‘It’s Degrading, So Let’s Stop Doing That’

Summary

• Tim Robbins praises
  Silo
  for its strong script and caring production environment in London.
• Robbins compares dystopian themes in
  Silo
  to real-world lockdown situations during the pandemic.
• The actor advocates for better working conditions in the industry, highlighting London’s humane approach.

Tim Robbins would love to see Apple TV+ series Silo to go on “forever,” mostly thanks to the working environment he experienced working on the show in London, England. The dystopian drama captured the attention of Robbins thanks to its parallels with the world’s forced lockdowns during the Covid pandemic, but aside from a great script, the actor praised the production for actually caring about everyone who worked on the project, something he believes is currently in short supply with many movie and TV productions.

Silo

Release Date May 5, 2023

Main Genre Sci-Fi

Studio Apple TV+, MC Studios

Creator Graham Yost

Streaming Service(s) Apple TV+

Robbins plays head of IT Bernard Holland in the series, a man very protective of his work at the Silo who finds himself in a position of making some tough choices. When he originally read the script, he couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the lockdown situations that the world had recently been under, and it made him consider questions of power, decision-making, and how the world works. Speaking on Deadline’s The Actor’s Side, Robbins explained:

“I read the scripts that Graham has sent me, he sent four scripts and told me about the rest of the season, and I was just really intrigued with the world he was creating and the Hugh Howie novel. What I loved about it was it was so damn close to what we had just been experiencing with the lockdowns and here you have a society that exists under the ground, 10,000 people, and in order for there to be order in that world there have to be certain rules. I am always curious because I’ve heard interviews with people who have been powerful or leaders or presidents, who have talked about how difficult it is to make decisions that may be harmful, but in the long run will mean the survival of civilization.”

Robbins continued to recall how working on Silo’s production was a joy thanks to the consideration given to everyone from the actors to the crew, with “common decency” for the lives of the people involved being something that he doesn’t feel happens on shoots in the U.S. He said:

“I’ve had good times and I’ve had times when I think I hope this doesn’t go to a second season. This one, I would love it to go on forever. The people are top notch. The writers, the directors, producers, actors, crew members, top notch. And working in London, where there’s a common decency for crew members, which I haven’t seen that much in the United States. For example, I don’t think we worked more than a ten hour day, and that is unheard of here. We have to start thinking about that as something that’s very important in our industry that’s being overlooked. You go home, you raise your family. It’s up to the director, the producers and the people who are financing it to say listen, you know what, let’s not do these crazy hours. My disappointment with the strike was that should have been the first demand, no more than 12 hours and that’s it. No more, we have lives.”

It’s degrading to all of us, so let’s stop doing that. It’s not good for people. It’s not good for the industry. It’s not good for product.

Tim Robbins Says There is Too Much Blame, Canceling, and Manipulation in the World

As a veteran actor in Hollywood, Robbins has appeared in many roles, across several genres. From his debut in Marvel’s Howard the Duck, through to his Oscar-winning role in Mystic River, he has mostly tried to avoid certain types of movies, ones that focus on “unhealthy” topics too much. During the same conversation, the actor called out Hollywood’s obsession with sending out the wrong messages, and how currently, he feels, there is a certain manipulation that has caused a huge divide in the world. He said:

“I try not to do pieces that have…that are irrelevant or that pander to parts of our nature that are unhealthy. Violence, exploitation. There’s a tendency to…Hollywood has certainly been sending a message that retribution is a part of everything. And it usually involves violence. There’s way too much discord, right now. Way too much division. Way too much blaming and canceling of people for their free thought, for their free actions that they take with their own bodies. And this is a dangerous position to be in. This happens on both sides, this is not exclusive to one side. The human heart is an extraordinary thing, it has an incredible capability to forgive, it’s just that I feel like we’ve been manipulated into division, it’s certainly encouraged when you have algorithms that are negative receiving more eyes on them than something that’s supportive. You know you’re living in an unhealthy situation.”

Silo
Season 1 is currently available to stream on Apple TV+.

Related Silo Cast and Character Guide Meet the characters of Apple TV+’s Silo and the actors who play them.

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