The Safe House - Expositions

Partly by choice, partly by fate, the 50-year-old Academy Award winner has lately been playing a number of truly villainous characters, each one creepier than the last.

It started with the murderously jealous children's show performer in "Death to Smoochy," released earlier this spring, followed by the murderer on the lam in Alaska in the early summer sleeper hit "Insomnia." His latest role as an obsessive clerk in "One Hour Photo" may be the most disturbing of the three, because his character is tragically sympathetic -- at least initially.

"It's time to add some dark colors to the palette" is how Williams describes his new penchant for playing bad guys. "I've always wanted to, but those roles just weren't offered to me, because Hollywood goes for what sells, and what sells is warm, happy, good and fun."

Williams says he found each of his villainous movie roles satisfying for different reasons. "Death to Smoochy," for example, satisfied him on a "visceral" level, he says. "It was kind of, this is fun just to be kick-ass funny," says Williams.

Making "One Hour Photo," by contrast, was comparable to running a marathon, he says. By the end of production, there was a sense of accomplishment. "You created something so intense, and it achieves its purpose -- it creeps people out," he says with a twinkle in his cool blue eyes. "It makes them examine things. That's satisfying, but it's hard work."

Williams plays Sy Parrish, a lonely, middle-aged photo-processing clerk at a stark, faceless suburban superstore. His closet obsession with one of his regular customers reaches a dangerous peak when his idyllic image of her family life is shattered. The film co-stars Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Eriq La Salle and 8-year-old Dylan Smith in his feature film debut.

Williams says he was instantly intrigued by the screenplay by Mark Romanek, an accomplished music video director who's worked with artists like Madonna and Nine Inch Nails.

Romanek, making his feature film directorial debut with "One Hour Photo," says he was inspired to write this contemporary story about a disconnected individual by "lonely man" films of the 1970s such as "The Conversation" and "Taxi Driver." What convinced him to cast Williams, better know for likeable roles in films such as "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "Patch Adams," was the actor's enthusiasm for the character.

But Romanek was unsure someone of Williams' stature in Hollywood would agree to be in a small movie. "I think he was astonished that I even met with him," Williams says. "I said, 'I want to do this,' and he thought it was a joke."

Williams says the script's descriptive detail sold him. "What I like about the dialogue is that the words are painfully true," says the actor. "My favorite line, bar none, is the one where (Sy) says, 'photographs are your own personal stand against time.'"

Romanek says Williams brings a subversive quality to Sy that is uniquely his. And he doesn't think the character is that far afield from other characters Williams has played. "He tends to play obsessive loners that are often very academic ... even the guy in 'The Fisher King.' He's homeless but he's obsessed with the Holy Grail and knows everything in a literate sense about that period. The guy in 'Awakenings' is similar. Even the guy in 'Good Will Hunting' is kind of a loner, socially awkward guy. It suddenly became clear to me that Robin loved this character, and it might actually be crystallizing something that he's been working on for a long time."

Williams worked closely with Romanek to determine just how dangerous to make his character. "He tried at one point to make me more lethal," recalls Williams. "But he thought it would be much creepier to do it this way and make it more psychologically disturbing that he acts it out but doesn't do anything. ... When he becomes unglued, it's like bolts popping."

Williams recalls seeing a box of photos at a flea market that brought home to him the connective power that photographs hold. "You look at them and realize, especially with the old ones, that probably most of the people are dead," he says. "There's a moment in time where you get the feeling of -- even if the pictures are posed -- you get the feeling of what happened there. You're looking at someone, saying, 'I see you. I get you for a moment.' Then they're gone."

For his part, Williams admits he is not much of a shutterbug in real life. "I've never gotten into photography the way some of my friends like (director) Barry Levinson and (actor) Jeff Bridges have," he shares. "My wife takes the pictures in the family."

Williams is married to producer Marcia Garces, with whom he has two children, Cody, 10, and Zelda, 13. He also has a 19-year-old son from his first marriage. He says he would turn off Sy before leaving the set each day so as not to scare his children when he got home.

He finds an eerie similarity between celebrity worship and Sy's obsession with people he barely knows. "Have I had people in the past write letters that say, 'we should be together' from photographs? That happens," he says quietly. "People, through different shows and articles, can read a lot about me and what I do. Do they know everything? No, thank God."

After going through a weeklong boot camp to learn the ins and outs of operating photo processing equipment, Williams jokingly insists he's unlikely to drop off a roll of film for development again. "There's a wall of shame that they all have -- the guy in a thong that shouldn't be, or some guy's girlfriend spread-eagled in a field," he says with a laugh. "I know it's not a machine developing these pictures; I know that people see these photos."

For the role, the effervescent Williams transformed himself into the milquetoast Sy by having his wavy brown hair dyed a reddish-gray and cropped close to his head. He also dons a pair of oversized glasses that give him a sinister appearance. His wardrobe is bland, drab and dreary, much like the character's monochromatic life.

The makeup, which aged him somewhat, allowed Williams to transform himself physically as well as mentally and dive into the character's obsessive-compulsive behaviors. "It helps to lose yourself," he explains. "The makeup and clothes just pull you down; it has gravity. You have no choice but to be in character."

"I can actually watch this movie and not see me, which is great, because normally when you see yourself on the screen, out of sheer ego you go, 'Ooph.' But this way, making something look so different ... that's what I want to keep doing."

Still, he didn't keep any of Sy's wardrobe as a memento. "Bad voodoo," he says in a hushed staccato.

Beyond transforming himself physically, Williams got into the role emotionally. "It's how he's able to literally switch it on and off," says Michael Vartan, who plays the handsome husband of Sy's favorite customer. "I love when you see really famous people who you're used to seeing in a certain light and then to see them do something in a different light so brilliantly. That's what's exciting."

Williams wouldn't mind playing another villain, but he doesn't want to be typed as a bad guy either.

Born in Chicago, he began his career as a stand-up comedian and street performer while studying theater at Juilliard. A guest appearance as Mork on an episode of "Happy Days" led to his own comedy series, "Mork & Mindy." His rapid-fire, sharply hilarious portrayal of the lovable alien won him instant stardom.

Though his movie debut in "Popeye" tanked at the box office, he quickly got back on track with "The World According to Garp." He landed his first Academy Award nomination as a mouthy radio disc jockey in "Good Morning, Vietnam" and a second nom for playing an unconventional teacher in "Dead Poets Society."

Over the years, the charismatic Williams has bounced back and forth between flat-out comedies and light dramatic fare. His many credits include "The Fisher King," "Toys," "Hook," "The Birdcage" and "Mrs. Doubtfire."

In 1997, he took home an Oscar for his supporting role as a caring therapist in "Good Will Hunting."

He recently wrapped up a well-received 26-city one-man comedy show for the first time in 15 years, which he describes as a cathartic experience.

"Doing stand-up was a blast, because I played all over the country," Williams says. "It's weird to see the number of mayors and governors who are under federal prosecution. I'm just glad it's over with, because it was a lot of work to get that done. To have that and this movie in the same breath -- it's been a wild year for me."

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