From Mork and Mindy to Dead Poets Society, Aladdin to Good Will Hunting, and The Birdcage to The Crazy Ones, we will never see the likes of him again. Williams died at age 63 on Aug. 11.
1. Mork and Mindy (1978–1982) — Mork
Courtesy Everett Collection
A spin-off of Happy Days, Mork and Mindy
was Robin Williams’ first real exposure to audiences. It remains an
excellent first impression, the kind of television series that sounds
silly on paper — an alien from the planet Ork arrives on Earth to
observe human behavior — but works largely because Williams makes it
work. His Mork is equal parts absurd and lovable, a combination Williams
would bring to many of his future roles. —Louis Peitzman
2. Popeye (1980) — Popeye
Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection
Popeye is Williams’ first on-screen
performance and as the iconic sailor, the actor proves he is a comedian
in his very soul. Williams nails the character, from his facial
expressions and his walk to his talk, which, in this role, really
solidified how truly remarkable he is at playing different an array of
voices, even with a pipe in his mouth. Williams also shows off his
musical talents: singing, dancing, and physically fighting along the
way. —Emily Orley
3. The World According to Garp (1982) — T. S. Garp
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection
In his first somewhat dramatic role, Williams gave audiences who knew him from Mork and Mindy and Popeye
a glimpse at his range as an actor. Garp is a complex, troubling
character who exists in a world that’s at time tragic but also darkly
comedic. This is the kind of role perfectly suited to Williams, who is
consistently able to find the humor in sadness, and the pathos in humor.
—L.P.
4. Moscow on the Hudson (1984) — Vladimir Ivanoff
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Made during the height of the Cold
War, Williams plays a Russian musician who chooses to defect — in front
of Connie Chung! — while shopping in Bloomingdale’s on an official trip
to New York City. A true dramedy, Williams keeps his wilder impulses in
check, playing instead the truth of the misery of Vladimir’s life in
Moscow and the struggle to adjust to his new life in New York. —Adam B.
Vary
5. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) — Adrian Cronauer
Touchstone Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Based on real events, Williams plays a
freewheeling DJ who wildly bucks authority on U.S. Armed Forces Radio
Service during the Vietnam War. The DJ scenes allowed Williams’ comic id
its freest expression yet, and it earned him his first Oscar
nomination. —A.B.V.
6. Dead Poets Society (1989) — John Keating
Mary Evans / TOUCHSTONE PICTURES / Ronald Grant / Everett Collection
Mr. Keating’s classroom is special
and that is due to what Williams brings to the table. Williams provides
such an infectious energy, he creates a place where his students can be
entirely individuals and the truest forms of themselves. And he teaches
in such a manner that not only inspires his students, but all teenagers
who view the film, showing a different and engaging way to approach
literature and life. In a traditional and rigid school, Mr. Keating
teaches how to read analytically, appreciate poetry, write creatively,
and literally rip up the rulebook. And when, in the end, one of the
minds he molded takes his own life, Williams juxtaposes his characters’
normal enthusiasm with inconsolable heartbreak — and a performance that
won him his second Oscar nomination. —E.O.
7. Awakenings (1990) — Dr. Malcolm Sayer
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Although Robert De Niro earned the Best Actor Oscar nomination for Awakenings
— and deservedly so — Williams’ powerful performance as the dedicated,
compassionate Dr. Malcolm Sawyer is equally essential the film’s
success. The bond he shares with his patient is the core of the movie,
and makes the film all the more devastating. —L.P.
8. The Fisher King (1991) — Parry
TriStar Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Williams steps into this dark comedy
and demonstrates his true range, swiftly transitioning through an array
of emotions and holding his own next to Jeff Bridges. As an unhinged
homeless man, Williams is at times fierce and frightening, and at
others, he shows a painfully raw side to Parry while maintaining a
straight face. But in most moments, he is a truly sympathetic (and
sometimes funny) character. —E.O.
9. Hook (1991) — Peter Banning / Peter Pan
TriStar Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
It’s hard to imagine an actor better
suited to playing a grown-up version of Peter Pan than Williams. He is
so convincing as the buttoned-up, too grown-up Peter Banning — who has
long since forgotten that he used to be Peter Pan — that when Banning
finally does accept himself as Peter Pan, it comes as a massive relief
for the audience. We just want to see Williams fly. —A.B.V.
10. Aladdin (1992) — Genie
Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection
Williams’ voiceover work shows off
his incredible physicality, and that’s all without actually seeing him
perform. He brings so much energy and movement to the Genie just through
his voice that you can easily envision him acting out the role. It’s
hard to imagine another actor capturing the same balance of manic
intensity and Disney heart. —L.P.
11. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) — Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire
20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection
It’s a testament to Williams’
abilities that he turns what could have been an over-the-top performance
into one of his greatest and most emotionally resonant roles. Yes, Mrs. Doubtfire
is hilarious, and it offers Williams ample opportunity to act out. But
he also completely disappears into his Mrs. Doubtfire persona, leading
to some of the film’s most moving moments. —L.P.
12. Jumanji (1995) — Alan Parrish
Columbia Tristar / Courtesy Everett Collection
Williams holds his own against CGI animals coming from all directions. There is always so much happening in Jumanji,
Williams becomes a kind of straight man, suppressing his usual antics
to play a more subdued hero. And yet, of course, he still has his
moments, as when he emerges back to reality after years trapped in the
game. —L.P.
13. The Birdcage (1996) — Armand Goldman
United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection
Nathan Lane gets the flashier drag role in this American update of La Cage aux Folles,
but it’s impossible to overlook the stellar comedic work Williams does
here. As Armand, he’s tasked with maintaining a charade of heterosexual
“normalcy” that allows Williams to play it straight while also flirting
with his wilder camp sensibilities. —L.P.
14. Flubber (1997) — Philip Brainard
Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
It’s hard to stand out when your
co-star is “Flubber,” but somehow Williams manages it. In fact, the film
— while more for kids than the parents who got dragged along — is the
perfect vehicle for Williams’ freeform exuberance. Even without an
assist from Flubber, he can bounce off the walls. Metaphorically
speaking, at least. —L.P.
15. Good Will Hunting (1997) — Sean Maguire
Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection
As a gently honest Boston
psychologist unwilling to put up with any bullshit, Maguire forces his
patient Will Hunting (Matt Damon) to face his fears and offers the exact
encouragement the boy needs. It’s the best example of Williams’ ability
to mix raw emotion with a tough demeanor, all while continuously
delivering powerful, moving pieces of advice — and it won him his first
and only Oscar, for Best Supporting Actor. —E.O.
16. What Dreams May Come (1998) — Chris Nielsen
Polygram Filmed Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection
Williams approaches Chris Nielsen’s
tragic life and death with truly touching emotion. Forced to deal with
the death of his children and the subsequent demise of his marriage, and
then his own inability to recognize his own untimely death and
resistance to let go of his love, Williams pulls every emotion to the
surface without seeming overly dramatic. The sadness he brings to the
character demonstrates his range as a truly astonishing actor, allowing
him to bring Nielsen, and viewers, to a place of true affliction. —E.O.
17. Patch Adams (1998) — Patch Adams
Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection
This role allows Williams to address
the serious and silly components of life when faced with the most somber
situations. A medical student who works to help patients heal
physically and emotionally, Williams’ character echoes the actor’s
persona and counters the norm. Adams wears what becomes an infamous red
nose during his rounds, and he fights, nearly to the brink of his
career, for the right to establish relationships with those he tends to
in the hospital. Adams proves that, of all the medicine you can take,
laughter is often the best. —E.O.
18. Bicentennial Man (1999) — Andrew Martin
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Chris Columbus’ sci-fi family film is
never quite what you expect it to be, shifting in tone throughout as it
moves toward a truly heartbreaking conclusion. As the robot at its
center, Williams anchors it all. Because he can switch effortlessly
between silly quips and genuine pathos, he’s uniquely adept at
portraying Andrew in his ongoing search for humanity. —L.P.
19. Death to Smoochy (2002) — “Rainbow” Randolph Smiley
Warner Brothers / Courtesy Everett Collection
A vastly misunderstood film, Death to Smoochy
was an apt reminder of the complexity Williams brings to his roles. The
part of a corrupt children’s host isn’t as straightforward as it
sounds: He has to play a figure who could believably entertain kids,
while also revealing the darkness underneath. Williams walks a line
between silly and psychotic, and he makes it look easy. —L.P.
20. Insomnia (2002) — Walter Finch
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection
After so many high profile Hollywood
comedies and family films, Williams shifted gears into a series of
downbeat and dramatic roles, starting with this part of an Alaskan
murderer who torments a morally murky cop (played by Al Pacino) plagued
by sleeplessness. With not a punch line in sight, Williams turns to
reserves of simmering anger and darkness that he rarely tapped into over
his vast career, and even more remarkably, he keeps it all bottled up
tight. —A.B.V.
21. One Hour Photo (2002) — Seymour Parrish
20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection
Things got even darker in this film
about a photo development technician — played by a bleached-blond,
tightly wound Williams — who works in an anonymous big box supermarket
and becomes dangerously obsessed with a seemingly perfect family who
frequently drop off their film. Williams’ climactic scene, where we
learn what caused Parrish’s fixation with the perfect photo — and the
perfect life — is as chilling a performance as the actor has ever given.
—A.B.V.
22. The Night Listener (2006) — Gabriel Noone
IFC Films / Courtesy Everett Collection
Another dark indie film, this time
with Williams on the receiving end of some creepy bad behavior. Based on
a real experience by author Armistead Maupin, Williams plays a radio
host who gets pulled into a series of bizarre events after a young fan
reaches out to him on the phone — but isn’t who he seems to be. It’s
another understated performance from Williams, but no less compelling.
—A.B.V.
23. Happy Feet and Happy Feet Two (2006, 2011) — Ramon and Lovelace
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection
Post-Aladdin, Williams did
animated voice work a few more times, none with quite as much exuberance
as his double performance in these films as two wildly eccentric
penguins, both with love on their minds. —A.B.V.
24. Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2006, 2009) — Teddy Roosevelt
20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection
A “statue” in the Museum of Natural
History, Williams plays the 26th U.S. president, who at night climbs
down off his horse and wanders around to protect the museum. A sillier
role for the actor, it allows Williams to channel his comedic side — and
he’ll appear one more time in the role this fall, in 2014’s Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. —E.O.
25. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, “Authority” — Merritt Rook
James Devaney / WireImage
In order to play the sadistic,
manipulative villain in this episode inspired by actual events, Williams
shows the dark side of charisma. As Merritt, he coerces people into
rebelling against authority. He’s so effective that even when he’s doing
very bad things, you can understand why people are listening. It’s not a
pleasant performance to watch, but it’s one of his most powerful. —L.P.
26. World’s Greatest Dad (2009) — Lance Clayton
Magnolia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
In playing the titular character in
Bobcat Goldthwait’s relentlessly bleak comedy, Williams balances his
affable charm with darkness, creating a complicated but ultimately
sympathetic portrait of a man who covers up his son’s accidental death
by forging a suicide note on his behalf. Williams brings humanity to
Lance, delivering an emotional honesty that elevates the film past
satire. —L.P.
27. Louie, “Barney/Never” (2012) — Robin Williams
FX / Via splitsider.com
Plenty of comedians have played themselves on Louie,
with the portrayals ranging from flattering to… not at all. Williams
falls somewhere in the middle, as he attends a funeral with Louie, after
which both admit they hated the guy who died. It’s an honest reflection
on the way we talk about people after they pass, articulated by two
comedians who aren’t afraid to speak uncomfortable truths. —L.P.
28. Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) — Dwight D. Eisenhower
The Weinstein Company
Williams’ performance as President
Eisenhower during the height of the school segregation crisis in the
1950s is not much more than a cameo, but he poignantly captures the
weight of the hard decisions facing Eisenhower with subtle grace.
—A.B.V.
29. The Crazy Ones (2013–2014) — Simon Roberts
Trae Patton / Fox
Williams’ first regular role on a TV series since Mork and Mindy
hewed pretty close to his public persona as a larger-than-life genius
with a tendency to let his mind wander far afield — only on the show, it
was as an ad executive, instead of an Oscar-winning actor-comedian.
Co-starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Crazy Ones was largely
well-received, especially as the show found its footing, but it
nonetheless lasted just one season. For those who watched, it was a
welcome if all-too-short reminder of how fleet and funny Williams still
could be. —A.B.V.
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