Sadler was a vivid presence in Walter Hill's hard-boiled crime drama "Trespass" (1992) as an adventurous fireman whose obsession with gold leads to disaster. He made an even more lasting impression with his wonderfully comic portrayal of the Grim Reaper in "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" (1991). He locked horns with the formidable Steven Seagal in "Hard to Kill" (1990), but "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) displayed him bringing a sense of humor and hope to the role of a hardened killer.