Williams starred in his first major film role in this 1980 adaptation of the spinach-eating sailor from E. C. Segar's comic strip. In this movie, Popeye is searching for his father when his boat is washed up at the Oyl family's home during a storm. There he meets his love interest, Olive, played by Shelley Duvall.
The 1982 movie is based on James Irving's best selling novel. Williams plays T. S. Garp, the illegitimate son of an unconventional feminist mother. Garp is a writer who encounters bizarre events and strange people that challenge his ideas about the world.
Williams is an irreverent DJ who's sent to Vietnam to work at the US Armed Services Radio Station. The troops love him, but he gets in trouble with his superiors who don't like his controversial shows. This movie was released in 1987. Williams received his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Williams was nominated for an Oscar for this 1989 movie about unconventional English teacher, John Keating. Using poetry, Keating inspires his students to live life without compromise. When his lessons lead to a death, and the school fires him, his students rally behind him. Williams was nominated for his second Academy Award for Best Actor.
A suicidal radio DJ, depressed because his insensitive on-air comment inspired a listener to commit multiple murders, tries to redeem himself by helping a mentally disturbed homeless man whose wife was one of the murder victims. Robin Williams plays Parry, the homeless man who's on a mission to find the Holy Grail, in this 1991 movie. Williams was nominated for his third Academy Award for Best Actor.
Williams is the voice of the genie in the 1992 Walt Disney animation, ad-libbing most of his lines. According to his official website, "the performance redefined how animations were voiced."
In this 1993 comedy, Williams plays an irresponsible father who's estranged from his wife and only allowed to see his children once a week. When he learns his wife needs a housekeeper, he disguises himself as an English nanny and becomes his children's best friend. This film won an Oscar for Best Makeup.
Robin Williams received an Oscar for Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in this 1997 movie about a janitor at MIT who is also a mathematical genius. Williams plays a therapist who helps janitor Will Hunting (Matt Damon) confront his demons.
In the 1998 movie Williams plays a man who goes to heaven after dying in a car accident. When his distraught wife commits suicide, and goes to Hell, Williams' character goes there to rescue her.
This 2009 dark comedy premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Williams plays Lance, a high school poetry teacher who ghostwrites a suicide note for his son after he dies in a freak accident. The note becomes an unexpected hit and Lance writes his son's journal and passes it off as his own in an attempt to resurrect his writing career.