Occupation: Actor, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Writer
Date of Birth: October 16, 1958
Place of Birth: West Covina, Calif, USA
Sign: Sun in Libra, Moon in Sagittarius
Relations: Father: Gil (folk-singer, nightclub manager); mother: Mary (publishing executive); brother: David (composer); common-law wife: Susan Sarandon (actress); kids: Jack Henry, Miles Guthrie; stepdaughter: Eva Maria
Education: Attended State University of New York: Plattsburgh, UCLA
AFTER A SERIES of roles in an odd assortment of movies (Toy Soldiers, The Sure Thing, Howard the Duck, Top Gun, Tapeheads, Five Corners) taken to earn money to fund his alternative theater troupe, The Actors' Gang, Robbins's acting career took off in 1988 when he appeared in Bull Durham as rookie pitcher "Nuke" LaLoosh, the young stud with "a million dollar arm and a five-cent head."
Robbins went on to play a series of impressive roles in Robert Altman's The Player, Short Cuts and Ready to Wear, in Joel Coen's Hudsucker Proxy, and in his own movie, Bob Roberts. The 1992 political satire featured Robbins as the rebellious child of hippie parents - an arch-conservative folksinger turned political candidate. Robbins himself was the lefty child of hippie parents: His father was Gil Robbins of the folk music group The Highwaymen. Tim was raised in Greenwich Village, and by 12 was already a member of the avant-garde acting troupe, Theatre for the New City. Robbins collaborated with his brother, David, on the songs for Bob Roberts, which feature such titles as "The Times They Are A-Changin' Back," "This Land Was Made For Me," and "Drugs Stink."
Robbins was hardly less appealing as the stalked movie producer Griffin Mill in The Player ("This is a red wine glass. Can I have my water in a water glass?"), for which he earned a Golden Globe and a Best Actor from Cannes; and he proved his own mettle as a director with 1995's Dead Man Walking, starring Susan Sarandon (Robbins' real-life partner) and Sean Penn.
With 1999's Arlington Road, Robbins used his Everyguy demeanor to truly terrifying effect. After discovering what secrets lay behind his all-American façade, viewers could never again know exactly who their neighbors were. After all, the only thing scarier than a crazy madman is a quiet madman.
Robbins' attraction to widely varying roles remains with his appearances in Mission to Mars (with Gary Sinise), and High Fidelity ( John Cusack, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Beverly D'Angelo). The soon-to-be-released Anti-Trust, a Hollywood take on Seattle's IT industry, has Robbins' starring opposite heartthrob Ryan Phillippe.
Movies:
2000 High Fidelity
2000 Anti-Trust
2000 Mission to Mars
2000 The Moviegoer
1999 Cradle Will Rock
1999 Arlington Road
1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
1997 Nothing To Lose
1996 The Typewriter, The Rifle & The Movie
1995 Dead Man Walking
1994 The Hudsucker Proxy
1994 The Shawshank Redemption
1994 IQ
1994 Ready to Wear (Pret-A-Porter)
1993 Short Cuts
1992 The Player
1992 Bob Roberts
1990 Caddilac Man
1990 Jacob's Ladder
1989 Erik the Viking
1988 Tapeheads
1988 Bull Durham
1988 Five Corners
1986 Top Gun
1986 Howard the Duck
1985 Fraternity Vacation
1985 The Sure Thing
1984 Toy Soldiers
1984 No Small Affair
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
