Robin Williams’ unsung role in the making of ‘Saving Private Ryan’
He may have never been under consideration for a role, but Robin Williams nonetheless played an important part in the ongoing development of Steven Spielberg’s World War II classic Saving Private Ryan.
The two were more than familiar with each other having been friends for a long time, working together on fantasy favourite Hook in the early 1990s. That would be their only major collaboration, but the legendary comic was more than happy to lend an assist to the iconic director in other ways.
In an alternate reality Michael Bay could have helmed Saving Private Ryan, which is bizarre to think about. Fortunately, he wasn’t all that interested in the story, allowing Spielberg to swoop in and make not only one of his best-ever movies that won him an Academy Award for ‘Best Director’, but the highest-grossing World War II film ever made at the time.
The narrative was a relatively straightforward one on paper, with Tom Hanks leading a squad of soldiers on a mission to guarantee the safety and survival of James Francis Ryan, the only surviving member of his family tree to serve in the conflict. It was the spaces in between that made it special, though, but casting the title character required a specific type of actor in Spielberg’s mind.
Neil Patrick Harris was one of the many names considered, while Edward Norton reportedly turned it down in favour of American History X. The director knew what kind of performer he wanted; he just hadn’t found them yet. At least, until he visited the set of Good Will Hunting and met Matt Damon for the first time.
It was a lightbulb moment for Spielberg, who’d stumbled on precisely the kind of all-American, fresh-faced everyman he’d been looking for. Even better, Damon was a relative unknown who suited the anonymity he envisioned for such a pivotal part, even if that part of the plan didn’t turn out as expected.
“Robin Williams introduced us,” he told Roger Ebert of his maiden encounter with Damon, complete with the downside he couldn’t have predicted. “I thought he had a great American everybody look, and he was also a fine actor. Who knew he was going to go off and become a movie star overnight and with the Academy Award for screenplay, and not be the anonymous actor I had in mind?”
The wheels had already been greased by that point, with Good Will Hunting releasing in cinemas three months after principal photography had wrapped on Saving Private Ryan. Damon was no longer able to fly under the radar, but if Williams hadn’t introduced him to Spielberg in the first place, then there’s a distinct possibility he would have never ended up being hired at all.
