Robin Williams may have passed away in 2014, but stories continue to emerge about the joy he brought to everyone around him. Though his role in Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's breakout film Good Will Hunting was far more serious than his usual fare, he still found time between takes to entertain his co-stars.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, director Gus Van Sant recalls how Williams never attempted to make him laugh on set:
I think when I met him, during that period he was very serious. Even when I cracked a little joke, it wasn't really recognized and he didn't follow it up with a joke. He didn't say anything which was funny. And I assumed that was because he was being serious, like a serious actor. For him, comedy was almost like a whole obsessional world in itself, so it was either full-on make the person die laughing, or just have no comment there.
The same was not true of Williams's young scene partners, however!
He never tried to make me laugh, but he would try and make Matt laugh. And the crew was like a little audience that he had all the time, so he would sometimes just start doing stand-up in front of them, and he wouldn't stop until I'd say, 'You have to start working again.' And then he was like, 'Oh yeah, alright, boss.'
Williams would go on to win an Oscar for his performance in the movie, while Damon and Affleck took home an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Van Sant has went on to direct many movies, including the newly released Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, and Rooney Mara.
But no matter what movie is on the horizon, Hollywood won't be forgetting Robin Williams any time soon.
H/T - People, The Daily Beast
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC