Tim Robbins isn't thrilled with comparing Shawshank Redemption to real prison breaks

Do not ask Tim Robbins about real-life prison breaks

(Image credit: Conan)

last updated 9 June 2015

Over the weekend, two prisoners escaped from New York's maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility and vanished, in what is routinely referred to in the press as a "real-life Shawshank Redemption prison break." So on Monday's Conan, O'Brien asked Tim Robbins about comparisons to the beloved movie he starred in with Morgan Freeman. He's not a fan of the analogy, he told Conan, and is puzzled why people call him for comment about real, high-profile prison breaks.

"For me, it's a different story," Robbins said. For one, in the movie, "Andy is innocent," he said. But more generally, one is fiction, based on a Stephen King book, and the other is real. Conan, at this point, agreed with Robbins. "It's like calling Leo DiCaprio every time a boat sinks," he joked. Watch the conversation, and get a sense of why Robbins is so protective of the movie, in the clip below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.