A Tribute to Robin Williams

I saw Robin Williams in person once. He was doing a Q & A in 2002 following a special screening of his then new movie One Hour Photo and spent about 45 minutes talking, laughing and joking with an audience. He spoke with great sincerity and passion about the film and how happy he was to be working with director Mark Romanek, and approximately every 30 seconds he would go off-topic and say something that would have the audience in stitches.

What I remember about him most was how energetic and lucid he was. Whatever he was talking about, he would always find his way back to a joke or a silly voice or something else that he knew would make people laugh. It was almost as if there was something inside him that he couldn’t quite control, some kind of manic energy that he could barely keep a lid on.

Like many people, my first exposure to Williams was as a hyperactive, kind-hearted alien in Mork and Mindy and while he’ll be remembered most for his work in comedy, Robin Williams enjoyed the sort of career that most dramatic actors would sell their kidneys for, as he worked under acclaimed left-of-centre directors including Gus Van Sant, Terry Gilliam and Christopher Nolan. He could give any kind of part whatever it needed to make it work, whether he was playing it for laughs or playing it straight. My personal favourite is his role as therapist Sean Maguire in 1997’s Good Will Hunting. Williams was luminescent with brilliance in that film, and the Academy Award he got for his efforts was richly deserved;

As singular and gifted as he was, Williams was also the kind of actor who valued collaboration as part of the creative process. Nowhere is this more evident in 1996’s The Birdcage, where he plays the straight man to Nathan Lane’s OTT drag queen. There’s a great chemistry between the two and Williams is happy to dial it down a few notches in order to give his co-star room to shine:

Ultimately, a couple of YouTube clips won’t do justice to such an extraordinary career and the shock of Williams’ sudden and horrible death is still with me as I write this. It saddens me beyond words that the demons he fought against for most of his life got the better of him in the end. If he has any kind of legacy, it’s that he brought happiness, empathy and inspiration into the lives of millions and he leaves behind a staggering body of work. More importantly, I hope that he is finally at peace.

We are all worse off without Robin Williams, but while he was with us, he was incredible.

R.I.P