Robin Williams Quotes

“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.”

“Comedy is acting out optimism.”

“Comedy can be a cathartic way to deal with personal trauma.”

“For me, comedy starts as a spew, a kind of explosion, and then you sculpt it from there, if at all. Maybe it comes from anger, because I'm outraged by cruel absurdities, the hypocrisy that exists everywhere, even within yourself, where it's hardest to see.”

“The improv, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but when it does, it's like open-field running.”

“I basically started performing for my mother, going, "Love me!" When I was little, my mother was funny with me, and I learned that by being entertaining, you make a connection with another person.”

“My mother's idea of natural childbirth was giving birth without makeup. She was hyper-positive: the world is a wonderful place, rainbows and unicorns.”

“I loved school, maybe too much, really. I was summa cum laude in high school. I was driven that way.”

“When I went home from Juilliard, I couldn't find acting work.”

“The essential truth is that sometimes you're worried that they'll find out it's a fluke, that you don't really have it. You've lost the muse or, the worst dread, you never had it at all. I went through all that madness early on.”

“Being in the same room with people and creating something together is a good thing.”

“Sometimes over things that I did, movies that didn't turn out very well, you go, "Why did you do that?" But in the end, I can't regret them because I met amazing people. There was always something that was worth it.”

“It's hard when you read an article saying bad things about you. But I am the harshest critic of my work.”

“Winning an Oscar is an honour, but, between you and me, it does not make things easier.”

“I'm much more open to being a supporting actor right now. At the age of 60, I'll be second fiddle. Fine. I'm happy to do it.”

“You have this idea that you'd better keep working otherwise people will forget. And that was dangerous.”

“The idea of having a steady job is appealing.”

“The "Aladdin" thing: that's not work; that's just fun. Three days in the recording studio going mad, then the animators do all the work.”

“The bad thing about being a famous comedian is that every now and then someone approaches me to tell an old joke. Don't tell me jokes; I have that.”

“From the point of view of being in the public radar, comedians have fewer problems than other actors. Action movie stars usually attract the more aggressive fans.”

“If heaven exists, to know that there's laughter, that would be a great thing.”

“Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"

“What's right is what's left if you do everything else wrong.”

“I'm sorry, if you were right, I'd agree with you.”

“Reality: what a concept!”