The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most uplifting dramas ever made, but that’s not because it’s happy the whole time. Like many other great films, the mood has its dark times and lighter times, and the characters have a lot to do with how well these tonal shifts succeed. Of course, in a movie as well-crafted as Shawshank, they all work. Writer-director Frank Darabont writes even minor characters carefully enough to give them personalities that ring true and keep this gripping story believable. Together, they make this prison complex feel as real and absorbing as any other setting.
Whether they’re good, bad, or somewhere in between, all the characters in The Shawshank Redemption add to the story—even if just for a scene or two. Jake the Crow, for instance, only shows up a couple of times and yet imbues Brooks (James Whitmore) with so much likability. Different characters have different functions: some are supposed to be hated, whereas others are supposed to be loved, and some may occupy a more ambivalent territory. In any case, we don’t have to love a character to enjoy watching them onscreen. With that in mind, this list will rank the best characters in The Shawshank Redemption. They are by turns despicable, lovable, amusing, tragic, and complex, but they all perform their specific function in a way that elevates this story of darkness, perseverance, and friendship.
10
The man killed on Andy’s first night at Shawshank
Frank Medrano
When new inmates arrive at Shawshank, they’re greeted with mockery by all the other prisoners. They jeer from behind a gate, which isn’t the warmest kind of welcome. It’s even tradition to bet on who’s going to break down later that evening, as somebody always does. While Red believes that Andy is going to be the one this time, the one who panics turns out to be a much heavier man. Heywood speaks to him through the bars to make him break, a tactic that proves all too successful.
When this guy screams, “I don’t belong here!” in the middle of the night, the cellblock erupts in celebration and chants, “Fresh fish!” It gets so loud that Hadley and a few other guards arrive. Unfortunately, the new inmate is in such a state that he doesn’t even shut up when Hadley orders him to. Even Heywood wants him to shut up at this point, but he doesn’t. He’s then taken out of his cell and beaten to death. The following morning, Andy asks what his name is. No one knows, which makes his death all the more harrowing and representative of this prison’s cruelty.
9
Guard Wiley
Don McManus
Any guard who’s willing to casually tell an inmate that he’s going to “pinch a loaf” is likable enough to be an anomaly in Shawshank Penitentiary. When Andy’s letters pay off, and the state sends a bunch of books to the prison, Wiley is happy for him. Notice how he smiles when Andy tells him they sent two hundred dollars and immediately retracts his smile when he notices that Hadley isn’t amused at all by the situation. The audience can sense that Wiley was rooting for Mr. Dufresne’s project all along.
While it’s a triumphant moment when Andy plays opera over the intercom, the viewer feels a little bad for poor Wiley. All he wanted to do was use the bathroom, and Andy took advantage of his trust in a fashion that would no doubt get him in deep trouble with the Warden. It’s funny how helpless he sounds when he tries to unlock himself from the bathroom and calls, “Andy?” The guy reads Jughead, for goodness’ sake. Wiley is the most likable guard by a mile and accomplishes this with limited screen time.
8
Bogs
Mark Rolston
Andy’s first few years in Shawshank are the worst, and Bogs is responsible for that. He and his buddies are known as The Sisters, known for sexually assaulting other inmates. When Red warns Andy about them, he says they don’t technically qualify as homosexual because “you have to be human first.” That winds up being an accurate description, as Bogs goes on to rape Andy routinely. The scene when these two first meet in the shower is chilling, as are their other encounters, thanks to Mark Rolston‘s sadistic performance.
The famous line about how “prison is no fairy-tale world” is one of the best quotes in The Shawshank Redemption, and it’s spoken about Andy’s ordeal with Bogs. As awful as this man is, Bogs is pretty integral to the movie’s realism and grit. It’s also very satisfying to watch him finally get beaten to a pulp, making him one of the more memorable characters in this story.
7
Heywood
William Sadler
Played by William Sadler, Heywood is part of Red’s gang. The fact that he stays that way throughout the entire film suggests that he’s probably in prison for life, just like Red. Given that he likes cigarettes and Hank Williams, Heywood comes across as a relatively likable guy. He’s also pretty funny when his character calls for it, like when he asks Red if he’s saying that Andy is “for real innocent.” The audience can see him being a friend to the main characters through all that time.
On the other hand, he’s not all fun and games. Heywood goads one of the new inmates into losing his cool, which would lead to the man’s death. While Heywood didn’t want him to die, it’s partly his fault that the guy broke down in the first place. He did this all for cigarettes, which he’s happy to get the following morning. When Andy asks what his name is, Heywood gets a bit aggressive and says it doesn’t matter. Out of all of Red’s close friends, Heywood is the most complex.
6
Tommy Williams
Gil Bellows
Tommy (Gil Bellows) arrives at Shawshank in 1965 for a relatively short sentence after getting caught stealing televisions from a JCPenney, which isn’t the worst crime in the world. He’s young, he’s got sideburns, and his cocky attitude earns him favor with the gang. At this point in the story, Andy has been known to help people with both their taxes and their education, so Tommy approaches him, saying he wants to get his GED. Andy helps him out, making for what feels at first like an inspiring side plot.
However, he soon becomes a much more serious character. After learning about what Andy did, Tommy reveals he met a guy who claimed to have done exactly what Andy was put in prison for, remembers the guy’s name, and is willing to testify in court. Tommy isn’t the brightest guy in the world, but he’s trying to turn his life around and has no reason to lie about this. He allows the audience to see that Andy is innocent but also propels this dark and touching drama forward.
5
Byron Hadley
Clancy Brown
Clancy Brown brings Captain Hadley to life in an intimidating performance that makes it perfectly clear that this guard isn’t screwing around. He swears at the inmates, unrelentingly beats them, and shows no remorse. When Hadley tells a new inmate he won’t “even gonna count to one” after telling him to shut up, we understand that this is a serious threat. The Captain goes on to beat this man to death, making for one of the most intense scenes in the movie.
Like many great characters, though, Hadley has another side to him. When Andy tells him about how he can keep all the money that his relative left him, the captain gives Andy and his friends some cold beers to drink during their time working on the roof. (He almost throws Andy off the roof first, but that’s Andy’s fault for not getting to the point sooner.) As Red says, “The colossal prick even managed to sound magnanimous.” More significantly, Hadley personally beats Bogs until the man can’t walk anymore because of what he is doing to Andy. Overall, Hadley is both essential to the movie’s tone and Andy’s character arc.
4
Warden Norton
Bob Gunton
The warden of Shawshank Prison, Samuel Norton, is played ruthlessly by Bob Gunton. It’s no surprise that the man in charge of Captain Hadley is a cruel man himself, but the character also has a self-righteous demeanor that makes him compelling in every scene he’s in. No blasphemy is the only rule he bothers to tell recruits, as he believes in two things: discipline and the Bible. As he says, “Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me.” That’s a hell of an introduction to the character, and he only gets better from there.
Religious fervor doesn’t stop Norton from being corrupt, though. It certainly doesn’t stop him from condoning and even ordering Hadley to beat and kill prisoners. The way he turns his head reminds one of the mafia leaders from other great movies. As his relationship with Andy develops, this villain becomes more and more reprehensible. For those reasons and more, his final scene is extremely satisfying and undoubtedly helps make people love The Shawshank Redemption so much.
3
Brooks Hatlen
James Whitmore
Brooks has been in Shawshank prison longer than anybody. By the time Andy arrives, Brooks is in charge of the library. He pushes a cart of books around for people to take if they please. The most notable thing about him at first is the fact that he’s taking care of a crow he found in the courtyard. It’s great when Andy finds a maggot in his food, and Brooks asks him, “Are you gonna eat that?”
Having lived behind bars for so long, Brooks is what Red calls “institutionalized.” The prospect of getting out of prison after all this time makes him nearly kill Heywood in a desperate attempt to stay. It’s heartbreaking to watch him break down, and his montage of living on the outside is among the most tragic and powerful sections of the movie. Brooks doesn’t get nearly this much attention in Stephen King’s story, but writer-director Frank Darabont ingeniously expands on the character—one of many choices that helps make this one of the best movies based on novellas.
2
Andy Dufresne
Tim Robbins
Red’s first impression of Andy Dufresne was that “a stiff breeze would blow him over,” but Andy would go on to prove more resilient and resourceful than any man at Shawshank. The movie begins with a montage detailing Andy’s murder trial, in which he’s convicted for the slaughter of his wife and her lover. The audience sees him sitting drunk in a car with a gun, which is enough to make them think he pulled the trigger. When he says he didn’t do it, he sounds like all the other inmates.
As the story goes on, Andy comes across as a man who’s hard to read. He gains the viewer’s sympathy throughout the movie, especially when he’s shown to be innocent of the crime he’s served nearly twenty years for. The way Andy gets Hadley to give him and his friends beer on the roof (even though he doesn’t drink any), plays that opera music for all to hear, and gets the library renovated through sheer stubbornness are just three things that make him seem like a mythic figure. Along with how he outsmarts everybody, this protagonist moves and surprises viewers at every turn.
1
Ellis Boyd Redding
Morgan Freeman
Andy may technically be the main character, but Red is the voice of this story. Morgan Freeman is at the height of his powers as the guy who can get you things, making this one of the best ’90s movies with superb acting. Though he’s a white guy with red hair in the novella, Freeman feels like the only man for this role. Most of the best quotes in the movie come from him, and Shawshank is among the most quotable movies ever made.
Unlike everyone else, Red admits that he’s guilty of murder, and the speech he gives to the parole board is one of the most famous in movie history. According to Red, “hope is a dangerous thing,” an attitude that his friendship with Andy changes over time. Like Brooks, Red becomes institutionalized yet finds it in himself to search for his friend once they’re both out. He evolves more than anyone else in this film, and the fact that he’s guilty while Andy is innocent makes the viewer wonder if the “redemption” of this story’s title is actually his. Simply put, The Shawshank Redemption wouldn’t be the same without him.
