Tim Robbins Compares 'Bob Roberts' to Tea Party Movement

Tim Robbins is a man happy to wear any number of artistic hats. Best known as an Oscar-winning film star, Robbins has also, over the years, lent his skills as a producer and screenwriter. Now, the 51-year-old is trying his hand at folk singing as he brings his Rogues Gallery Band to Ireland and the UK for a series of concerts.

Of course, to anyone familiar with Robbins' work, his move to folk shouldn't come as any big surprise. His 1992 Golden Globe nominated film, 'Bob Roberts,' found the actor playing a conservative politician whose use of folk music is used to present his conservative politics as radical ideals.

Given the rise of the Tea Party in the US and their similarity to the Bob Roberts character, does Robbins view his film as less a satire and more a warning from history?

"Yeah," says Robbins, speaking to Spinner. "It's like cycles and the same propaganda keeps coming back. It was that way when I did 'Bob Roberts' and it went away for a little bit and now it's back; it's relentless. It's propaganda that tries to get the American people to vote against their better interests. Unfortunately, 'Bob Roberts' still works!"