Robin Williams

A comic genius and an Oscar-winning dramatic actor, the former 'Mork & Mindy' star left behind a body of work that capitalized on his electric, risk-taking ...

(The therapist dared to miss seeing an important Red Sox game with his buddies so he could hang out with the woman he’d later marry, telling his friends, “Sorry, fellas, I gotta go see about a girl.”) When Will writes in his note to Sean that he has to “go see about a girl,” it was Williams who came up with Sean’s memorable response: “Son of a bitch, he stole my line.” “Robin’s an old friend, and we were at dinner when I told him the story of World’s Greatest Dad,” Goldthwait [said in 2009](https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/a-qa-with-bobcat-goldthwait-director-of-worlds-greatest-dad/). Turns out, though, the whole school finds the note inspiring and moving, prompting Lance to write a whole fake journal for Kyle, finally enjoying the recognition his own writing never achieved — even if it’s in the voice of his dead son. He plays Sean, a melancholy but wise therapist who counsels the troubled young genius Will (co-writer [Matt Damon](https://www.cracked.com/article_31830_why-team-america-did-matt-damon-dirty.html)), opening up about his life while helping Will take control of his own. [Robin Williams](https://www.cracked.com/article_34374_robin-williams-15-now-you-know-facts.html) once [encapsulated](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Robin/yrVTDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1) the secret to his genius in 12 words: “The craziness comes from my mother. The film formed the foundation for what would work so well for him in subsequent smashes like Dead Poets Society (balancing comedy and drama in a film about fighting the system) and Aladdin (ad-libbing brilliantly within a solid script). But it most harnesses his talent for larger-than-life comic combustion, resulting in a crowd-pleasing, sentimental comedy in which he gets to play dress up but also deliver heartfelt moments as a dad trying to do his best. [Good Will Hunting](https://www.cracked.com/article_36189_the-25th-anniversary-of-good-will-hunting-does-will-hunting-actually-stop-911.html) epitomizes the Hollywood truism that comedians only get honored by the Academy when they do something serious. “After a divorce, how many fathers just give up?” Williams [later said](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Robin/yrVTDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1). Williams would go on to have bigger hits, but here’s where he first demonstrated the dextrous comedic gifts that made him a natural for the big screen. The first of Williams’ four Oscar nominations came on this Barry Levinson film, loosely based on real-life DJ Adrian Cronauer, who is stationed in Saigon in 1965, doing his best to entertain the troops while annoying his superiors with his on-air impertinence. The discipline comes from my dad.” Focused but also manic, a wild improviser that was equally dedicated to craft, Williams scared his fellow comics when he first came on the scene, convincing other aspiring stand-ups (like the young [David Letterman](https://www.cracked.com/article_35910_david-letterman-really-tried-to-protect-kanye-from-himself.html)) that they could never compete with this thunderbolt.