The brutal direction Robin Williams received on his first major dramatic role
Despite being most well-known for his comedic genius and ever-lasting wit, Robin Williams was also a formidable dramatic actor, bringing light and darkness to his portrayal of a grieving therapist in Good Will Hunting, a rebellious teacher in Dead Poet Society and a distinctly unsettling tone to the lonely photo developer in One Hour Photo. However, there was one director who wasn’t always convinced of his dramatic abilities, worried that he would make his role too funny, thus resulting in a fairly blunt piece of feedback on the actor’s first dramatic role.
Williams studied at the infamous Julliard school and was described as the kind of person who was “always on… like human dynamo”, taking as many classes as he could and excelling in all areas of study. As a student he always had a reputation for being funny, seen by his fellow classmates and teachers as a genius that didn’t really need a classically formal education, and so he left in his junior year. He began performing stand up in open mic bars, working his way around the city until he was spotted by TV producer George Schlatter, launching his on-screen career after a performance in Laugh In.
His first leading role in a feature film was Robert Altman’s bizarre take on Popeye, a trippy and immersive retelling of the beloved cartoon character, which was met with mixed feelings from film lovers and critics, with many people believing that Altman had completely lost his touch. After a number of roles on television shows such as Mork and Mindy, Off The Wall and Happy Days, the actor found himself back in the Julliard-esque world of dramatic acting, offered the lead part in The World According to Garp.
The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who was most famous for iconic movies such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting. Williams plays a struggling writer who finds his life being dominated by his over-bearing wife and mother, who writes a feminist manifesto that becomes a cultural phenomenon.
Despite having a year at Julliard under his belt, Hill was famously critical of Williams when he first took on this character, something that his co-star John Lithgow recalled in a recent interview, saying, “Robin was already a superstar as Mork. But this was a young man who had trained at Juilliard, and even though he was a brilliant comic, he liked to think of himself as a serious actor too. George Roy Hill’s most brutal and most frequent direction to Robin was ‘don’t give me any of that comedy shit,’ and it’s exactly what Robin wanted and needed from George. It’s a beautiful, simple performance.”
May would say that Williams’ blend of humour and nuance is what makes him such a special performer, bringing a unique charisma to his characters that make him endlessly magnetic and watchable. However, in the case of The World According to Garp, the character is someone who somewhat struggles to assert themselves or be seen, stuck in the shadow of the more successful people in his life.
Perhaps it was Hill’s initial criticism that allowed Williams to hone this ability, as sometimes all it takes is a line of radical honesty for you to realise your full potential.
