Robin’s Wish: An interview with director Tylor Norwood

Was Robin Williams the funniest man who ever lived? The new documentary Robin’s Wish from director Tylor Norwood certainly asks viewers to seriously consider the truth of the statement. But this is not a straightforward retrospective of the comic genius’s career – far more heartbreaking in its subject, it looks at the 18-month period before Williams’s death and seeks to uncover what really happened in contrast with the media reports that abounded at the time.

As the film reveals, a post mortem in fact found the actor had been suffering from the degenerative brain disease, Lewy body dementia. It explained the symptoms he’d been demonstrating in the months leading up to his death: the loss of spark, forgetting his lines on set, an inability to sleep, paranoia. By telling Williams’s story in the voices of his wife, Susan Schneider, his friends and colleagues, the film aims to rescue his legacy that has been tainted by the way he was seen to have left the world. 

Robin’s Wish is as much a celebration of the talent and vitality of Williams as a person and as a performer as it is a documentary about his death. We had the pleasure of speaking with Tylor Norwood about why he was compelled to make the documentary after being approached by Williams’ wife, his own admiration for the comedian and actor, and the impact he hopes the film will make on how he will be remembered.

Sarah Bradbury

Robin’s Wish is released digitally on demand on 4^th January 2021. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for Robin’s Wish here: