Overview
- Hawke says that even at 18 he sensed the complexity of Williams’ emotional life during the 1989 production.
- He recounts seeing Williams alone in a dark corner after a bout of on-set improvisation that drew laughter and praise, calling the experience taxing.
- Hawke describes Williams as a deeply sensitive person attuned to a room’s energy, noting his own family history with depression informed his perspective.
- He emphasizes that Williams’ 2014 death by suicide does not change how he watches Dead Poets Society or define Williams’ life in his view.
- Hawke credits Williams’ improvisational freedom as formative mentorship, recalling that Williams would follow ideas rather than strictly the script.