Why Brad Pitt Rejected Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption
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There are few movies as widely beloved as director Frank Darabont's "The Shawshank Redemption." Based on Stephen King's novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," the 1994 film has been the top-rated movie on IMDB's top 250 list for going on two decades. That's in no small part thanks to the film's stellar cast, which is led by Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne and Morgan Freeman as Red. However, it seems the movie's ensemble could have been even more impressive in retrospect as Brad Pitt, who was one of Hollywood's brightest rising stars in the mid-1990s, very nearly signed on for it.
In a 2019 piece by USA Today celebrating the 25th anniversary of "The Shawshank Redemption," Darabont discussed how he originally cast Pitt in the movie as Tommy, a young punk who's been in and out of prison when he crosses paths with Andy and Red, who take a liking to him. Tommy is a small but pivotal role, as he ends up having proof that Andy is innocent, with the corrupt Warden Norton (Bob Gutton) killing the poor boy once this comes to light.
So, why wasn't Pitt in the movie? After his star-making turn in Ridley Scott's "Thelma & Louise," Pitt was in demand. While he originally agreed to play Tommy, he had to drop out once the offer came in for him to portray Louis in "Interview with the Vampire." As Darabont recalled:
"We didn't know [Pitt] was going to skyrocket into super-stardom so quickly. When it came time to show up, suddenly they couldn't follow through on their 'yes.'"
Once Pitt dropped out, Darabont replaced him with Gil Bellows, who had mostly done episodic television up to that point. Darabont said that Bellows "enhanced the movie" and was "so darn good." The director also doesn't have any hard feelings about Pitt dropping out:
"Brad Pitt in that small 'Shawshank' role, would it throw the film's balance? No hard feelings, he had other things he had to do."
Brad Pitt doesn't regret not being in The Shawshank Redemption
"The Shawshank Redemption" was actually a box office bomb upon its release in 1994, only to become a classic in the years after its initial theatrical run. Meanwhile, "Interview with the Vampire" was a big hit. Coupled with his role in "Legends of the Fall" that same year, Pitt rocketed to superstardom, being named People's Sexiest Man Alive for the first time the following year in '95.
On the surface, it would be hard to say that Pitt made the wrong choice. He remains one of Hollywood's biggest A-listers, having won an Oscar for his acting in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and otherwise led a tremendous career. Still, just about any actor would love to have a movie like "Shawshank" on their resume. Even so, in that same USA Today piece, Pitt made it clear he had no regrets, saying the following:
"It would have been kind of cool to be in, but I'm not a regret guy in that way. I just believe in the way things work out, and that was someone else's role. Even the feeling of, 'Ooh, that would've been nice' would redirect a choice later down the road. So, it all works in tandem in that way."
Darabont, for his part, seems to be good natured about it as well. "It would be really fun to bump into Brad Pitt and say, 'Weren't you that guy?' I'd love to give him a little [grief] about that just for fun," he said at the time.