The illustrious film industry of Hollywood has given the world some of the finest actors and actresses it has ever seen, and it still continues to do so. But there was just something about the old times when stars like the Late Robin Williams among many other legendary stars were leading the way for the stars of today to follow in their footsteps.
And while they may have brought some major and much-needed revolutions in the industry, there were times when their impact through their performances was off the mark, or the film was just not up to the standards. This common occurrence also happened with the Late star, early in his career in fact, when taking the advice of his good friend, he almost doomed his career.
Robin Williams Almost Ruined His Career After Taking Advice From Christopher Reeve To Do Popeye
During the time of the 80s and the early 90s, the general acceptance and popularity of films based on comic book characters were not that high, thus, the film industry only treated these films like experiments that had potential. And one of the first major films to finally make a solid impact on the industry was 1978’s Superman which starred the Late Christopher Reeve as the titular superhero. Therefore, while thinking about playing the role of the titular sailor in 1980’s Popeye, the Late Robin Williams approached his friend to ask whether it was a good idea to follow in his footsteps.
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Since Williams was just starting on the big screen with Oscar Nominated director Robert Altman helming this comic project, he needed guidance from someone who knew about this, and Reeve was the perfect man to go to. Taking his advice, the Jumanji star took the role. In The New York Times bestselling book Robin by Dave Itzkoff, the star recalled this experience, saying that at first, it felt like a good idea, but towards the end, he realized that this might not be the success that he was hoping for. He said:
“I also had that dream of getting up to thank the Academy. I thought, this is it, this is my ‘Superman,’ and it’s gonna go through the f*****’ roof! After the first day on ‘Popeye,’ I thought, ‘Well, maybe this isn’t it,’ and I finally wound up going, ‘Oh, God, when is it going to be over?'”
And as suspected, the film was not received well by the public as they called the story a mess, but today, this film is reminisced fondly by the fans of the star for his comedic performance regardless.
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What Was Popeye About?
Bringing the iconic cartoon character from the comic strips created by E.C Segar to life, Popeye tells the story of the titular sailor man, who in search of his father that abandoned him as a child, arrives in the port city of Sweethaven, where he falls in love with a girl named Olive Oyl and finds an abandoned child, who he decided to raise by himself and names Swee’Pea. But Bluto, Oyl’s suitor cannot stand how close she was getting to Popeye, which leads him to kidnap her and Swee’Pea. Now, Popeye has to save them with his immense strength with the help of his magic spinach.
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Popeye, streaming on Paramount+.
Source: Robin by Dave Itzkoff
