Entries by Missy

26 Sep, 2014

Gone Girl

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In the thriller based on the novel written by Gillian Flynn and directed by David Fincher, Pike plays the role of Amy, a missing woman suspected to have been murdered by her husband. Co-starring Ben Affleck and Neil Patrick Harris.

There were definitely moments when I felt very uneasy with how much power Amy had. And the interesting thing is, my reaction was to laugh, to get sort of uncontrollable giggles. That was the most curious part of playing her: At the point where she’s at her most powerful, it unnerved something in me.

Gone Girl | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX

Gone Girl

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In the thriller based on the novel written by Gillian Flynn and directed by David Fincher, Affleck plays the role of Nick Dunne, a man with questionable morals accused of murdering his wife.  Co-starring Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris.

There’s nothing really about this guy or character that I feel connected to personally, except that I have definitely felt as though I was looking at a version of my life that I didn’t recognize through the prism of the media.

Gone Girl | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX

15 Dec, 2006

The Pursuit of Happyness

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In the biopic drama directed by Gabriele Muccino, Smith plays Chris Gardner, a poverty stricken salesman who has custody of his son. Living on the streets and eating from soup kitchens, he gets the opportunity to be an intern as a stockbroker, eventually gaining the position with the company and becoming a millionaire. Costars Thandie Newton and Jaden Smith.  Smith on Gardner:

We looked in one another’s eyes. I said, ‘‘I’’m going to learn your story and I’’m going to tell your story.’’

24 Sep, 1999

Jakob the Liar

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In the drama directed by Peter Kassovitz, Williams plays the role of Jakob, the owner of a small cafe who begins inventing stories about the Russian army’s progress toward the Polish ghetto. Co-starring Liev Schrieber and Alan Arkin. Kassovitz:

Robin had moments of doubt about doing something funny.   He was a little bit anxious about the material … Like the other American actors, he had a guilt, not to have been a victim of the Nazis.

8 Nov, 1996

The Secret Agent

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In the drama thriller directed by Christopher Hampton, based on the novel by Joseph Conrad, Williams plays an assassin who owns a porn shop London as a front. He really is an anarchist, who holds meetings in his apartment with plans to overthrow the government. Co-starring Bob Hoskins, Patricia Arquette, and Gerard Depardieu.

I don’t carry the characters around when I’m doing the movie, because it can be quite frightening for your family to come home as those people.

25 Dec, 1996

Hamlet

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Williams plays Osric in this drama directed by Kenneth Branagh based on the William Shakespeare play. Hamlet returns home to find out his father is dead and his mother is marrying his uncle who is his father’s murderer. Co-starring Billie Crystal, Julie Christie, and Derek Jacobi. Branagh on Williams:

(He’s) an actor who would be funny, but could also be real in the way I felt was necessary.

24 May, 2002

Insomnia

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In the crime thriller directed by Christopher Nolan, Williams plays the murderer of a teenage girl in Nightmute, AK, during summertime when there is 24 hours of daylight. Co-starring Al Pacino, Hilary Swank and Martin Donovan. Nolan:

We’d been looking for somebody to play opposite Al who is not only a tremendous actor, but who also has a similar kind of audience identification with his star persona.

12 Dec, 1997

Deconstructing Harry

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In this comedy directed by Woody Allen, Williams plays a writer who friends and family realize that the characters and events in his books are actually things that have happened in real life, revealing this deepest secrets.  Costars Judy Davis and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

I played a small role, … because, at some point, I made him laugh. Can you imagine? To make Woody Allen laugh!

18 May, 1990

Cadillac Man

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In this comedy directed by Roger Donaldson, Williams plays a car salesman that must sell 12 cars before he loses his job. Co-starring Tim Robbins, Pamela Reed, and Fran Drescher.

It’s hard being a car salesman, people have a misconception of you being a bad person, like an invisible man to mug you with options you didn’t want. It was something I really had to work at. 

18 Dec, 1992

Toys

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In this comedy directed by Barry Levinson, Williams plays a military general who inherits a toy factory. He starts making war toys and his employees have to band together to stop him from ruining the name of the toy store.  Costarring Michael Gambon and John Cusack.

It was magnificently fun to do because I would just go in knowing I was going to this magical place.

13 Mar, 1992

Shakes the Clown

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In this comedy directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, Williams plays a mime class instructor. A drunk clown is accused of killing his boss, so he poses as a mime to gather information to clear his name. Costars Julie Brown, Bruce Baum, and Steve Bean.

It allowed me to put some lessons to work. Many people wouldn’t think I studied the art of mime.

20 Dec, 1990

Awakenings

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In this drama directed by Penny Marshall, Williams plays Dr. Malcolm Sayer, based on the 1973 nonfiction book by Oliver Sacks. Williams portrays a physician who cares for victims of the 1920s encephalitis lethargica epidemic. The patients are revived after he experiments with a new medication determined to bring these people back to a normal state. Co-starring Robert DeNiro and Julie Kavner.

I loved the chance for pushing the envelope to change people’s perceptions of this.

22 Jun, 1983

The Survivors

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Williams portrays Donald Quinelle, an executive who is fired from his job in Michael Ritchie’s comedy. He goes to a diner and meets Sonny Paluso (Walter Matthau) who owns a gas station that was blown up.  The two of them witness a robbery and the hit man threatens to kill them. Quinelle becomes obsessed with guns as a way to protect himself from the mob and enrolls in a survivalist training school in the mountains of Vermont. Co-starring Jerry Reed, James Wainwright, and Annie McEnroe. Ritchie:

Walter [Matthau] becomes straight man to Robin, and then Robin is straight man to him. That doesn’t happen in great comedy teams, where they form a pattern; Dean Martin is always in a certain relationship with Jerry Lewis, or Abbott is with Costello. Instead, with Walter and Danny or Walter and Robin, you have this balance constantly shifting.

6 May, 1994

Being Human

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In this fantasy drama directed by Bill Forsyth, Williams plays the part of Hector who starts out as a caveman that lost his wife and is reincarnated over and over again until he is a modern day divorced man trying to get to know his kids.  He learns the meaning of life over four lifetimes. Costarring John Turturro and Kelly Hunter.  Forsythe:

He has observational humor and brings out great performances from other actors

Being Human Trailer

9 Sep, 1986

Seize the Day

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In this drama directed by Fielder Cook, Williams plays a salesman who lost his girlfriend, his job, and some of his sanity, who moves to New York to start his life over again.  Co-starring Richard B. Shull and David Bickford. On working on the film during hurricane Gloria:

All of the city has shut down with the hurricane. Us? We work for Wing and a Prayer Productions.

26 Apr, 1987

On the Ledge

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In this comedy directed by Peter Ferrera, Williams costars as himself in a movie that is completely improvised with no written scripts that allowed the actors to make up the skits as they went along. Co-starring Jonathan Winters, Susan Anton, Milton Berle, and Phyllis Diller.

It was fun to work on.  We would drive out, use all the film and keep on going.

Jonathan Winters and Robin Williams: Medieval Jesters

1 Aug, 1977

Can I Do It Till I Need Glasses?

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Williams plays a lawyer and a man with a toothache in this film of short sexually suggestive skits, directed by Robert Levy.  Co-starring Roger Behr and Joey Camen. Williams states about this first film:

Gave me the idea that it can be free-form, that you can go in and out of things pretty easily.

11 Jul, 1986

Club Paradise

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Directed by Harold Ramis, in this comedy Williams plays Jack Moniker who retires and moves to a Caribbean island named St. Nicholas and makes friends with an owner of a run down resort.  To avoid the resort being taken due to non-payment of taxes, the two of them renovate and reopen the resort to entice people to stay.  Costars Peter O’Toole, Rick Moranis, and Twiggy. Referring to the scenes in the movie with Twiggy, he states:

There was no real sexual implication that much in this movie.

30 Jan, 1986

The Best of Times

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In this comedy directed by Roger Spottiswoode, Williams plays Jack Dundee, a bank vice-president who dropped an important football pass 13 years prior.  He has never gotten over this and decides to have a rematch with the rival team only to find out that his father-in-law is rooting for the rivals. Co-starring Kurt Russell, Pamela Reed, and Holly Pallance.

It was glimpse of living life over again, fix mistakes, and make it better.

10 Mar, 1989

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

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In this fantasy based on the novel written by Rudolph Erich Raspe and directed by Terry Gilliam, Williams plays the The Man on the Moon. The film is about a Baron who needs to end a war he started himself by flying into outerspace on a cannonball, being swallowed by a whale, ballooning to the moon, and exploring a volcano. Costars John Neville, Uma Thurman, and Sarah Polley. Gilliam:

Williams helped save this film.  Budgets were cut, actors pulled out and were sick from exhaustion, Williams kept spirits high and the film rolling.