Films Featuring Robin Williams Quiz

Answer: Awakenings

'Awakenings' told the story of a doctor who trialled a drug called "L-dopa" on his patients with the hope of extracting them from their catatonic state - a condition characterised by a lack of awareness of external stimuli and loss of motor function. Sayer's gamble at first appeared to pay off when his first patient, Leonard Lowe (played by Robert de Niro), regained his awareness of the world around him. However, after securing the necessary funding to extend the trial to his other patients, Sayer discovered that Leonard's condition was deteriorating and he eventually returned to his catatonic state. The film was based on the real-life work of a British neurologist named Oliver Sacks.

The incorrect options are all films with comas or catatonia featuring in the plot.

Answer: Alan Parrish

'Jumanji' was first released in 1995 and featured Robin Williams as a man who spent 26 years of his life (and grew to adulthood) while trapped in a board game that proved to be capable of releasing hordes of wild animals and sucking players into its world. Alan found the game (also called 'Jumanji') and played it with his friend Sarah in 1969 - while Alan got sucked into it, Sarah escaped, uninjured but traumatised. It wasn't until two young siblings, Peter and Judy Shepherd, found and started playing the game 26 years later that Alan had a chance to escape. He then, with the help of Peter and Judy, had to track down his old friend as the game could only be finished once all of its original players were present.

The incorrect options are all other characters that appear in the film.

Answer: Mrs. Doubtfire

'Mrs. Doubtfire' (1993) proved to be one of Robin Williams' most successful films, earning him a Golden Globe award for Best Actor. This was despite the rather odd premise of his character, Daniel Hillard, dressing up as a woman and taking a job as his ex-wife's housekeeper in order to maintain contact with his children after his divorce from their mother. Although he charmed both his former wife, Miranda (played by Sally Field), and the children, he couldn't keep the charade up forever and his secret double-identity was eventually discovered by first his children (in a hilarious bathroom scene), then by an outraged Miranda and finally by the family court judge who reacted by cutting his access to his children to the bare minimum. However, eventually all was resolved and the character of "Mrs. Doubtfire" subsequently revived his acting career.

The incorrect options are all films about characters with child care responsibilities.

Answer: Matt Damon

'Good Will Hunting' starred Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgård, but it was Damon who played the title role. The film, which was first released in 1997, was directed by Gus Van Sant. It told the story of a genius janitor named Will Hunting who worked in a university, but had the intelligence to solve a series of difficult mathematical problems set out by a Professor Lambeau (Skarsgård). When Lambeau discovered that it was the janitor rather than one of his students who solved the problems, he enlisted a therapist (Williams) to help Hunting overcome issues related to the abuse he had suffered as a child and pursue a relationship with an English girl named Skylar (Driver). Ben Affleck, who co-wrote the film with Matt Damon, played one of Hunting's friends.

'Good Will Hunting' netted Williams an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Answer: A teacher

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Robin Williams portrayed an English teacher in 'Dead Poets Society'. His character took an unorthodox approach to the teaching of poetry, allowing his students greater freedom to read and understand the works rather than assessing them in a formulaic manner.

The eponymous society was a poetry club to which Keating belonged when he was a student and which his own students recreated in his honour. Sadly though, things went horribly wrong when one of the students committed suicide and the headteacher blamed Keating. Williams was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the film, but lost out to Daniel Day-Lewis (who won for 'My Left Foot').

Answer: John Irving

John Irving wrote both the original novel on which 'The World According to Garp' was based and the screenplay for the film. He is also known for his other major works 'The Cider House Rules', 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' and 'A Widow for One Year'. In 'The World According to Garp', Robin Williams played the title role of Garp - the son of a feminist named Jenny who raped a brain-damaged soldier in order to become pregnant and have a child without having to deal with the presence of a father in his life. Mother and son proved to have vastly different interests but both became published authors.

However, their difficult relationship was cut short when Jenny was assassinated at a political rally and the film ended with Garp also being shot by someone outraged by his literary work.

Answer: The Fisher King

The 1991 film 'The Fisher King' told the story of homeless man named Parry (Williams) who believed he could find the Holy Grail and that the Fisher King was guarding it on God's orders. Parry saved a suicidal former DJ, Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges), from an attack by a group of thugs and in return Lucas attempted to help him in his delusional quest. However, Lucas also sought to discover Parry's real identity and help him to overcome his tragic past by finding love and happiness again. The film was directed by Terry Gilliam and earned Williams a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

The incorrect options are all other films based on Arthurian legends.

Answer: Peter Pan

In 'Hook', the infamous "boy who couldn't grow up" had done just that - but, in the process, had lost all memories of his life as Peter Pan in the fantastic world of Neverland. As a result, Robin Williams first appears as the character of Peter Banning, a San Francisco-based lawyer with a wife and two children. However, it turned out that his wife was the granddaughter of Wendy Darling and that he was her old friend Peter Pan. He was then forced to face his past when his children were kidnapped by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) and he had to return to Neverland to rescue them with the help of Tinker Bell the fairy.

Tootles (Arthur Malet) was one of Neverland's original "Lost Boys" and Mr. Smee (Bob Hoskins) was Captain Hook's bosun.

Answer: Aladdin

The story of Aladdin and the Genie who appeared to him from a magic lamp is much older than the Disney version of it, as it is an ancient Arabic folk tale that appeared in the collection known in English as the 'Arabian Nights'. In the film, a young urchin named Aladdin was granted three wishes by a Genie; took on a new identity as a prince in the hope of marrying the beautiful Princess Jasmine, and went for a ride with her on a magic flying carpet. Aladdin also had to battle against the evil Jafar, free the Genie from life in his lamp and eventually admit to Jasmine that he was not the high-born prince that he pretended to be. Luckily for all involved there was a happy ending and the film ended with Aladdin and Jasmine becoming engaged.

The incorrect options were all other Disney films released during the 1990s.

Answer: La Cage aux Folles

'The Birdcage' utilises different character names and a different setting to 'La Cage aux Folles' (which is a French and Italian language film set in Saint-Tropez) but ostensibly tells the same story. Robin Williams played Armand Goldman, a gay man who lived in Florida with his stereotypically outrageous and effeminate partner. His son from a previous relationship wanted to introduce him to his fiancée's parents, but they turned out to be an ultraconservative Senator and his wife. The film then followed the highly comedic plots that Armand and his partner dreamt up to hide their true lifestyle.

'La Cage aux Folles' was based on a play of the same name by Jean Poiret. The incorrect options are all other films for which Édouard Molinaro is credited as a director.