Oscars Wild

That they work together — that they are comfortable working together — hints at a love affair too good to be true. So it comes as a relief that they admit to occasional bad days while making Dead Man Walking. ‘‘We're not stupid, you know. It was clear it was going to be different,’‘ says Sarandon of undertaking the movie based on Sister Helen Prejean's 1993 book of the same name. The film required the couple to spend 18 hours a day together for three months (at night, the two separated so Robbins' longer working hours wouldn't disturb Sarandon and the children). Adding to the pressure were a tight budget ($12.3 million), the kind of subject matter — capital punishment — that can provoke the most mild-mannered, and a costar, Sean Penn, not widely known for his calm.

But the source of their most stressful day wasn't exhaustion or a difficult costar. ‘‘I think it was the cycle of the moon or something,’‘ says Sarandon, managing to look regal even as she picks dog hair off her sweater. ‘‘I remember it clearly, but I'm not going to talk about it.’‘ Adds Robbins obliquely, ‘‘That was a nightmare. We won't go into specifics.’‘

But someone from the set who will get specific says one factor contributing to the tension — in addition to equipment trouble — was Sister Helen Prejean, whose contributions were generally embraced by the actors. ‘‘Her presence gave validity to our reality,’‘ says the source. But on the day in question, ‘‘there was some kind of tension between Tim and Susan, something about Prejean directing her. Prejean would occasionally throw out an opinion. It's tricky, since she's not an actress.’‘ While everyone remained outwardly calm, adds the source, ‘‘you could see the tension in the body language. It never quite got diffused that day.’‘

And there you have the most trying day of this production. Because, according to cast and crew, Robbins and Sarandon helmed a nurturing and healthy set, where an uncommon respect reigned. ‘‘On [Oliver Stone's] Born on the Fourth of July, you knew you had better do your best or you'd be shot at sundown,’‘ says Raymond J. Barry, who was Tom Cruise's father in July and plays a parent of one of the murder victims in Dead Man Walking. ‘‘On this, it wasn't the usual bulls---t, and that had to do with Tim and Susan.’‘

It's a partnership that enhances them both. ‘‘Tim has strong intellectual components, and Susan has a strong emotional side. They bring each other into balance,’‘ says Thom Mount, a producer of Bull Durham, the 1988 baseball movie that brought the costars together. Paul Webster, an executive producer of Bob Roberts, Robbins' 1992 writing-directing debut about a campaigning politician, agrees: ‘‘They're totally centered with each other.’‘

The strength of their union can be seen in Dead Man Walking, which, in addition to nominations for Sarandon, Robbins, and Penn (Best Actor), earned a fourth for Bruce Springsteen's title track. The movie looks unflinchingly into the grief of the victims' parents, as well as Sister Helen's relationship with the murderer, transforming a harrowing and potentially inflammatory subject into, as Sarandon puts it, ‘‘a strange love story.’‘