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.
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“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.
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