Shawshank Redemption fans stunned as they realize major scene was actually unscripted

The 1994 masterpiece, based on Stephen King's short story, is regarded as one of the finest films ever made.

Despite its lackluster performance at the box office, The Shawshank Redemption would later receive seven Oscar nominations.

Spanning two decades from the 1940s to the 1960s, the plot revolves around Tim Robbins' character, Andy Dufresne, who is falsely imprisoned for the murder of his wife and her lover.

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Within the prison walls, he befriends another long-term inmate, Red, played by Morgan Freeman, and becomes an integral part of the warden's money laundering operation.

But did you know that one of the most memorable scenes in the movie was actually improvised by Robbins?

The scene in question occurs about halfway through The Shawshank Redemption when Andy locks himself in the warden's office and broadcasts opera over the prison's speakers.

This causes all the inmates to halt their activities and gaze up in awe at the stunning female vocals, which momentarily give them a sense of freedom.

The original script had Andy turning off the record player when the warden yells at him from outside the locked door.

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However, Robbins decided to improvise, defiantly cranking up the volume of the opera recording The Marriage of Figaro.

As a result, he is sent to solitary confinement before eventually making his grand escape.

This comes as director Frank Darabont told the Daily Best that he cast Tim Robbins to play Andy Dufresne, a man wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and incarcerated at the titular Shawshank Prison, at the suggestion of co-star Morgan Freeman.

Darabont said the Bull Durham star went so far as to put himself in “solitary confinement” in an effort to understand what his character was experiencing.

“Not overnight though,” the director explained. “After an hour or two he said, ‘OK, that’s enough’ and I don’t blame him.”