Robin Williams was one of a kind.
One of the very few actors in film history that you can say was fully unique.
"Good morning, Vietnam!
This is not a test!
This is rock-and-roll!"
I developed a love for movies at a young age.
But Robin Williams was the first person who made me realize what an actor was.
As a kid, I saw actors as their characters.
Jack Nicholson was the Joker, Jim Carrey was The Mask, but Robin Williams was Robin Williams.
I’m not sure why he was the first person that I recognized as an actor, but if I had
to venture a guess, the reason would be that Robin Williams carried his persona into all
of his films with him, linking all of his characters with his own trademarks.
Williams had his own style that was so apparent and so uniquely his own, that it can be defined
with just a few seconds of footage.
From just that little clip, we all know what I am talking about.
Williams would do these little bits with various voices, and impressions, and noises that sort
of just allowed him to go off and tell his own little side stories.
"Yes!
We’ve come to this planet looking for intelligent life.
Oops!
We’ve made a mistake.
I’m happy to be in America!
Don’t ask for green card."
These sudden outbursts of unscripted, energetic mania.
Many of Willams’ roles were a perfect match for this style of acting.
Like in Mrs. Doubtfire where he plays a voice actor.
"I will not do this.
I cannot.
Oh, what a foul way for a bird to die."
Or in Aladdin where he voices a magical genie that can literally animate his sporadic thoughts.
"What do you wish of me, the ever-impressive, the long-contained, the often-imitated…"
Or in Good Morning, Vietnam where he plays an over-the-top radio DJ.
With instances like this, Williams almost takes on directorial duties.
"Robin would do a take and after a take, he’d say, “This is good, and this thing over
here, so why don’t we really play around with that a little bit more.
This, I don’t think we’re getting anywhere with it.”
The he would do another take and kind of play off that and change it or refine it in some
way."
Not only altering the script, but actually changing the feel and tone of the film.
Much like a director, Williams had a very specific vision in mind.
These movies became Robin Williams movies.
And when Williams was performing more dramatic roles that wouldn’t allow for one of his
tangents, he still managed to slip in tamer versions of his trademark style when he could.
Take his Academy Award winning performance in Good Will Hunting.
Williams plays a psychologist who is struggling with the loss of his wife.
There is really no room for voices or impressions of energetic eruptions.
But this famous exchange was entirely adlibbed by Williams.
"She used to fart in her sleep.
Sorry I shared that with you.
One night it was so loud it woke the dog up!"
Even when restricted by tone and directorial vision, Williams still managed to make moments
like this his own.
Despite Williams’ many wonderful dramatic roles, they often get overlooked because he
made such an impact with his distinctive brand of humor.
A brand that is completely unpredictable and even childlike, but not in the sense of being
silly or immature.
Childlike because he was unfiltered and unashamed, yet completely innocent and pure.
This idea is even echoed by the fact that Williams has played three different roles
where he is a child trapped in a man’s body in one way or another.
Robin Williams was proof that you could stay true to yourself and accomplish wonders.
Today we remember him for this purity that he gave us.
It was something that was truly magical.
Something that was fully unique.
And something that we will likely never experience again.
"You’re only given a little spark of madness.
And if you lose that, you’re nothing."