Current:Home > 新闻中心Matt Damon remembers pal Robin Williams: 'He was a very deep, deep river' -FutureWise Finance
Matt Damon remembers pal Robin Williams: 'He was a very deep, deep river'
View
Date:2025-04-16 19:18:34
Ten years ago on Sunday, the laughter stopped.
In a beautiful waterfront home in Paradise Cay, California, Robin Williams took his own life, unwilling to contend with the increasingly debilitating impact of Lewy body dementia. He was 63.
It was impossible to experience Williams − a kinetic dervish who was to comedy what Taylor Swift is to music: uncategorizable − and not have that experience leave a lasting impact. Just ask Matt Damon.
"Robin, wow," Damon says softly when asked about the comedy legend while promoting "The Instigators," his new Apple TV+ heist movie co-starring Casey Affleck and Hong Chau. "He was a very deep, deep river."
Damon met Williams in 1997 while filming "Good Will Hunting." As therapist Sean Maguire, Williams was tasked with breaking down the psychological walls erected by Damon's math savant Will Hunting. Williams' fearless performance won him the 1998 best supporting actor Oscar.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"So I just realized, here are two movies that are pro-therapy: 'Good Will Hunting' and 'The Instigators,' " says Damon, referring to Chau's therapist character who works against great odds to reach both Damon and Affleck's troubled characters. "Undergirding both movies are positive messages about therapy, which Robin handled so beautifully."
The 'Good Will Hunting' Bench could soon have a statue of Robin Williams
In "Hunting," a memorable scene finds Williams challenging Damon's brash character to dig deeper. The two are sitting on a park bench in the Boston Public Garden. Williams' voice is a whisper but his message lands like a hammer.
"You don't know about real loss," says Williams, talking about his wife who died from cancer. "Because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much."
The bench turned into an impromptu shrine after Williams' death. Damon says an artist recently reached out to him and pal Ben Affleck, who co-wrote and co-starred in "Hunting." The artist wants to make a bronze statue of Williams and place it on that same bench.
"That call just buckled us," says Damon. "It's such a great idea, to have a statue of him in the middle of this park, where at any time of day or night, if you're feeling alone, you go and you sit with Robin. That's something I know he would have absolutely loved. So if this idea can make its way up the Boston political hierarchy, it will happen."
Robin Williams, the pope and a chance lunch encounter
Damon listens intently as he's told a story about how a year before Williams' death, this reporter had an accidental lunch with the comedian.
Just one patron was seated at the restaurant's sole outdoor table. I asked if it was OK to sit and only after he softly answered, "Sure" did I realize it was Williams. A casual conversation started, mostly about his beloved racing bicycles. Then a detour into an assignment I'd covered: the 2013 papal conclave in Rome that elected Pope Francis.
Suddenly, it happened. The almost hermit-like presence at our table erupted into ... Robin Williams.
Sign up for our Watch Party newsletter:We deliver the best movie and TV recommendations to your inbox
"Pope Francis is from Argentina, can you imagine, though, if the pope was from Brazil, wow, think about that one," Williams says, eyes instantly alight. "I mean, he'd likely have all the nuns up there doing a samba dance with him!"
Damon laughs at the tale. It is the Williams he remembers as well.
"It is surprising how serious and quiet and very shy he was, compared to that expectation he created − the expectation being that he was there to make you laugh," says Damon. "I know I had that expectation of him, the second he first walked into the room. And now, I just can't imagine living under that constant pressure."
Damon looks down for a moment.
"What a completely unique brain he had, the connections he would make," he says. "He's quiet, reserved, and suddenly, yeah, he's doing a bit about the pope and his Brazilian dancers. What can you say?"
If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 any time, day or night, or chat online.
veryGood! (63341)
Related
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- 2024 Emmys: Why Fans Are Outraged Over The Bear Being Classified as a Comedy
- Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan Shares Why She Was “Terrified” at the 2024 Emmys
- Connie Chung talks legacy, feeling like she 'parachuted into a minefield' on '20/20'
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- Target brings back popular car seat-trade in program: How you can get the discount
- Lutherans in Walz’s Minnesota put potlucks before politics during divisive election season
- 'Shogun' rules Emmys; Who is Anna Sawai? Where have we seen Hiroyuki Sanada before?
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Florida sheriff fed up with school shooting hoaxes posts boy’s mugshot to social media
Ranking
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Sustainable investing advocate says ‘anti-woke’ backlash in US won’t stop the movement
- Taylor Swift Attends Patrick Mahomes’ Birthday Bash After Chiefs Win
- Low Boom, High Pollution? NASA Readies for Supersonic Test Flight
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Why did the Falcons draft Michael Penix Jr.? Looking back at bizarre 2024 NFL draft pick
- A Kentucky lawmaker has been critically injured in lawn mower accident
- Charlie Puth and Brooke Sansone Spark Marriage Speculation by Showing Off Rings in Italy
Recommendation
'As foretold in the prophecy': Elon Musk and internet react as Tesla stock hits $420 all
All the songs Charli XCX and Troye Sivan sing on the Sweat tour: Setlist
You need to start paying your student debt. No, really.
Votes for Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz will count in Georgia for now
Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
Disney Launches 2024 Holiday Pajamas: Sleigh the Season With Cozy New Styles for the Family
Rumer Willis Kisses Mystery Man After Derek Richard Thomas Breakup
All 4 dead aboard plane after weekend crash near runway in rural Alaska