Silo star Tim Robbins has released his never-before-seen pilot episode.
Robbins plays Bernard Holland in Apple TV’s hit science-fiction series and is also known for his role as Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption. Another project from his career is Possible Side Effects, a television drama pilot from 2008 that he directed, wrote, and produced about a family that runs a pharmaceutical company. It was filmed, tested well, and had a star-studded cast featuring Ellen Burstyn, Tim Blake Nelson, Maya Rudolph, and Betty Gilpin, but was ultimately passed on.
At the end of October, Robbins shared on his official Facebook page that “Coming in November to timrobbins.com: I’m thrilled to present my never-before-seen television pilot about the pharmaceutical industry called Possible Side Effects. It tested incredibly well but never went to series. Hmmm. Great performances from Ellen Burstyn, Josh Lucas, Tim Blake Nelson, Maya Rudolph, Sarita Choudhury, Betty Gilpin, Eva Amurri, and Miles Robbins. See for yourself, starting November 1st on timrobbins.com.”
The 58-minute pilot is now free to watch on Robbins’ website, along with behind-the-scenes images of the production, from him directing to Rudolph and Amurri being on set. There are also numerous images of Robbins’ son, Miles, on the set, especially of him playing guitar.
According to Mubi, Showtime made the decision to pass on Possible Side Effects, and it was speculated that this decision stemmed from corporate parent company CBS, who did not want to air a story about a pharmaceutical company run by a family. Robbins does not say this in his post, but makes it clear that the drama was not passed on due to reception, as it tested well.
As seen in his Silo season 1 interview with ScreenRant, Robbins does not shy away from being candid about controversial topics, an approach that is in the pilot and his decision to now release it despite being turned down 18 years ago.
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Possible Side Effects would’ve been one of Miles Robbins’ first roles, but he went on to star in a variety of other projects instead, including John Cena’s 2018 movie Blockers, multiple episodes of The X-Files season 11, a season 2 episode of the TBS comedy anthology series Miracle Workers, and Rachel Zegler’s 2024 horror comedy film Y2K. Since 2008, his father has been in Green Lantern, The Brink, and Castle Rock.
As for what the pilot’s other actors have done since 2008, Burstyn was in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, reprised the role of Chris MacNeill in The Exorcist: Believer, and played Bernadette Stabler in Law & Order: Organized Crime seasons 2-5. Lucas played a young John Dutton in Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone and Leo Beebee in Ford v. Ferrari, while Nelson starred in HBO’s The Watchmen, The Testament of Ann Lee, The Lowdown, and Captain America: Brave New World, the last of which saw him as Samuel Sterns for the first time since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
Rudolph became a six-time Emmy Award winner between Big Mouth and Saturday Night Live and was nominated for The Good Place and Loot. Choudhury was in both The Hunger Games: Mockingjay movies, Homeland, Jessica Jones, Little Fires Everywhere, and Blindspot. Betty Gilpin won an Emmy for Apple TV’s acclaimed horror comedy series Widow’s Bay, received three nominations for GLOW, and played the protagonist in Damon Lindelof’s Mrs. Davis. Amurri appeared in episodes of How I Met Your Mother, The Mindy Project, and New Girl.
After Silo season 3, Tim Robbins‘ time on the show has reached its end, but it was reported earlier this week that he will be staying with Apple TV, as he and Giancarlo Esposito will be guest-starring in the upcoming Monsterverse series centered on young Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell).
- Birthdate
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October 16, 1958
- Birthplace
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West Covina, California, USA
