Robin Williams

Academy Award winner Robin Williams began his career as a stand-up comedian, creating a repertoire of indelible characters, first in the hit series “Mork & Mindy” and then in numerous film roles. In 1997, Williams received Academy and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance in Good Will Hunting, having been previously nominated by the Academy for performances in The Fisher King, Dead Poets Society, and Good Morning Vietnam. Williams’ blockbuster films include Mrs. Doubtfire, The Birdcage, Jumanji, Hook, Night at the Museum, and the animated films Aladdin, Robots, and Happy Feet. In 2009, he will star in Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, opposite Ben Stiller, and the Thanksgiving comedy, Old Dogs, opposite John Travolta. Williams is currently in the middle of a sold-out comedy tour entitled “Weapons of Self- Destruction.” His critically acclaimed 2002 comedy tour aired on HBO and earned five Emmy nominations. Best known philanthropically for his affiliation with Comic Relief, Williams supports numerous causes and recently returned from his fourth USO tour of the Middle East.

MB: First off, can you tell me how long you’ve been performing?

RW: Probably forty years. I was in high school—it was a play making fun of the teachers.

MB: Can you remember the first time you were nervous about performing?

RW: I think that was during a play in college. For the one in high school, I wasn’t really nervous because it was the first time, and sometimes you don’t really know what it’ll be like. It went pretty well, and the moment I heard the laughs, that eased my tension about it.

MB: Can you describe how the nervousness felt?

RW: The first really hardcore nervousness I felt was focused on not knowing if I’d remember my lines. If you’re performing in a play, you go, “Wait a minute. Do I have it all? Do I know it?” It’s about the question, “Can I do this?”—wondering whether all the things you’ve done to prepare are there and ready to go. You think, “It won’t work. It won’t work. I’ll forget the lines. Oh no!” And the more people there are in the audience, the more intense the feeling is.

MB: Do you think there’s a way you could have viewed it differently so that you would have been less nervous?

RW: I think that, especially in the beginning, nervousness is almost a natural response. It’s a bit like fight or flight. You go on stage and there’s an adrenaline rush.

Could I have viewed it differently? Yeah, there’s telling yourself, “It’s going to be all right.” But I think some of it’s just to get you to think about preparation. What happens now with me is almost like a narcoleptic response—I start yawning, and I’m almost sleepy. I’ve heard other people say that happens to them, too.