Robin Williams' Favorite (And Least Favorite) Robin Williams Films

Robin Williams didn’t just become his characters when the cameras started rolling; he rewrote them in award-winning and iconic ways. 

Few actors brought films to life the way Williams did. His unforgettable characters jumped directly from the screen into our hearts, whether in Good Will Hunting, Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, Good Morning, Vietnam, Disney's Aladdin, and Night at the Museum, among countless others.

He had us all shouting "O Captain! My Captain!" to honor English teacher John Keating, laughing at the celebrity impressions of the Genie, seizing the dentures (“carpe dentum”) like a disguised Daniel Hillard, and admiring Sacagawea alongside Theodore Roosevelt (after midnight, of course). These are roles we still hold dear, years after Williams first brought them to life. But which characters were his own favorites to play?

Let's grab a ticket and some popcorn and learn more about Robin Williams' favorite (and least favorite) Robin Williams films.

ROBIN WILLIAMS' BIGGEST BOX OFFICE HITS

Robin Williams' biggest box office successes weren’t necessarily his favorite films to act in. In fact, his ten highest-grossing films don’t include the one he claimed to be his personal favorite.

His highest-grossing hit was 2006’s Night at the Museum, followed by Mrs. Doubtfire, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, and Hook. Jumanji, Good Will Hunting, and Dead Poets Society also fill out the top 10.

These films are so cemented in cinema history that generations of moviegoers still reference and revere them decades after their release.

ROBIN WILLIAMS' FAVORITE ROBIN WILLIAMS FILM

Before his untimely death in 2014, Williams answered questions about his career via Reddit's Ask Me Anything. According to Far Out Magazine, he revealed that his favorite film wasn’t a blockbuster; rather one that let him "explore the human brain from the inside out," mirroring the British neurologist he portrayed, who treated rare brain illnesses like the "sleeping sickness" medically known as Encephalitis lethargica, in the 1960s.

Williams became Oliver Sacks in the 1990 film Awakenings, a role he considered a "gift," and one that sparked his personal interests years after the movie took over theaters. 

Williams met Dr. Sacks before filming, and the neurologist was just as fascinated with the actor as Williams was with him. Director Penny Marshall even admitted that Dr. Sacks was perhaps a bit nervous; Williams was such a master at imitation that it was almost surreal. 

ROBIN WILLIAMS' LEAST FAVORITE ROBIN WILLIAMS FILM

The beloved actor rarely spoke negatively about his films and never truly named a "least" favorite, but there was one role he seemed less than enthusiastic about.

A decade before Awakenings, Williams took on his first-ever lead role as Popeye the Sailor Man in 1980’s Popeye, alongside Shelley Duvall’s Olive Oyl. In a 1988 Rolling Stone interview, he confessed to having a few regrets about the experience, admitting he felt "weird" watching the premiere.

"Popeye was a sweet-enough character. I had to dub that movie over twice, though, because people couldn’t understand what I was saying. I sounded like a killer whale farting in a wind tunnel. The weirdest thing of all was to watch it at one of those Hollywood premieres, which are rough to begin with. But when a film doesn’t work..."

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