Actor Tim Robbins (61, "Mystic River") has already made several films that take place in prisons. In an interview with "Welt am Sonntag", he said that he could have ended up behind bars in real life.
"Many of my friends at the time had been arrested"
The Oscar winner reports about his childhood in New York. He had experienced conflicts between neighborhoods, racism and violence. But that's not all: "I saw firsthand how friends of mine got into trouble and went to prison," says Robbins. It was about drugs. "Many of my friends at the time had been arrested for suddenly committing crimes that I could have committed." He gives marijuana possession as an example.
The Hollywood star also criticizes the widespread opinion about prisons: "Society makes us believe that only violent people who want to hurt others are in the prisons. The truth is different."
Theater work in prison
For films such as "Dead Man Walking" or "Die Verurdente", the actor increasingly dealt with the prison issue. His documentary "45 Seconds Of Laughter" is based on his rehabilitation project in prisons.
He has been going to prisons with his colleagues for 14 years and has been working on stage plays with the prisoners. At the beginning, however, he still had concerns: "I found myself thinking that now someone will come up to me who wants to polish their reputation by tapping the star from 'The condemned'. I admit that I do was afraid. " However, this fear had dissipated within a few seconds.
With his work he tries to build bridges among the detainees and "create emotional connections between hostile factions".