When Robin Williams broke the nose of an Oscar-winning legend: “I clicked it back in”
For some reason, the general movie-going public absolutely loves it when actors reveal themselves to be friends with other actors. We love unlikely pairings, and over the years, film lovers have become positively flustered at the friendship of Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott, Bill Knighy and Anna Wintour or Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence. But perhaps one of the lesser known and more endearing friendships is that between Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, despite the fact that bones have been broken in each other’s company.
While the crossover between both actors seems unlikely given the comedic work of Williams and De Niro’s dramatic roles that rarely lead him to stray from the realm of Martin Scorsese, the pair both met while working together on Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall in 1990. The director is most well-known for Big, the reverse coming-of-age film starring Tom Hanks, and shortly followed the success of this project with Awakenings.
The film follows a doctor who uses an experimental drug to awaken a catatonic patient. However, after the patient’s ‘awakening’, he displays strange symptoms and reverts to a child-like state, almost as if seeing the world for the first time. In many ways, it bears resemblances to Poor Things, the Yorgos Lanthimos picture that tells a similar story about an adult woman with the brain of a baby and the way men react to her existence. However, this is a slightly less jarring version of this tale, with a more heartwarming message behind the narrative.
While both actors have spoken warmly of their friendship, one unfortunate incident on set slightly negates this sentiment after Williams broke De Niro’s nose. When describing the accident, Williams said, “I broke his nose when we were doing Awakenings. We were doing this scene where we were supposed to be having a struggle and I caught his nose with my elbow and he comes up and says: ‘I’m OK’ and I went ‘Oh f*ck he’s alive!’. Actually, his doctor says I clicked it back in from when he broke it in Raging Bull! He makes me laugh because everyone thinks of him being that way, but he’s really articulate and really funny”.
De Niro can often come across as being deeply serious and considered, his friendship with Williams shows a side to him that we aren’t often privy to. Many actors would be terrified if they’d just clocked one of Hollywood’s legends in the nose, but as Williams says, after starring in Raging Bull, it all blurs together and becomes somewhat meaningless.
Despite coming to blows during this production, the pair remained as good friends, and also worked together on the 2013 film The Big Wedding, which saw the two of them using the full force of their comedic chops in the Justin Zackham film.
While the friendship seems unlikely to some, in many ways, the deadpan quality of De Niro’s humour and the effervescent nature of Williams makes for a match made in heaven, and both actors perfectly balance each other out.
