Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an
American actor,
screenwriter,
director,
producer,
activist and
musician. He is the longtime
partner of actress
Susan Sarandon. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Nuke in
Bull Durham, Andy Dufresne in
The Shawshank Redemption, and as Dave Boyle in
Mystic River, for which he won an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Early life
Robbins was born in
West Covina, California, and raised in New York City, the son of Mary (
née Bledsoe), an
actress, and Gilbert Robbins, a
musician, publishing executive,
nightclub owner, and
folk singer.
Robbins has two sisters, Adele and Gabrielle, and a brother, David. Robbins was raised a
Roman 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.