The actor Robin Williams called his greatest friend in the world: “He’s the best”
You wouldn’t have to look hard to find a Robin Williams fan. He was one of the most beloved performers of his generation, and his death in 2014 at just 63 years old still hits home. Whether you were a fan of his early stand-up days, his voiceover work in movies like Aladdin and Happy Feet, his surprisingly natural transition to serious roles in films like Good Will Hunting and The Dead Poets Society, or the classic comedies he made like The Birdcage and Mrs Doubtfire, Williams’ appeal lay in his over-the-top energy and the twinkle in his eye that always suggested warmth and humanity.
Williams worked with many great actors over the years, including Matt Damon, Gene Hackman, and Laura Linney. The comedian no doubt charmed all of his co-stars, but one collaboration led to a decades-long friendship. In 1990, he starred with Robert De Niro in Penny Marshall’s Awakenings, a medical drama based on the memoir by Oliver Sacks about his discovery of a drug that could bring patients suffering from encephalitis out of their catatonic states.
In the film, Williams plays Dr Malcom Sayer, a fictional version of Saks. De Niro plays Leonard Lowe, one of the encephalitis patients who regains mobility thanks to Sayer’s work. The two actors struck up a friendship on set that even survived an incident in which Williams accidentally broke his co-star’s nose during a scene.
In an interview with HeyUGuys in 2011, Williams said that he and De Niro had been friends for years. “[H]e’s my greatest friend in the world,” he said. “He’s the best. He’s very sweet.”
Referencing the broken nose incident, he joked that he had actually done De Niro a favour. The actor had already broken his nose on the set of Raging Bull, and according to his doctor, Williams’ elbow snapped it back into place. Williams also noted that De Niro wasn’t as tough as everyone thought he was. “He makes me laugh because everyone thinks of him being that way, but he’s really articulate and really funny,” he said.
The affection was mutual. When Williams died in 2014, De Niro dedicated his Friars Club award to his late friend, saying, “No one made me laugh like Robin.” In addition to humour, De Niro praised Williams’ deep humanity. “No one could fake that kind of love and compassion,” he added.
The actors worked together a second time after Awakenings on the 2013 romantic comedy The Big Wedding. Williams plays a Catholic priest in the film, while De Niro stars as the father of the groom, who has to pretend to be married to his ex-wife for various rom-com contrivances. Interestingly enough, Susan Sarandon gets to punch De Niro in the face in the movie, though there were no reports that she broke his nose.
Aside from these movies, Williams and De Niro must have enjoyed their friendship off the set. Many of us would love to have been a fly on the wall for their conversations, but rewatching them joke around on the production of Awakenings will have to suffice.
