10 Things You Didn't Know About The Shawshank Redemption

9. Red Was Originally An Irishman With Red Hair

As celebrated as Morgan Freeman's performance in The Shawshank Redemption is, his character in the film, Red, was a far cry from the original appearance and background that Stephen King had written for him in his novella: Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption. In the novel, Red was described as a middle-aged Irishman with graying red hair, an appearance that Frank Darabont decided to take more than a few liberties with. Andy was obviously just as bemused as we were when he first met Red, eventually asking his fellow inmate why his associates referred to him as such. Without prior knowledge, the answer Red gives makes little sense, so when he states that "Maybe it's because I'm Irish", anyone who had never read the book was bound to be more than just a little confused as to what the obviously fake answer meant in the grand scheme of things. Knowing that his casting choice was wildly different to the character's original history, Darabont included the line in jest... Fortunately, it paid off.