The movie Robin Williams only made as a favour for a friend: “It’s a strange, small piece”
When you’re as funny and talented as the late, great Robin Williams, making friends is an inevitability. He was famously close with Robert De Niro, calling him his best friend on a number of occasions. He befriended Superman actor Christopher Reeve when they were both studying at Juilliard and ended up dedicating his lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes to him in 2005.
Another famous face that Williams could call his buddy was Bobcat Goldthwait. The pair met on the standup comedy scene in the 1980s, and both eventually made the move into Hollywood. Williams had a small role in Goldthwait’s directorial debut, Shakes the Clown. He plays a minor character called ‘Mime Jerry’ under the pseudonym ‘Marty Fromage’. Almost 20 years later, the two teamed up for another project, the black comedy World’s Greatest Dad.
“It’s a strange, small piece,” the star told Yahoo! Movies. “I took it initially as a favour to Bobcat, thinking that if I played a small part maybe it’d get financed. Then I read it and went, ‘Would you mind if I played the main character?’ He’s a really interesting, awkward, damaged guy, and the subject matter is so powerful. I think the title catches people, they think it’s going to be goofy. But if you’ve seen any of Bobcat’s other work, you’ll kind of know what to expect.”
Williams plays the role of Lance Clayton, a down-on-his-luck single father to teenager Kyle (Daryl Sabara). When his son dies in an autoerotic asphyxiation accident, Lance alters the scene to make it look like a suicide in an attempt to spare Kyle’s dignity. This story unexpectedly catches fire and Lance becomes an unlikely celebrity. He attempts to enjoy his fame but is constantly gnawed at by the truth. Williams wasn’t kidding when he called it ‘strange’.
Being real-life chums doesn’t always lead to success in the creative world, but Williams and Goldthwait got along famously while working together. The former once called the latter his favourite director to work with, whilst the director had nothing but nice things to say about his friend’s performance. “He’s one of the best actors out there, you know?” he told Den of Geek. “I was really excited.” The filmmaker, whose previous projects had been very lowkey, also admitted that working with a famous performer in such a prominent role made him think differently about how he works. “It meant that we’d have to find permits while we filmed,” he confessed. “I usually work pretty down and dirty!”
It’s certainly not going to be to everyone’s tastes, but World’s Greatest Dad walks the line between comic and tragic with remarkable balance. One of Williams’ greatest strengths as an actor was his ability to flip seamlessly between making people laugh and making them cry. It’s unusual to see him in such a vulnerable role, one where his usual zaniness is heavily restricted, but he does an excellent job in relaying the absurdity of his situation without ever losing touch with Lance’s humanity.
Goldthwait remained friends with Williams until the legend’s untimely passing in 2014, even serving as best man at his third wedding. This would be the only time the two worked together in such a close capacity, but the quality of the end result is a tribute to their relationship – both professional and personal.
