Top 20 Unscripted Robin Williams Moments
#20: Marlon Brando Does Shakespeare
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“Dead Poets Society” (1989) One of Robin Williams’ signature dramatic roles allowed for levity and even a small amount of improvisation. In this particular scene, his character John gives a lesson on Shakespeare. The lecture diverts from the usual boring and monotonous lecture thanks to the actor’s ability to think on his feet. He resorts to impersonating legends like Marlon Brando to get his point across, with no script prompting him to do so. Of course, the moment feels completely natural because of Williams’ inherent comedic gifts. While most of the film is serious, the late genius managed to include this hilarious ad-lib without ever taking us out of the story.
#19: The Chinese Restaurant Scene
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“The Fisher King” (1991) Director Terry Gilliam’s “The Fisher King” defies description and contains an Oscar-nominated performance from Robin Williams. During a double date, the comedian and Jeff Bridges star opposite Mercedes Ruehl and Amanda Plummer in a humorously disastrous scene. The four actors’ characters are unable to keep a solid conversation, and a variety of awkward moments ensue. Apparently, the iconic scene was born out of improvisation, making it all the more impressive – especially when you consider Williams’ surprise singing performance. The eternally lovable actor approaches the scene with a quiet and mischievous nature that's completely captivating. His heartfelt and genuine character truly comes alive, and it feels like he’s delivering a master class in improv.
#18: Playing “Heads Up!”
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“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (2003-22) When Robin Williams joined Ellen DeGeneres to play “Heads Up!,” we got a glimpse into what he might’ve been like on game nights. His ability to chain together accents and impersonations at a moment’s notice is nothing short of impressive. He even makes a Miley Cyrus impression work under the circumstances. The game becomes an afterthought at a certain point, as Williams takes over with a whirlwind of comedic intensity. With his hilarious attempts at mimicking everyone from Cher to David Beckham, the performer brings the house down. DeGeneres can't help but laugh at his continuously amusing and completely unscripted hijinks, and we’re right there with her.
#17: His Entire Appearance
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“Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (1998-2007; 2013-) It’s only fitting that a master improviser like Robin Williams would end up on the unscripted show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” The legend gets off to a raucous start, providing one of the most lovably hectic guest spots in the show's history. He plays well with his co-stars, particularly in a sketch about a director ordering around unruly actors. There’s no doubt that he always makes his fellow scene partners look good – with or without props. All the while, the entertainer seems to be in his happy place in a show full of improvisational games. Needless to say, he makes the most of a truly generous and funny appearance.
#16: Robin Williams & Jonathan Winters Improvise Together
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“60 Minutes” (1968-) Robin Williams took inspiration from a number of comic personalities, including the improvisational genius Jonathan Winters. During this “60 Minutes” interview, Winters gets interrupted by his friend and fellow comedian. Williams instantly transforms into a director, ordering his counterpart to try out different personas. Once the action shifts outside, the two entertainers really get going, drifting in and out of bizarre characters in a haze of wonderfully zany unscripted bits. The fact that Winters was an incredibly important figure in Williams’ life makes the segment especially thrilling to see. The episode provides a stage for two of America's greatest improvisers to shine, and we could never get enough of it.
#15: Slipping on the Floor
“The Birdcage” (1996) In one of his more underrated comedies, Williams plays Armand Goldman, the owner of a Miami drag club. He’s forced to act straight with his partner - Nathan Lane dressed as a middle-aged woman - while meeting his son’s conservative in-laws-to-be. In the climactic dinner sequence, Armand slips and falls while carrying a pot of soup. According to Williams’ co-star Hank Azaria, Williams actually slipped and fell while filming the sequence. Ever the pro, Williams simply got back up and carried on, although he nearly breaks while telling his son to “go, go”.
#14: “Inside the Actors Studio” Interview
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“Inside the Actors Studio” (1994-) During his stint on "Inside the Actors Studio," Williams hilariously went off the rails in seconds. He has everyone laughing their butts off before host James Lipton has asked a single question! Things don’t get less interesting once the interview gets going, either. Between anecdotes and discussions about technique, the pair also deal with serious subjects in a playful way. And the comedian's interaction with the audience makes the episode extra memorable. Turning his appearance into a standup set, he repeatedly creates hysterical situations out of thin air. He subverts the traditional talk show format in the best way, giving Lipton and everyone watching a front row seat to his genius.
#13: The Prank Phone Calls
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“Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993) Director Chris Columbus allowed Robin Williams to improvise throughout the making of "Mrs. Doubtfire." In the scene where his character Daniel prank calls Sally Field’s Miranda, Williams unleashes increasingly outrageous voices from his comedic mind. Outtakes from the production reveal the staggering number of takes he completed for the sequence. While the final product mostly follows the script with some improv thrown in, the behind-the-scenes clips present other variations of the moment. Each alternate shot gets more absurd, as Williams invents new personalities with wild backstories. Even after filming dozens of takes, he manages to return with crazier ideas and a boundless energy. Of course, that’s precisely what made him one in a million.
#12: Robin & Billy Crystal at the Oscars
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“76th Academy Awards” (2004) Collaborators and friends, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams were no strangers to working together. During one of Crystal's hosting gigs at the Oscars, Williams joins him on stage for what winds up becoming a comedic break in the show. Standing behind the lead presenter, the comedian pretends to dub the host. The seemingly unscripted jokes keep coming as the entertainer pokes fun at the ceremony itself and their attire. Putting a new spin on standard award show banter, the duo throw the ceremony for a much needed loop. And Williams keeps this energy when introducing the next award category afterward. It’s safe to say the actor really thrived during this broadcast in front of his peers.
#11: Much of the Movie
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“Jack” (1996) One of Francis Ford Coppola’s lesser efforts, “Jack” stars Williams as Jack Powell, a kid who ages four times faster than a typical child. When Jack is ten years old and attending school, he has the body and appearance of a 45-year-old Robin Williams. According to Coppola, Williams improvised many of his lines at his insistence. He told the Christian Science Monitor, “The easiest thing about working with Robin was encouraging him to improvise, for he’s brilliant. When he began to ad-lib, it was screamingly funny.” While it’s not known what specific lines were improvised, it’s clear that Williams had to carry much of the film on his shoulders. Even if the results were mixed, Williams’ dedication is undeniable.
#10: Shakespeare Monologue
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“The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” (1962-92) People sometimes forget that Robin Williams was a classically trained actor. He brought that knowledge to this appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” In talking about Shakespeare, the guest and host trade quips about the Bard, with Williams expertly parodying his trademark dialogue. In a completely improvised Shakespearean interlude, the comedian breaks into various impressions of celebrities doing “Hamlet.” His Stallone and Schwarzenegger impressions are particularly impressive, capturing their voices and precise style flawlessly. The entire moment plays out like an expertly written piece of comedy. With Carson as his support, Williams leaps from his chair into our hearts, delivering one funny line after the other.
#9: Pinnochio
“Aladdin” (1992) Despite some strong competition, Williams’ performance as the Genie may just be his best work. Not only is the voice acting terrific, but it encapsulates everything that made Williams such a fantastic entertainer - his manic energy, his uproarious comedy, and his unending creativity. Animation supervisor Eric Goldberg fondly recalls Williams’ improvisations in the recording booth, which included making a “booo-wooop” sound to indicate Aladdin’s lie. It was meant to represent the sound of Pinocchio’s growing nose, so Goldberg and his team worked around Williams’ improv and added Pinocchio’s face into the movie. It’s amazing to consider how much creative leverage Williams had on the creation of “Aladdin.”
#8: Tomas & Tim
“Friends” (1994-2004) In 1997, Williams and Billy Crystal co-starred in the Ivan Reitman comedy “Fathers’ Day.” The day before it premiered, Williams and Crystal also appeared together in this “Friends” episode. Their presence was not planned, and their characters never appeared in the script. Rather, Williams and Crystal were both near the “Friends” set and were asked if they wanted to cameo. They obviously agreed and reportedly improvised the entire scene. At one point, Matt LeBlanc even got in on the action and improvised a rude interruption, resulting in an annoyed admonishment from Billy Crystal. It was probably the highlight of his career!
#7: He Stole My Line
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“Good Will Hunting” (1997) Sean Maguire is one of Williams’ more reserved and dramatic roles, and it was the one that earned him his only Academy Award. The ending of the movie sees Will going to California to reunite with Skylar and leaving Sean a note telling him he had to “go see about a girl”. This is a reference to a line Sean uttered earlier in the film. According to Matt Damon, Sean’s reaction to the note was completely improvised by Williams. The script didn’t have Sean saying anything, but Williams - ever the ad-libber - reportedly improvised a different line on each take. When he said the line that now appears in the movie, Damon grabbed the director in excitement, knowing that Williams had just uttered gold.
#6: Many Things
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“Mork & Mindy” (1978-82) “Mork & Mindy” served as Williams’ mainstream breakthrough hit. It all started when Williams was cast in the “Happy Days” episode “My Favorite Orkan,” and he reportedly impressed the network executives by improvising most of Mork’s dialogue. His character proved so popular that he was given a spin-off, and Williams quickly became a household name. While stories of Williams’ improv have been greatly exaggerated and mythologized, he still improvised to great success. One of the show’s writers, David Misch (mish), told Gizmodo, “He didn’t do extended ad libs, but what he did that would be so brilliant were these little things—a line here and there, a word here or there, a face, a voice—those were the things that blew people’s minds.”
#5: Cecil B. DeMille Award Speech
“62nd Golden Globes” (2005) In 2005, Robin Williams was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. He’s all smiles as he accepts the lifetime achievement award honoring the impact he’s made through his illustrious body of work. The actor's off-the-cuff remarks feature many of his trademarks, including accents and a few impersonations for good measure. Saluting his family and colleagues, he doesn't shy away from some more emotional moments, either. Williams’ ability to snap between a heartfelt story and a hilarious one is abundantly clear in this clip. In the end, the performer was able to touchingly thank everyone while keeping the ceremony light with his upbeat energy. Nobody else could do that quite like him.
#4: Melting Icing
“Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993) In one of this movie’s greatest sequences, Daniel is forced to play both himself and Mrs. Doubtfire when social worker Mrs. Sellner pops by for a surprise visit. Having lost his mask, Daniel shoves his face in a cake and pretends that it’s Mrs. Doubtfire’s “nightly meringue mask.” That much was scripted. The rest was all Williams. The hot studio lights began melting the icing on Williams’ face, and it genuinely began dripping off into the tea. Williams decided to just run with it, and he gave audiences a classic bit of comedy in the process.
#3: The Broadcasts
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“Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987) In this war comedy-drama, Williams plays Adrian Cronauer, a real United States Air Force Airman who served as a military DJ throughout the Vietnam War. Williams’ performance as Cronauer was widely acclaimed, and it earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. According to the movie’s producer, Mark Johnson, most of the DJ scenes were entirely improvised by Williams. In the movie’s production notes, Johnson stated, “When he sat down in the control booth to do the scenes involving Cronauer’s broadcasts, we just let the cameras roll. He managed to create something new for every single take.” Such was the manic energy, and unbelievable creativity, of Robin Williams.
#2: Farting in Sleep
“Good Will Hunting” (1997) Despite being one of his more serious roles, Williams still found time to imbue Sean Maguire with a funny bone. During a heart-to-heart with Will, Sean mentions that he has to learn to embrace a woman’s imperfections. To give an example, he tells Will that his late wife used to fart in her sleep. That line, and the resulting discussion, were entirely improvised by Williams and Matt Damon, and Damon’s laughter was reportedly genuine. Some viewers even notice the camera shaking right after Sean says “I didn’t have the heart to tell her,” indicating that the camera operator was laughing alongside Williams and Damon. Oh, what it would have been like to work with this man.
#1: Celebrity Impressions
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“Aladdin” (1992) As stated before, “Aladdin” may be Robin Williams’ greatest work. So much so, in fact, that he reportedly gave the filmmakers sixteen hours of content. Animation supervisor Eric Goldberg recalls that he had Williams for four four-hour sessions, and Williams filled that time with improvisations, jokes, lines, and tons of celebrity impressions. Goldberg told Entertainment Weekly, “When we got Robin in the recording studio, out came all the celebrity impressions. So aside from busting a gut laughing, we just looked at each other and said, ‘We can’t not use this stuff.’” The result was Genie’s signature use of celebrity impressions and the rare case of animators working around a voice actor. Williams really could do anything.
