Inside the Actors Studio: Robin Williams

Robin Williams' appearance on Bravo's popular interview series Inside the Actors Studio on January 29, 2001 turned out to be the series' most popular and oft-requested episode. As host James Lipton states in his typically worshipful (and typically pretentious) introduction, cutting the five-hour session down to 100 minutes (to fit a two-hour commercial time-slot) posed a major challenge, so this long-awaited DVD version features an additional 35 minutes of outtakes as a bonus. Lipton followed his standard interviewing procedure (with his ever-present stack of questions listed on blue index cards), but Williams was anything but a typical guest: from the moment he burst onstage, the comic engaged in an almost non-stop, stream-of-consciousness barrage of improvisation. In a wide-ranging discussion that covers his start in theater, breakthrough success on the ‘70s sitcom Mork & Mindy, and later multifaceted film career (including his Oscar-winning role in Good Will Hunting), Williams combines soul-searching sincerity with impressive on-the-spot improv, at one point launching into a brilliantly inventive series of routines using a scarf spontaneously borrowed from an audience member. Despite the whirling-dervish behavior, Williams does manage to occasionally settle down long enough to share memorable anecdotes (such as visiting longtime friend Christopher Reeve after his paralyzing accident, or cheering up Steven Spielberg via telephone during the production of Schindler's List), and heartfelt advice about surviving as an actor. Informative and unquestionably entertaining, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Shannon)