Recommended by producer Liz Glozer, Morgan Freeman was selected as the "white Irishman" Red in the original novel. Red’s English "Red" also means red because red hair is in Ireland. Very common among people. When Andy asked about the origin of Rhett's nickname in the film, Rhett answered "Maybe because I am Irish". Freeman deliberately refrained from studying the role he needed to play. His reasoning was that "playing a prisoner does not need to know about imprisonment, because people don't change. After being in such an environment, he naturally knows what to say and how to do." Moreman played a minor role in the 1980 prison drama "Brubaker", and the director De Labont remembered his name through the film. Robbins grew up watching the children's TV show "The Electric Company", and Moreman was the main actor in the show, so Robbins was excited about this collaboration with Freeman.
Director De Labont originally wanted to invite his favorite actors to interpret the role of Andy Dufran, such as Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall, but they couldn’t make a schedule, and he considered it for a while. Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman, as well as Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Kevin Costner, but none of them accepted the invitation. Among them, Tom Cruise has seen He declined to appear after the script, because he felt that the director De La Bonte was inexperienced. Hanks has decided to star in "Forrest Gump", and Coscona is going to star in "Future Water World". In addition, Johnny Depp, Nicholas Cage and Charlie Sheen have all entered the vision of directors. The director stated that he decided to invite Tim Robbins to play Andy after watching the 1990 horror film "A Floating Life". After Robbins was selected, he recommended the photographer Roger Diggins to De Labont, who had collaborated with Robbins to film the movie "Money Empire". In order to play a good role, Robbins observed the animals in the cage at the zoo, experienced an afternoon of solitary confinement, communicated with prisoners and guards, and even handcuffed his arms and legs for several hours.
Brad Pitt was originally selected to play Tommy, but after the success of the film "The End of the Flower", he chose to quit, and the role was interpreted by the newcomer Gil Bellos at the time. James Gandolfini declined to play the Boss, the leader of the three sisters. Bob Gunton took time to audition for the role of Warden Norton during the filming of the 1993 sci-fi comedy "Crazy Dragon". In order to persuade the production company, De Labont and producer Nikki Marvin arranged for Gunton to take a day off during the performance to make audition videos. Gunton had to shave off his hair when filming "The Dragon in the Sky", so in the audition video he wore a wig prepared by De Labont and others to participate in the recording. Gunton hopes that Norton in the film has hair so that he can dye it to match the passage of time in the plot. This audition video was shot by Roger Diggins, and Gunton performed with Robbins. After being elected as the warden, Gunton wore this wig in the early stages of filming until his hair grew out. Gunton said that Marvin and De Labont believed that he really understood the essence of the characters, so they invited him to play. At the same time, because his height is similar to Robbins, the warden's suit can fit on Andy.
Clancy Brown, who was selected as the captain of the prison guard Byron Hadley, had the opportunity to communicate with the retired prison guard through the liaison of the crew, but he felt that the upcoming role was very cruel. If such a cruel role was passed, In real life, it was guided by the correctional officers in Ohio. If this news spreads, it would be really unpleasant, so I chose to decline the opportunity to communicate. Haywood’s actor William Seidler said that De Labont had come to the filming scene of the TV series "Magic Tale" in 1989, and asked Seidler, who was the screenwriter, to play in a certain adaptation that was prepared to be produced. movie. Morgan Freeman’s son Alfonso made a cameo in the film. The young facial photo on Reid’s parole profile is Alfonso’s photo. At the same time, he also played the role of Andy waiting for the new prisoner to yell when he just arrived in prison. "The newcomer is here" prisoner. The extras in the film include both the former warden and prisoners of the Ohio State Reformatory, as well as the current guards of nearby prison institutions. The title of the original novel attracted many people to audition for Rita Hayworth, and even drag queens, but then there was no such role in the film.
