20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Shawshank Redemption

Considered not only one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations but also one of the very best movies ever made (At least according to the IMDb Top 250), Frank Darabont’s 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption has gone from a quiet little prison drama that barely made back its small budget to a bonafide contemporary classic cherished by the masses.

Based on the 1982 King short story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, The Shawshank Redemption follows a former banker who finds himself imprisoned for a horrendous crime he didn’t commit and the friendship he develops with a fellow inmate as he rises through the ranks within the prison. The story might sound slight, but the emotions and the performances are so strong that they’re impossible to resist.

Now, given the fact that Stephen King is an author who loves to include little Easter eggs and small references to his other works, it’s not surprising to learn that Darabont took a similar approach to The Shawshank Redemption.

From callbacks to other King books to cameos from uncredited actors to production secrets kept on the down-low, there are plenty of moments that slip right past even the biggest fans of The Shawshank Redemption.

Instead of digitally altering pictures of Morgan Freeman to make his character look younger or simply asking the actor for some early pictures of himself, the crew resorted to an even easier method: Taking pictures of Freeman’s son.

When the audience sees young Red’s mugshots attached to his parole papers, they’re actually looking at pictures of a 35-year-old Alfonso Freeman. For proof it’s him and not his dad, just wait until later in the film.

Alfonso Freeman appears further on in The Shawshank Redemption as one of the cons berating the "fresh fish" on Andy's first night in prison. That means that his first acting credit actually includes two separate roles: Young Red and this unnamed criminal.