Robin Williams - A tribute

Never have I written a tribute before but this time I feel the urge to it and therefore I just thought I will follow my guts. Did I know Mr. Williams personally? No, I didn't but I knew his work as an artist and looking at my own work as an artist I know that you put a lot of yourself in your work, even if you try not to. 

Unfortunately I also know depression myself having been diagnosed with it the first time in 2001, so understand the disease he has become a victim of and it saddens me that a person who gave others so much joy was in such a pain himself. 

I have always thought of Robin Williams as the most versatile actor of these days. I don't care what Oscar statistics say, this man could literally play anything and that is what made him brilliant! Some of his movies have had an incredible impact on me and others, more of an impact than I realised until two days ago. 

I was born in 1978 so one of my first memories of TV is that of a man who flew in an egg and sat upside down. I remember being particularly fond his greeting "nano nano". Of course this was Mork & Mindy. I remember loving that Mork could do funny things without getting into real trouble and how excited he got over the simplest things. Not understanding the concept of TV yet (I was probably 4 or 5 years old at that time), to me Mork was real and I loved him, because he wasn't as serious as most adults and would get excited like me and my friends. When I watched some reruns of Mork & Mindy a few years back, that magic of my childhood was back. Mork was adorable in his quirkyness and still is today. In this role Robin Williams was able to get away with everything and that is what we loved him for! Any other person would have looked stupid doing the things he did, but he was simply funny and lovable. 

My next and probably most life changing "encounter" with Robin Williams came during my teenage years through the movie "Dead Poets Society". Being a teenager who was mostly taught by unmotivated teachers, John Keating became my generation's hero and inspiration. We all wished we would be taught by him and even through the screen his energy touched us. I among many others was one of the students who on a dare stood on her desk during class. "Dead Poets Society" was the first book I read in English and it was during that time that I wrote my first poem. Did the movie and Robin Williams make me want to become a writer? I don't know, maybe. But they certainly sparked my love for poetry and literature. In two hours his passion on the screen taught me more than my "real" teachers had taught me in years. What I can say for sure is that the movie it changed my view of life. I understood that it is important to follow your heart, no matter where it leads you and that the world doesn't know better what your heart needs. 

Then came "Hook" and Robin Williams' Peter Pan. A 40 year old Peter Pan? Yes! After seeing the movie we all wondered: How could Peter Pan be anything but a 40 year old? I  laugh with tears in my eyes at the memory of the scene where Peter "comes back" and calls Rufio "Substitute chemistry teacher". This wasn't just performance, this was him and that it why we loved it: It felt real and honest, as if he was really letting out his inner child,which I suspect he was actually doing. That makes a great actor!

There is not much to say about Mrs. Doubtfire. It is a movie that stays with you forever and makes you feel good, because it teaches you that parents are always willing to make a fool of themselves to take care of their children and that is why we love them. Was there something of Mr. Williams himself in this movie? I guess being a father it was, maybe more that he himself was aware of. 

"Jack" is probably one of his most underrated movies. I remember that when I saw it I was expecting the usual funny movie but in the end got so much more. Being directed by Francis Ford Coppola the movie is well nuanced and by the end of we are moved beyond words over the little boy's story, because you don't see the man but a little boy with a genetic disorder. His performance overshadows his physical appearance and takes the lead. 

In 1997 two still unknown young actors managed to sell their first script and got to play two roles in the movie made of it and someone managed to get Robin Williams for the supporting role of Sean Maguire. Of course I am speaking of "Good Will Hunting" and the two actors were Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. This movie taught me an important lesson: Never put your career above the people you care about. Although Matt Damon pulled off an amazing performance himself, Robin Williams stole all the scenes they share. His performance is much calmer than in most of his movies and it works too. It actually worked so good that he won an Oscar for it. 

One of my personal favourites among Mr. Williams' movies is "Bicenntenial Man". Rarely have I seen such a character developement over the course of one movie. We see him turn from a machine into a human, more human than most humans. He is sweet, he is innocent and in a way grows up over the course of the movie. When the movie is half way through you just want to give him a hug. 

His most incredible transformation on screen was for me the 2002 thriller "One Hour Photo". His performance as Seymour Parrish is chilling to the bone. There were no jokes and no funny breaks, just the intensity of a brilliant performance of a psychotic Stalker. 

Of course there are many other amazing performances he had left us and also his wonderful stand-up comedy. He has made us laugh, scared us and moved us. I don't know if a movie can change you but it can inspire you and Mr.Williams' movies have inspired millions of people and definetely me. Or as John Keating put it: No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world. 

For that I have only one thing to say: 

Thank you, Mr. Williams.