Tim Robbins says "nobody" came to see 'The Shawshank Redemption' when it came out.

The actor, 66, played wrongly convicted Andy Dufresne in the movie, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in September after becoming one of the most-loved films in cinema history.

But Tim told The Guardian about its journey to being considered a classic: "We're at 30 years now (on from) 'Shawshank Redemption'.

"When it came out it got good reviews, it got nominated for Academy awards, but nobody saw it.

"It was VHS and (Ted) Turner playing it on his television channel (Turner Classic Movies) that changed that.

"That is a beloved movie. It remains on top of IMDb as the most favoured movie of all time.

"So I know that a quality movie, a quality television show will last.

"Whether it's a hit or not is irrelevant compared to what people are going to think about it in 10, 15, 20 years."

'Shawshank' director Frank Darabont, 65, recently told The Daily Beast how Tim went to huge lengths to embody his role in the movie.

He said the actor put himself in "solitary confinement" in an effort to understand what his character's mindset.

The director added he would not do it "overnight" and "after an hour or two he said, 'OK, that's enough'".

He also hailed Tim for shooting the now-classic scene of him escaping prison by crawling through a sewage pipe at the end of the film, saying: "We were out in this horrible little creek that was filled with cow poop.

"They had to dam the creek to get the water level up and pour sterilising stuff in there so Tim wouldn't get some horrible disease.

"Actors can be real troopers sometimes because sliding out of that pipe into that muck was so gross.

"To convey that incredible moment while covered in cow urine? It's amazing."