10 Things You Didn't Know About The Shawshank Redemption
10. Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford And Paul Newman Were Considered For The Role Of Red
Yes, you read that subheading correctly, Red was almost played by the same guys that played Harry Callahan, Han Solo and Butch Cassidy respectively. Of course, nobody can imagine anyone suiting the role of Andy's best friend more perfectly than Morgan Freeman eventually did, but suspend your disbelief for just a moment and consider just how different the film could have been with one of the above actors filling the role. All three actors are quite rightly legends of cinema but it's hard to picture them ever fitting the authoritative presence and demeanor that Mr. Freeman eventually brought to the role. The perfect fit is hardly surprising, the film's director, Frank Darabont always had Freeman in mind to play the role as Red precisely because of his attributes. That's not to say Clint Eastwood couldn't play a jaded, institutionalised inmate well, but it's hard to escape the above actors' previous work. After all, how much gravity would Red's scene in the boarding house have had if he'd said "Get busy living or get busy dying, that's god damn right, punk."
Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.
