*last updated: 7 April, 2018*
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, Glenn Close, Walter Matthau, Ben Stiller, Billy Crystal & even Ben Stiller's dad, Jerry are the main stars, who have all practically worked with Robin Williams at one point during their movie careers. They are the fully-fledged stars who starred alongside or opposite him, and in most cases, those movies have turned out for the best.
And then you have the long list of movie stars and actors, actresses and performers, who never got the chance to appear and star alongside Robin that one has in mind. Yet you, or make that I wished had happened. Robin has starred and appeared in various and numerous films throughout his career - yet in many cases, he ends up being the main headliner by carrying the film alongside less established performers and actors and actresses. This is the ''could have been/ be it should have been'' rundown of my chosen 10 A-listers who deserved to share the spotlight with my favourite film actor of all-time. In addition, I am suggesting ideas in terms of plot, style and genre for each movie, so I am not just throwing out random names for the sake of it.
Jack Nicholson - Robin Williams does an amazing impersonation of Jack Nicholson, as evident in 1992's Aladdin as Genie and it would have been amazing to have seen Nicholson and Williams on the same page, be it a drama or comedy similar in tone to As Good As It Gets or even Analyze That with Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro
Tom Hanks - Interesting fact: Robin Williams was originally slated to play the character of Joe Mille in Jonathan Demme's 'Philadelphia', the 1993 box office smash- hit legal drama about an HIV-positive man who is erroneously terminated from his position by his employees. The role of Joe eventually went to Denzel Washington with Tom Hanks as the lead, and whilst the performances and the film were extraordinary, one wonders how well it might have fared with Robin in place of Denzel. Nonetheless, Tom Hanks has shown he is one of the finest dramatic actors on the block & Robin, himself, has proven time and again he can deliver by undertaking serious roles. I'd cast Robin Williams and Hanks in a drama.
Jackie Chan - The king of action comedy meets the king of comedy, it would be a hoot to watch; Jackie Chan has been paired up with Owen Wilson (a comedic actor) in Shanghai Knights and Noon & Chris Tucker (comedic actor and comedian) for the Rush Hour movies before and so it has proven that Chan is no stranger to working with comedic actors, especially western actors & all despite Chan's lack of fluency in English.
Jennifer Aniston - The one and only time Jennifer Aniston shared screen time with Robin Williams were on an episode of the sitcom, Friends with Billy Crystal, back in 1997, yet they have never starred in a movie together. I was thinking Robin as a shrink or psychiatrist to Jennifer Aniston's character, who is a patient of his or a character where he acts as an adviser or voice of reason, similar to in Good Will Hunting, Awakenings or as a not-too-wacky doctor in a comedy-drama
Eddie Murphy & Jim Carrey - now this one, for me, is one of the biggest castings should- have-been that should have happened. Yet it just never materialised, and it feels to me like this is a missed opportunity. We never even got an Eddie Murphy & Robin Williams film, or a Jim Carrey & Robin one. Seeing Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy (although those 2 did hang out with each other at SNL) and Jim Carrey in a comedy film together is the stuff that dreams are made of for me, anyhow. & even better still, remake iThreeAmigos!, which was a so-so comedy in my eyes, with those 3 big-name comedic actors, who were pretty well-known at the time, for the 1990s & add in better humour as well.
Arnold Schwarzenneger - Robin Williams as the comedic funny cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger as his straight man cop partner in a buddy cop comedy that is a mashup of 1986's Running Scared and 1990's Kindergarten Cop directed by Ivan Reitman who did Schwarzenneger's Kindergarten Cop, Junior & Twins and Fathers' Day with Robin & Billy Crystal? Yes, please
Julia Roberts - She has worked with Tom Hanks twice, Richard Gere also twice and the same with George Clooney. Yet in Hook with Robin Williams, she only shared one major scene, a kissing one that is (and one I enjoyed, mind you!) in the movie, & with the rest of the film she never really got to interact with any of the live actors during filming. & after that, Julia and Robin never worked together again. Which I am a bit gutted about because I'd watch another movie with those two in it & playing opposite each other as sweet and nice characters, back in the 1990s. I honestly feel with the ideal characters (Robin as the would-be protagonist & Julia Roberts as the love interest), movie (a rom-com that works both ways for both actors) and equal screen time, their partnership would work like a dream
Goldie Hawn - Goldie Hawn is another actress who, when I think about it, with the right premise in mind and a comedy as well, I could see her work off Robin, well. Though both Goldie and Robin made their onscreen debuts in the sketch comedy ''Laugh-In'' and plus, her husband, Kurt Russell did star alongside him in 1986's The Best of Times
Dwayne Johnson - formerly under the pseudonym of ''The Rock'' as a wrestler for WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) from 1996 to 2004, Dwayne Johnson is nowadays one of the biggest Hollywood actors, since his transition as a fully-fledged movie star. He also starred in the remake of the Robin Williams 1995 hit, Jumanji in 2017. Did you know that in real-life Robin Williams himself was a former high school wrestling star with his short & stocky stature? A sports drama in the vein of The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke released towards the end of the 1990s/early 2000s with Dwayne playing an up and coming wrestling starlet and Robin Williams as an ex-pro wrestler turned coach helping Johnson's character, sounds cool to me.
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