Robin Williams - When the Laughter Stops 1951-2014 by Emily Herbert
Authors: Emily Herbert
Ads: Link
one eventually. He’s quick, instinctive, funny, and warm, and one of the few comedians I’ve ever met who, while “on” a lot of the time, is not offensively “on.” Garp’s not a comic character. He’s a very serious character, but there is comedy, most of it based on reality. In the film, Robin has to go from 18 years old to 34. In fact, he’s 29, but he’s always had an old face. I’ve looked at pictures of him at 18 or 19, and he looks older, so he’s believable when he has to play that age.’
All the same, it was to prove a learning experience. Williams had to learn how to control himself: his stand-up comedy depended on a rapid-fire delivery, as did his portrayal of the alien Mork – indeed, his ability to talk soquickly was one of the many things that made him right for the part. George Roy Hill acknowledged this. ‘Robin had a habit we had to overcome,’ he said. ‘He’s inclined to too fast delivery – it took me a long time to slow him down to a playing speed, since his mind works so fast. I think I’ve got him slowed down enough, although maybe it’s just that I’m getting used to him.’
For Robin, too, it was quite an experience and not just in learning how to slow his delivery down. This was a world away from the kind of material he was used to: a demanding dramatic role that was not particularly easy to pull off. ‘The main problem is in making all the different ages fit together,’ he disclosed in 1981 to
New York Magazine.
‘I have to make all those phases of life and the different relationships believable. I’ve had to go really deep inside myself, to examine painful and wonderful things. There are lively scenes dealing with children; there’s a lot of death and dealing with loss. Scenes with my wife in the film are very personal, no pretense at all. I have to be very direct, very open.’
He also betrayed a real insecurity; the first public hint of a much more vulnerable personality than had ever been seen before. At that stage in his life, Williams was still very much seen as a clown: a brilliantly talented one, of course, but a clown nonetheless. No one really knew about the depths of his depression, the solitary side, the aching void within that drink and drugs and comedy were all being used to kill – no one in public, at any rate. To those close to Robin,it was obvious that he was nothing like as straightforward as he sometimes seemed.
‘I haven’t gone to see the rushes, because I’m afraid they would jar me,’ he admitted. ‘I don’t think I’ll get a view of myself until the final cut. It’s like drowning, like running for your life. I have no perspective. It’s not like comedy or all-out farce, where I know my instincts. It’s all unknown territory. It’s like being in combat. I finished one day of shooting and thought, “God, I died.” Even though it was only a single scene, I had this bizarre feeling, and I wept for a couple of hours after it. When I finally see the film, I’ll look back and say, “I did that.” I’ll be proud. I feel proud now, but I just can’t say it yet because it’s not over. It’s a gamble. It’s scary, really bizarre, because every time you do something totally new, you suddenly think, “Oh, no. Now it’s over. From now on I’ll be selling the
National Enquirer
door to door.”’
Of course, many actors have that terrible sense of insecurity: that one day they will be found out and will have to return to the life they led before. But in Robin’s case, this was accentuated by the fact that it had all happened so fast. It almost didn’t matter that
Mork & Mindy
was, by now, fast losing ratings and would shortly be coming to an end. He had made the leap into the big time but, in common with so many others, he couldn’t see the strength of his own position. In the midst of the maelstrom that was now his life, he couldn’t see clearly that he was now so sought after that a successful career was pretty much assured
All the same, it was to prove a learning experience. Williams had to learn how to control himself: his stand-up comedy depended on a rapid-fire delivery, as did his portrayal of the alien Mork – indeed, his ability to talk soquickly was one of the many things that made him right for the part. George Roy Hill acknowledged this. ‘Robin had a habit we had to overcome,’ he said. ‘He’s inclined to too fast delivery – it took me a long time to slow him down to a playing speed, since his mind works so fast. I think I’ve got him slowed down enough, although maybe it’s just that I’m getting used to him.’
For Robin, too, it was quite an experience and not just in learning how to slow his delivery down. This was a world away from the kind of material he was used to: a demanding dramatic role that was not particularly easy to pull off. ‘The main problem is in making all the different ages fit together,’ he disclosed in 1981 to
New York Magazine.
‘I have to make all those phases of life and the different relationships believable. I’ve had to go really deep inside myself, to examine painful and wonderful things. There are lively scenes dealing with children; there’s a lot of death and dealing with loss. Scenes with my wife in the film are very personal, no pretense at all. I have to be very direct, very open.’
He also betrayed a real insecurity; the first public hint of a much more vulnerable personality than had ever been seen before. At that stage in his life, Williams was still very much seen as a clown: a brilliantly talented one, of course, but a clown nonetheless. No one really knew about the depths of his depression, the solitary side, the aching void within that drink and drugs and comedy were all being used to kill – no one in public, at any rate. To those close to Robin,it was obvious that he was nothing like as straightforward as he sometimes seemed.
‘I haven’t gone to see the rushes, because I’m afraid they would jar me,’ he admitted. ‘I don’t think I’ll get a view of myself until the final cut. It’s like drowning, like running for your life. I have no perspective. It’s not like comedy or all-out farce, where I know my instincts. It’s all unknown territory. It’s like being in combat. I finished one day of shooting and thought, “God, I died.” Even though it was only a single scene, I had this bizarre feeling, and I wept for a couple of hours after it. When I finally see the film, I’ll look back and say, “I did that.” I’ll be proud. I feel proud now, but I just can’t say it yet because it’s not over. It’s a gamble. It’s scary, really bizarre, because every time you do something totally new, you suddenly think, “Oh, no. Now it’s over. From now on I’ll be selling the
National Enquirer
door to door.”’
Of course, many actors have that terrible sense of insecurity: that one day they will be found out and will have to return to the life they led before. But in Robin’s case, this was accentuated by the fact that it had all happened so fast. It almost didn’t matter that
Mork & Mindy
was, by now, fast losing ratings and would shortly be coming to an end. He had made the leap into the big time but, in common with so many others, he couldn’t see the strength of his own position. In the midst of the maelstrom that was now his life, he couldn’t see clearly that he was now so sought after that a successful career was pretty much assured
Similar Books
