Tim Robbins should have won Best Actor for The Shawshank Redemption over Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump

Submitted by Scmods05 t3_11ccccp in movies

I recently rewatched Shawshank on the new 4K disc (it looks stunning, highly recommend) and Tim Robbins blew me away. His performance is incredibly deep and subtle. The journey he goes on, the way he conveys the weight of the time he spends in the prison, the range he has to exude. It's a fantastic performance.

While watching I decided to check out who beat him out for Best Actor. Firstly, to my shock he wasn't even nominated? I'm sorry? Morgan Freeman was great but Robbins was, in my view, the lead. Andy is the character around whom the heart of the story revolves. He gets the bulk of the heavy lifting. His ending is the climax of the story. To me, Robbins was clearly the lead with Freeman either co-lead or supporting.

Secondly, he lost to Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. Now, I like Tom Hanks. He was very good in Forrest Gump, a movie I do not particularly care for. And while I don't want to talk down someone's performance, Hanks' performance was by design so much more limited and dare I say simple. This isn't a fault of Hanks, it's just the role as written. Yes he's very good at conveying the moments when he needs to, but Forrest Gump is more memorable as a caricature. When you live with Andy Dufresne while watching Shawshank, he feels so much more alive. So much more engrossing.

The scene between he and Freeman after he gets let out of solitary is an incredible scene to watch. You feel the fatigue. The burden of everything that has been on him and for how long it's been on him for. It's an incredible performance.

Curious as to if others share my thoughts here about if he should've won, and if anyone else is as baffled as I am that he wasn't even nominated.

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Asha_Brea t1_ja2jew5 wrote

I disagree.

I like both movies a lot, and while both actors did great jobs with each character, I think Tom Hanks did a better job performing Forrest than Tim Robbins did performing Andy.

If anything, Tim Robbins performance was simpler than Tom Hanks.

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Tim Robbins might have deserved a nomination (though I don't know who else was nominated that year), but Hanks would have still won.

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Leafybug13 t1_ja2yix7 wrote

Forrest Gump is an iconic performance.

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chishiki t1_ja2mxjg wrote

But he charmed the pants off Nixon and he won a ping-pong competition. He was a goddamn war hero.

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GaryKing1413 t1_ja36f29 wrote

Not retarded

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CaptinOlonA t1_ja3avps wrote

>Not retarded

He didn't go full retard = Oscar

I thought Tropic Thunder made that clear.

Also, Shawshank is 30x more popular now than when it came out.

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StrongAsMeat t1_ja2wdos wrote

Nope. Better movie but Hanks nailed it. "Never go full retard"

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TheDaysKing t1_ja3gorf wrote

Hanks is a bit derpy as Forrest, but it makes the more emotional scenes all the more striking, imo. The scene where he learns that he has a son is still a massive tearjerker.

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skunktubs t1_ja2kz46 wrote

Should have won best picture too.

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not_cinderella t1_ja3mict wrote

I agree Shawshank should’ve won best picture, but I still think Hanks deserved best actor.

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Dove_of_Doom t1_ja2l5vw wrote

I also just rewatched it, and the subtlety of Robbins' performance also struck me. Dufresne is reserved by nature, and he's struggling to process his new life and the circumstances that led him to Shawshank. There are only a few moments when his stoic demeanor cracks, and they are all the more powerful.

Unfortunately, the Oscar rarely goes to the most subtle performance. More often, it is the most most performance that takes the trophy.

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Anastasia_Lockheart t1_ja2qxdy wrote

I forgot Tim Robbins wasn't even nominated. But Morgan Freeman had the showier role, he was the narrator and he had the best lines. He also had the more difficult part, playing a killer who reforms and is more humanized. That scene with the parole board was incredible.

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jfstompers t1_ja3nszb wrote

I get that looking back on Forrest Gump critically it seems undeserving but people forget what a powerhouse it was at the time. It was loved and praised and Hanks in it.

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kk451128 t1_ja3uxcc wrote

Was also at the height of the run that established Hanks as a legit dramatic actor, moving away from the comedies that he did in the 80s

A League of Their Own-Philadelphia-Forrest Gump-Apollo 13-Saving Private Ryan-The Green Mile-Cast Away from 1992-2000

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Ebolatastic t1_ja3uilp wrote

Both performances were great but Forest Gump was unquestionably the harder one that shouldn't have worked.

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murse2435 t1_ja2kq13 wrote

It’s a toss up.

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Content_Ad_8952 t1_ja3o110 wrote

Ironically Hanks was the original choice to play Andy Dufresne, but couldn't take the role because he was doing Forrest Gump

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Gerti27 t1_ja3yrg7 wrote

Very strongly disagree. Shawshank has some great acting, but nothing beats Hanks that year. If he wasn't as good as he was, that performance would have easily seemed fake or offensive.

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Limp_Distribution t1_ja5cklb wrote

Obligatory quote:

”I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying.”

Andy Dufresne

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Eternal-Testament t1_ja2sgi7 wrote

I don't particularly care for Forrest Gump. But Hanks is putting on more of a performance in that than Tim Robbins does in Shawshank imho. Not even that it was showier, just there was more to it. I think Morgan Freeman did a better job than Robbins in Shawshank actually.

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RDCK78 t1_ja2vbmr wrote

Nope.

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lucia-pacciola t1_ja3eoos wrote

If only the Oscars were about the actual relative quality and merits of each nominee.

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cbbuntz t1_ja3trnw wrote

Shawshank has the better script and is a better movie in my opinion. Hanks is the better actor.

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SaltySteveD87 t1_ja41rmc wrote

While I don’t think he should’ve won I would’ve accepted his nomination over John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. Not that I don’t like the role but he makes way less of an impression than either Robbins or Hanks that year.

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VaultAir t1_ja4rz6r wrote

Tim Robinson should have won Outstanding Lead Actor In a Comedy Series for I Think You Should Leave over Jason Sudeikis for Ted Lasso

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vairhoads t1_ja4utuq wrote

Tom Hanks deserved the award from the scene…

SPOILERS…

where he’s in Jenny’s apartment and realizes he’s a father. His acting in that scene is breathtaking. “Is he smart or is he..?”

And “Shawshank” is my all-time favorite movie. Tim Robbins definitely deserved the best acting award. And in any other year he would’ve won.

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MSTRPRSN t1_ja57za6 wrote

guy gets out of cryogenetic sleep and first thing he does is install reddit and post about movies ;D

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Scmods05 OP t1_ja594hw wrote

What do we think about this movie about to come out "Pulp Fiction"? Looks a bit weird I'm not sure it'll work.

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MSTRPRSN t1_ja5a4hi wrote

Honey. We're all here. we love you. please wake up. just open your eyes..please baby.

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lmossman t1_ja6h2nh wrote

I agree with this. He at least deserved to be nominated.

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Madripoorx t1_ja3mwbe wrote

Nah. It's one of my favorite movies but the best actor in it was Freeman.

But I don't think Hanks should have received a best acting Oscar either for Gump.

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moderatesoul t1_ja3p5kp wrote

His performance is good, but not nearly the best of the year that year. And that would have been quite the trick considering he wasn't nominated. Now, Morgan Freeman could have won over Hanks, and Hawthorne was fabulous in Madness of King George. There is even an argument that Samuel L. Jackson could have been in the lead category, he had won the Indpendent Spirit Award for Male lead for Pulp Fiction. Robbins is excellent, but I don't think he is doing anything he hadn't done before.

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2BFrank69 t1_ja35fpw wrote

Sam Jackson should have won for Pulp fiction

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fool2345 t1_ja36ypo wrote

He wasn't lead.

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2BFrank69 t1_ja392sv wrote

Yeah he was best supporting. Same year as Shawshank and Gump 1994.

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GaryKing1413 t1_ja36chp wrote

I think Hanks is great as Forrest but I do think it’s isn’t even that good of an acting job.

Besides the scenes of him crying, I feel like most people could take an acting class, watch Forrest Gump a few times and then be able to do the Gump voice, mannerisms etc, it wouldn’t be the easiest but putting on that voice and having the same facial expression that Hanks had for 90% of the movie wouldn’t be that hard

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