(Hewon the Best Supporting Actor OscarforGood Will Hunting, after all.)
He was great as a serial killer inChristopher Nolan’sInsomniain 2002.
InMark Romanek’sOne Hour Photo,Williams plays a man obsessed with a family, slowly losing his mind.
Custom Image by Zanda Rice
It went against everything we expected from him, which is exactly why it works.
Williams was pure energetic chaos, andthe role led to an Emmy nomination in 1979.
Williams carried that kinetic energy into a film career withPopeyein 1980.
He became known for his larger-than-life personality in comedies, but he also showed that he could step back.
Robin Williams could seamlessly go from comedy to drama, but what about playing a disturbing villain?
Despite being one of the best featured players, this comedian was seriously freaked out.
Both genres are all about an emotional response and how you react to an over-the-top situation.
Do you laugh or do you scream?Mrs.
When you think about it closely, though, there is an eerie thought to comprehend.
Someone is getting paid to look at all of those personal photos.
What do they think when they see them?
His job is his life, and not just that, it’s his customers who are his life.
Sy is seeking this perfect, Norman Rockwell-like life, and doesn’t notice how intrusive he is.
Sy couldn’t do that.
He wants to belong, and he believes that what he’s doing is right.
He smiles, he’s friendly, he makes conversation.
This is also whyRobin Williams was the ideal actor to play him.
Mark Romanek, who not only directedOne Hour Photobut wrote it,gives us a restrained antagonist.
Sy is meek and quiet, a sad and pathetic person who no one would even notice.
He’s not a cookie-cutter bad guy, but a human being who can maybe be redeemed.
Williams and Romanchek spoke about thisin a 2002 interview.
Image via Fox Searchlight Pictures
Romanek said that much of the tension around Sy is because it’s Robin Williams playing him.
If another actor, we might suspect he’s repressing a hiccup, it’s not as tense."
One Hour Photois available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.
WATCH ON PRIME VIDEO
