Epitome Monday: Robin Williams

Robin Williams, U.S. actor, at the 2008 BBC Wo...

Image via WikipediaOk, to stir the pot. I am going to start using Monday for a new regular post.

I consider it the best performance of an actor. Which role/movie best used them. Which one is the one that epitomizes that actor? Doesn't mean they won an award for it. Just means they have a good body of work to make comparisons and argue over.

Today's actor: Robin Williams. Click through to see his listing of movies.

Tough isn't it? If you were given his name and said, which movie epitomizes him? Which one?

I got the idea rewatching a movie thanks to my kids and I am going to make the case for: "Jumanji."

I preface my defense by saying while I have liked him in roles, I think he hasn't had a standout performance in the better part of decade. He had something of dark trilogy around 2002 with One Hour Photo, Death to Smoochy, and Insomnia. He was great, but that was too pidgeon-holed.

I can see some folks jumping on to the obvious: Good Will Hunting. Not a bad choice, but the manic character that has been so prevelant in his career was missing.

There are others but I am sticking with Jumanji and here is why- he shows his complete range. Emotional, funny, manic, fairly athletic even!

So what do you think? Which role of his would you put above the others?
Also, who else should we talk about in future posts? Maybe you would like to write one up? Let me know!

Check out my appearance on the The Toddcast Podcast

Click and watch the podcast recording of my appearance on the Toddcast Podcast Such a fun time!

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Most folk who know me, know I lost my father when I was 14 years old. However, before he passed, he shared a timeless secret with me—a practice that would shape my life in ways I could never have imagined. He didn't teach me meditation in the traditional sense, with incense and crossed legs. Instead, he showed me how to meditate by gazing at a lone light on the ceiling. When I was very young, I had night terrors that would wake me in the middle of the night. I'm sure it was terribly frustrating to calm a child from that. But my father had the way. I never understood how he came to the practice. But over the years, I've come to understand that my father's unique approach to meditation was, in fact, a profound lesson in mindfulness and presence. In a nearly pitch black room, he would tell me to find a speck of light, not unlike a star. Then focus. He would say, "Just watch the light, like you're watching a story unfold. Be the observer, not the thinker." I

Todd Lyden

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