Tim Robbins landed a role in a 1986 George Lucas movie. On his first day, he knew there was a problem

Tim Robbins said that, on his first day filming *Howard the Duck*, he realised the film had misjudged its central character. He had been excited to work on a George Lucas-produced project based on a comic he admired, and the pay was more than he had previously seen, but he felt the duck looked too cute and tame for the rude, cigar-smoking alien.

The 1986 science-fiction comedy failed to make a lasting cultural impact, though Robbins later said the character’s appearance was only one reason. His career continued with *Bull Durham* in 1988 and *The Player* in 1992, before *The Shawshank Redemption* brought wider recognition in 1994. The article says *Shawshank* earned $73 million on re-release and became America’s top VHS rental in 1995; Robbins later won an Oscar for *Mystic River*.