--- description: In 2001, Robin Williams explained his hilarious improv by doing seven minutes of hilarious improv title: Watch Robin Williams Hilariously Explain How He Was So Good at Improv image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf430da1362311d22/6986a0a4cd68485acf0962e4/robin-williams-improv.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Robin Williams Hilariously Explain How He Was So Good at Improv by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 24, 2014 3:56 PM CUT  Robin Williams at "The Crazy Ones" Press Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel on October 8, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. Robin Williams at "The Crazy Ones" Press Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel on October 8, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California.Vera Anderson—WireImage by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 24, 2014 3:56 PM CUT Robin Williams’ improvisational style—effervescent, manic, freewheeling—was greatly admired among his fellow comedians and adored by audiences. He brought an exuberant energy to the stage and invented characters with a lightning quickness. But how did he do it? What was his trick? In a session on Inside the Actor’s Studio in June 2001, host James Lipton asked Williams what makes his gift come to life. “Are you thinking faster than the rest of us?” says Lipton. “What the hell is going on?” Williams launches into a seven-minute improvisational schtick, playing characters from an Amish prisoner to Kung-Fu master, to an automobile at a car wash, to an Oedipal psychotherapist’s patient. It’s less of an explanation of his talents than a full-throated demonstration of them, and it’s hilarious and wonderful. “That’s as close as I could explain,” says Williams. Watch Robin Williams Hilariously Explain How He Was So Good at Improv ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3168981/robin-williams-improv/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3168981/robin-williams-improv/"},"headline":"Watch Robin Williams Hilariously Explain How He Was So Good at Improv","datePublished":"2014-08-24T15:56:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:49:21.252Z","description":"In 2001, Robin Williams explained his hilarious improv by doing seven minutes of hilarious improv","url":"https://time.com/3168981/robin-williams-improv/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf430da1362311d22/6986a0a4cd68485acf0962e4/robin-williams-improv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf430da1362311d22/6986a0a4cd68485acf0962e4/robin-williams-improv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"The Crazy Ones\" Press Conference","caption":"\"The Crazy Ones\" Press Conference","creditText":"Vera Anderson—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3168981/robin-williams-improv/","name":"Watch Robin Williams Hilariously Explain How He Was So Good at Improv"}}]}] ```