for the role. Speaking to MTV in 2007, Travolta shared that he did not have any regrets about turning down the part.
You might be wondering, "But why Rita Hayworth?" Good question. It might be that King is partial to red-heads or that he really, really digs Rita's movies. More likely, however, is that it's simply the fact that Rita was a well-known pin-up girl in the 1940s when Andy gets thrown in jail.
Red said he was the only guilty man in Shawshank because he murdered his wife for insurance money by cutting the brakes on her car. He would inadvertantly murder three more when his wife picked up some passengers on the way into town, resulting in Red getting caught.
After Andy discovers the affair, Linda tells him she wants a divorce. When Andy refuses, Linda goes to Glenn's place for the night—where she and Glenn are murdered by burglar Elwood Blatch.
Tom Hanks. Turned down Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption due to his filming of Forrest Gump. Turned down Jerry Maguire. Turned down Ray in Field of Dreams.
After Andy Dufresne's escape from Shawshank, he disappears seemingly without a trace, although he did leave a trail for Red to follow. This leads him to Zihuatanejo in Mexico, but there's a reason that he fled south of the border.
How old is Andy at the end of Shawshank Redemption?
The former vice president of a bank in Portland, Maine, Andy is thirty years old when he arrives at Shawshank and approximately fifty-eight when he escapes.
What song does the warden whistle in Shawshank Redemption?
Frank Darabont was finishing filming the scene in the warden's outer office. As Bob Gunton tossed his car keys into the air and headed out through the doorframe, he ad-libbed a tune, whistling a song you may have heard in church, on a Sunday. That song was, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."
Andy's inner confidence and sense of self-worth represent the part of Red that Hadley, Norton, and the other prison authorities never managed to crush. Although Red has undoubtedly thought of escaping numerous times during his thirty-eight years in prison, it is Andy's resolute sense of hope that Red admires.
Where was the beach scene in Shawshank Redemption filmed?
The movie's final scene depicted characters Andy and Red reuniting on a beach in Mexico. But the scene was actually filmed at Sandy Point on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. (So Red didn't really have to make it across the border, after all.)
The Big Picture. Tom Cruise was considered for the lead role in The Shawshank Redemption. but director Frank Darabont insisted on creative control, leading to Cruise declining the role.
Freeman says the two are still in touch, and his favorite thing about working together was: “All of it, everything.” Robbins agrees that “the camaraderie between the guys” was the most rewarding part of life on-set.
Red, the narrator, recounts how he planned and carried out his wife's murder by disabling her brakes, which accidentally killed a neighbor and child as well and earned him a life sentence at Shawshank Prison.
