The late Robin Williams, considered one of the all-time great comedians, was praised for his good nature, frantic energy, and improvised humor. Even though he began his career in stand-up comedy in the mid-1970s, it was his part on the sitcom Mork & Mindy that catapulted him to fame.

He is also credited for providing voices for several well-known cartoon characters. In addition, he is best recognized for providing the voices for animated movies like Aladdin, Robots, and Happy Feet. 

On the other hand, Robert De Niro has developed a much tougher reputation thanks to his intense film roles, despite reportedly being a quiet, polite person in real life. For instance, he appeared in The Godfather Part II as the young mob boss (Vito Corleone) and also starred as the boxer (Jake LaMotta) in Raging Bull.

Robert De Niro

Given these actors’ opposing portrayals, their fans may be shocked to learn that jovial Williams actually broke De Niro’s nose while the two were collaborating on the 1990 movie, Awakenings.

Although the incident was unavoidably an accident, the story still makes for a fascinating anecdote.

Robert De Niro Thanked Robin Williams for Breaking His Nose?

Robin Williams and Robert De Niro collaborated on the 1990 film Awakenings, which was adapted from Oliver Sack’s autobiography of the same name. The late actor once spoke about breaking his co-star’s nose while filming this 1990 Penny Marshall film in a 1996 interview. He said in reference to De Niro:

“In the making of that movie I broke his nose by accident. We had this struggle when I was supposed to be restraining him when he was having a seizure and my elbow went ‘bam!’ and it made a noise like a chicken bone breaking.”

Robert De Niro and Robin Williams in ‘Awakenings’

According to reports, De Niro handled the situation reasonably well and maintained his composure throughout. In fact, as PEOPLE reported, the Raging Bull star appeared to view the accident favorably:

“The thing is, my nose was broken once before, and he knocked it back in the other direction — straightened it out…It looks better than it did before.”

Meanwhile, Williams discussed the incident on the Johnny Carson show in 1991, telling the audience that despite De Niro’s tough exterior,

“The truth is he is a very gentle man.”

Robin Williams And Robert De Niro’s Friendship After Awakenings

Despite an unintentional fight that broke out between Robin Williams and Robert De Niro on the Awakenings set, the two reportedly remained close friends for a very long time. For instance, in 2010 they shared an SNL appearance.

De Niro then assisted Williams in 2011 as he appeared on Broadway in Rajiv Joseph’s play, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.

Robert De Niro and Robin Williams

De Niro even honored his late co-star (who passed away in August 2014) by dedicating an award to him as one of the most obvious indications of the two’s enduring friendship. The Goodfellas star was presented with the Entertainment Icon Award at the Friars Foundation Gala in October (2014). He remarked in his acceptance speech (according to the Independent):

“If you know me, you know how much I like to laugh. And no one made me laugh like Robin. Of course, it was more than the jokes. He had so much humanity…He was a wonderful actor, sure, but those feelings were real. No one could fake that kind of love and compassion. Robin, my dear friend, I dedicate this award to you.” 

Robert De Niro and Robin Williams in ‘Awakenings’

For the unversed, Williams committed suicide in August 2014, resulting from “asphyxia due to hanging”.

Anyway, Awakenings was nominated for three Academy Awards and was a critical and financial success, earning $108.7 million against a $29 million budget.