Top 20 Robin Williams Roles

Top 20 Robin Williams Roles
The death of the cosmically funny Robin Williams left many of us shaken.

But while we mourn his loss, we should also celebrate his life by remembering some of his very best performances.

Tonight through next Thursday, the West End Cinema in Northwest D.C. is showing some of his best movies.

Frederick, Md., will also host an outdoor screening of "Mrs. Doubtfire" tonight along Carroll Creek.

There are also plenty of his films available on Video On Demand.

WTOP Film Critic Jason Fraley counts down the Top 20 Robin Williams Roles, from the hilarious to the heartfelt.
20. 'The Butler' (2013)
Robin Williams ran for president in "Man of the Year" (2006) and revived Teddy Roosevelt in "Night at the Museum" (2006), but his best presidential turn was as Eisenhower in Lee Daniels' "The Butler."

The film is a touching ride through Civil Rights history, but ranks low on our list because Williams' part is so small.
19. 'Toys' (1992)
Five years after their collaboration on "Good Morning, Vietnam," Barry Levinson directed Robin Williams in "Toys," about a military general who inherits a toy making company and begins making war toys.

The film got mixed reviews, but earned two Oscar nominations for Art Direction and Costume Design.
18. 'Jack' (1996)
A year after Adam Sandler's "Billy Madison" (1995), Robin Williams entered elementary school in Francis Ford Coppola's "Jack," only his character suffered from a condition where his body aged rapidly.

Jack learns to cope with his condition thanks to his mom (Diane Lane) and mentor (Bill Cosby) and delivers a now poignant goodbye speech:

"In the end, none of us have very long on this Earth. Life is fleeting. And if you're ever distressed, cast your eyes to the summer sky when the stars are strung across the velvety night. And when a shooting star streaks through the blackness, turning night into day... make a wish and think of me."
17. 'Jumanji' (1996)
Based on the popular book by Chris Van Allsburg, "Jumanji" told the tale of a magical board game that unleashes havoc on Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt and a young Kirsten Dunst.
16. 'Happy Feet' (2006)
Fourteen years after "Aladdin" and "FernGully: The Last Rainforest" (1992), Robin Williams lent his versatile voice to the animated children's hit "Happy Feet," a tale of emperor penguins that won the Oscar for best animated film.
15. 'Patch Adams' (1998)
Its tone may have been syrupy and its message more "on the nose" than a red clown accessory. But "Patch Adams" featured an Oscar-nominated score by Marc Shaiman and a memorable role by Robin Williams as a '70s medical student who illegally treats his patients using humor.

His rationale in the movie now applies to his own death: "Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity, and decency, and God forbid, maybe even humor?"

Who knew in 1998 that its two stars, Williams and Philip Seymour-Hoffman, would die the same year in 2014?
14. 'The Fisher King' (1991)
Even if Terry Gilliam's bizarre directorial vision isn't your thing, you can absolutely appreciate "The Fisher King" for its powerful performances.

Robin Williams won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination for his role as a New Yorker driven to homelessness after his wife's murder.

Jeff Bridges is unforgettable as a suicidal shock jock, Mercedes Ruehl won an Oscar as Bridges' neglected girlfriend, and Amanda Plummer creates quirky romance with Williams.
13. 'One Hour Photo' (2002)
Coming in at unlucky No. 13 is the creepiest role Robin Williams ever played, a voyeuristic employee at a one-hour photo lab who becomes obsessed with a suburban family.
12. 'The World According to Garp' (1982)
After "Mork & Mindy" made him a TV star, Robin Williams flopped with his foray into feature film, "Popeye" (1980).

His next movie, however, showed the world that Williams was not only funny, he also had serious dramatic range.

Based on a most unique novel by John Irving, written by Steve Tesich ("Breaking Away") and directed by George Roy Hill ("The Sting," "Butch & Sundance"), "Garp" earned Oscar nominations for a cross-dressing John Lithgow and a feminist Glenn Close.
11. 'Deconstructing Harry' (1997)
Robin Williams provided one of my favorite moments of any Woody Allen movie, playing an actor who drives cameramen crazy because he's out of focus on screen. Turns out, he is actually out-of-focus in real life!

"Deconstructing Harry" joins "Bullets Over Broadway" as Woody's best of the '90s. It would absolutely rank higher if Williams' part were bigger. Even so, Williams' out-of-focus character is one of those truly genius moments of post-modern cinema.
10. 'Hook' (1991)
Steven Spielberg always disliked how he executed his "Peter Pan" tale, saying, "I wanna see 'Hook' again because I so don't like that movie, and I'm hoping someday I'll see it again and perhaps like some of it."

Try telling that to an entire generation who grew up with Dustin Hoffman as Capt. Hook, Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell and Robin Williams as Peter, fitting for an actor who refused to grow up.

"Hook" earned five Oscar nominations for art direction, visual effects, costume design, makeup, and original song. Still, its greatest element is John Williams' fanciful score, which was so effective that Tim Burton used it for his "Nightmare Before Christmas" trailer.
9. 'Insomnia' (2002)
A hidden gem lies between Christopher Nolan's breakthrough "Memento" (2000) and his blockbuster "Dark Knight Trilogy" (2006-2012).

"Insomnia" is a morally complex crime thriller, starring Robin Williams as an Alaskan killer, Al Pacino as the L.A. cop brought in to solve the case, and Hillary Swank as a detective trainee that serves as the film's wild card.

In light of Williams' suicide, his character's late night phone call is extra chilling: "This is always the worst time of the night for me. Too late for yesterday. Too early for tomorrow."
8. 'Awakenings' (1990)
Penny Marshall became the first female director with two $100 million grossers in "Big" (1988) and "A League of Their Own" (1992). Sandwiched between those two was her powerful Best Picture nominee "Awakenings."

Featuring an Oscar-nominated script by Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List"), the film tells the true story of a 1969 doctor (Robin Williams), who uses a Parkinson's drug as a miracle treatment for patients who have been catatonic for decades after an encephalitis outbreak in the 1920s.

Robert DeNiro gives an Oscar-nominated performance the same year as Scorsese's "Goodfellas" that's even more powerful after revelations that Williams was diagnosed with Parkison's just before his suicide. Did Williams choose his own permanent catatonic state rather than succumb to DeNiro's twitchy fate? His final speech should serve as an "awakening" for all viewers to cherish the little things: work, play, friendship and family.
7. 'The Birdcage' (1996)
Three decades after directing history's best sex comedy, "The Graduate" (1967), Mike Nichols helmed this uproarious comedy based on a play by Jean Poiret and adapted by two-time Oscar nominee Elaine May ("Heaven Can Wait," "Primary Colors").

"The Birdcage" won Best Ensemble at the SAG Awards: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Calista Flockhart and Hank Azaria. The story plays like a funnier, gay rights version of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (1967).

The film is worth the price of admission alone to see Williams perform his eclectic dance mix of Bob Fosse, Martha Graham, Twyla and Madonna.
6. 'Mork & Mindy' (1978)
"Happy Days" was already a smash TV hit when Robin Williams arrived from outer space and stole the show as Mork from Ork in a 1978 episode.

Just like Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams got their own spinoff "Laverne & Shirley," so did Williams with "Mork & Mindy," having Mork come to live with Pam Dawber to study Earth's culture.

It's fitting that Williams' breakthrough came as an extra terrestrial. To we mortals, he was a cosmic treat with comedic gifts not of this world.

I dare you not to tear up as Mork reports to Orson about the loss of a friend. Orson: "And now your friend is gone forever?" Mork: "Oh, no. I'll always keep him right here. 'Til next week, sir. Nano, nano."
5. 'Aladdin' (1992)
In the 1980s, Disney considered shutting down its animation department, before "The Little Mermaid" (1989) and "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) pulled it out of financial ruin. Still, even Angela Lansbury's Mrs. Potts had nothing on Robin Williams' manic genie in "Aladdin."

Robin Williams made the Genie his own, singing the Oscar-nominated tune "Friend Like Me" and improvising so much that the script was not eligible for a screenwriting Oscar. The zany vocal performance is a wonder to behold.
4. 'Dead Poets Society' (1989)
Ranking no. 52 on the American Film Instititue's 100 Cheers, Peter Weir's "Dead Poets Society" may be Robin Williams' most inspirational work.

Here, he earned an Oscar nomination as John Keating, an English teacher at a private school who forms a Dead Poets Society to teach his students the beauty of art and the meaning of life.

Tom Schulman's Oscar-winning script features two legendary quotes -- "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary" (No. 95 on the AFI's Top 100 Quotes) -- and "Captain, my captain," spoken by a young Ethan Hawke standing on his desk as a way to stand up for Williams.

3. 'Mrs. Doubtfire' (1993)
Two years after facing him in "Hook" (1991), Robin Williams combined two classic Dustin Hoffman roles to create one of the funniest films of the '90s.

"Mrs. Doubtfire" took the cross-dressing theme of "Tootsie" (1982) and combined it with the divorce conflict of "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979), as a father loses custody of his kids to his ex-wife (Sally Field), then dresses up as a "hip hop, bee-bop granny" to become their babysitter, thanks to Oscar-winning makeup.

You'll cry laughing as Williams hides his face in cake icing, burns his bosom on a stove, dances to "Dude Looks Like a Lady" and saves Pierce Brosnan from choking during an identity-shifting restaurant outing.

Williams won a Golden Globe, while the film took home the Globe for Best Picture: Comedy/Musical.
2. 'Good Morning, Vietnam' (1987)
"Mork & Mindy" introduced Robin Williams to the public, while "The World According to Garp" (1982) proved he could excel on the big screen. But it wasn't until "Good Morning, Vietnam" that Williams showed he could carry an entire film on his shoulders -- and create a movie classic in the process.

Williams earned his first Oscar nomination as real-life disc jockey Adrian Cronauer, who entertained troops during the Vietnam War on U.S. Armed Services Radio.

A year before winning Best Picture with "Rain Man," director Barry Levinson allowed Williams to go on improvised rants that featured some of the most manic vocal shifts and zany pop culture references ever put on film. We also get the added treat of watching Robert Wuhl and Forest Whitaker genuinely laughing in the background.

"Good Morning, Vietnam" is more than a comedy. It's a war dramedy filled with social commentary and one of the biggest tour-de-force performances you'll ever see in any genre.
1. 'Good Will Hunting' (1997)
Robin Williams was at his best when allowed to combine laugh-out-loud zingers with life-affirming drama, and that was never more the case than in Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting."

Williams earned his only Oscar as a Boston psychologist who helps a rough-and-tumble M.I.T. janitor (Matt Damon) realize his potential as a mathematical prodigy, while becoming a better friend to his blue collar buddy (Ben Affleck) and a better lover to his goofball girlfriend (Minnie Driver).

Williams delivers mesmerizing monologues from an Oscar-winning script by then-unknowns Affleck and Damon. The larger their careers grow, from "Argo" to "Bourne," the larger the legacy of "Good Will Hunting" will become, making it a worthy contender for AFI Top 100 lists for years to come.

As Williams delivers the film's final line and the end credits roll to Elliot Smith's lyrics, "Do you miss me?," the answer is, "Yes." We already miss you.

Rest in Peace, Captain, my Captain.
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