John Goodman explains why Robin Williams had to ‘remain to himself’ when they worked together – USFTB

Key points

• John Goodman acted alongside Robin Williams in 1983’s The Survivors.

• The 10 Cloverfield Lane star said that Williams had to “remain to himself” on set.

• Goodman described Williams as a “wonderful man” and reflected on how his techniques changed comedy acting.

John Goodman is reflecting on his time working with Robin Williams.

The Roseanne star played a small role in The Survivors, a 1983 comedy headlined by the Good Will Hunting actor and Walter Matthau. Goodman explained that he didn’t interact with Williams much during their time on set together.

“I was one of a bunch of day players. I had a couple of lines,” he said during a conversation with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation on Oct. 5. “But it felt like he had to remain to himself because he was kind of getting bugged by people.”

Goodman added, “I know Robin a little bit from hanging out — that’s my profession at the time. And to get into a scene with him was just wonderful. Just can’t say enough about him. He was just a wonderful man, and so much fun.”

The Monsters Inc. star also loved working with Matthau. “I just wanted to respect him and leave him alone,” he said of the Odd Couple actor. “But he started following me around and throwing punches at me, and I go, ‘Goddamn, this is great.’ It just really made me feel great that Walter Matthau was hitting me. And watching him and Robin play was a lot of fun.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Goodman shared his perspective on how Williams affected comedy acting. “I think it tilted everything towards more improv,” he explained. “He was a natural at it. But comedians started taking improv classes and coming from groups. Point the nose of the plane down and just aim at the ground and maybe hope for something to pull you out of it. Just that risk-taking, that daring. And he had a huge heart.”

Goodman also praised Williams’ dramatic turns in films like The World According to Garp.

“It was perfectly done because it really balanced well,” he opined. “And it was him. You’re not gonna get away from the fact that you’re watching Robin Williams. He’s not gonna hide himself. And yeah, that blend was just beautiful ’cause it made the sad stuff even sadder.”

Goodman can currently be seen in Digger, in which he plays the ailing president of the United States. The Big Lebowski star shared his memories of working on the film, particularly with Michael Stuhlbarg, who played his bumbling vice president in the movie.

“We did have the luxury of a lot of rehearsal time, which was great, because, well, we learned our lines,” he recalled. “But we got to learn each other’s rhythms and adapt and move accordingly. I gotta tell ya, Michael Stuhlbarg was throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the performance, and a lot of it was cut.”

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He added, “It was just laughing at each other. The rhythms were pretty evident, and then we were drilled into getting them ‘Boom,’ like that, to make it very, very rapid. And it was a nice thing to watch.”

Digger is now playing in theaters.

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