BRAVE MAG

Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection

Key points

• Stellan Skarsgård remembers his Good Will Hunting costar Robin Williams being "calm," "nice," and "lovely."

• However, he says Williams would often shift into another gear "when a couple more people came to him," adding, "He had to be funny to survive."

• Skarsgård also recalls Williams needing to deliver a joke as soon as it came to him: "He had to produce it and get it out of the body. He couldn't live with it inside."

Stellan Skarsgårdis reflecting on his time withRobin Williamson the set ofGood Will Hunting.

The Oscar-nominatedSentimental Valueactor shared his memories of working with Williams at a Q&A following a screening of the 1997 drama in Los Angeles on Friday night.

"As a person, when you were alone with him, he was calm and he was nice, and he was lovely, and he could talk about anything," Skarsgård said of his late costar.

However, he added, Williams seemed to shift into a different gear when multiple people showed up. "But then when a couple more people came to him, he suddenly wouldget up— to save himself, in a way," Skarsgård recalled. "And I think it's a thing he had from school. He had to be funny to survive."

Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection

Gus Van Sant, who directedGood Will Huntingand moderated the screening event, remembered how Williams asked to perform more takes for nearly every scene. "Robin was the one that was like, 'One more, one more, one more,'" the filmmaker said. "So we did 10 [takes] sometimes as opposed to maybe three, because he wanted to do a fast one, a slow one, a happy one, a sad one, a funny one, a not-funny one."

Skarsgård added that he appreciated the breadth and thoroughness of Williams' work on the Oscar-winning movie. "It was fantastic because, as you said, he wanted to do new takes," theDunestar. "And he also had a thing that was kind of a necessity for him because… he'd get an idea about a joke, for instance, and he had to produce it and get it out of the body. He couldn't live with it inside. And I felt all the time that he had three parallel brains working, and very fast!"

TheBreaking the Wavesactor said Williams' robust performance style challenged him and the rest of his costars. "The good thing was that he did different takes and they were really different," he explained. "Some were very dark, and some were very funny. And all the other actors, we were hanging in there. We were playing different kinds of scenes with him."

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Skarsgård also marveled at Van Sant and theGood Will Huntingeditors' ability to incorporate Williams' footage into the film and achieve the appropriate tonal balance. "The material you got [from Robin] is very interesting, because you could have cut that role into becoming a very farcical role, or you could have cut it into becoming really depressive," he said to Van Sant at the screening. "And you found your way."

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In the film, Skarsgård portrays Gerald Lambeau, the MIT professor who shepherds the brilliant Will Hunting (Matt Damon) as he explores complex mathematics. Gerald enlists his former college roommate, Sean Maguire (Williams), to serve as Will's therapist, and the two friends butt heads about how to best mentor the young genius.

Despite his character's academic accomplishments, Skarsgård revealed that he had never dealt with advanced math, and that he "didn't try to" comprehend the more complicated subjects with which Gerald grappled. "I did not understand it," he said. "It was far above my math knowledge."

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The movie employed real-life mathematician John Mighton to coach Skarsgård through the jargon, and Mighton ended up playing Gerald's assistant, Tom. "We had a very good math professor that taught us and that helped us," the actor said of Mighton.

"You wanted to have him around all the time, so he was usually busy," Van Sant added.

"Yeah, he sort of prompted me," Skarsgård said. "If you were explaining something, the only thing you have to know is that it's expressed the right way… You don't have to really understand it."

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NEED TO KNOW

• Candace Bushnell believes that Carrie and Mr. Big would never last

• When it comes to the TV series, the Sex and the City author says that fans wanted a happy ending

• Bushnell also says that she is grateful for the young women who tell her how much the show means to them

WithSex and the Cityavailable to stream and always gaining new ground with new audiences, the hit HBO series has continued to stoke discourse about the men in the show. Ultimately, theSex and the Cityauthor shares that she doesn't believe that Carrie and Mr. Big would have lasted.

Candace Bushnell, 67, shares that she wrote her novel about Carrie Bradshaw after her life, and she had her own Mr. Big. And as she tells PEOPLE, "he was always a really, really central character."

"Mr. Big, he was an ungettable guy. In real life, Carrie and Mr. Big would not be together, but in the TV world, they are, because it's likePride and Prejudice. People were watching these two characters go back and forth for six seasons and they wanted a happy ending. Would Elizabeth Bennett have ended up with Mr. Darcy in real life? Who knows? Probably not," the author says of the series, which was adapted from her 1996 book by Darren Star.

"Carrie ended up being all about love. She really wanted love. There's some line somewhere at the beginning of the series, where she says she wants this all-consuming love," Bushnell continues.

This is where the character differs from the former newspaper columnist, who shares that she's "eh" about the whole idea. "I don't know. I'm probably much more cynical. It may be practical," she says.

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One thing she is moved by, is how much the younger generations are delighting in the series every time it's being discovered. "It's always been a rite of passage watchingSex and the Cityeven before it was on Netflix, women were watching the DVDs, it was on E! at one time for five hours a day," Bushnell says.

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Bushnell says that she learned that when young women went off to college, they would meet other young women and get together and watch the show — and bond with the themes and the characters. "I have so many young women who come up to me and they've discovered it and they relate to it. The technology of dating has changed, but the realities and the longing and the strange encounters that one has, that hasn't changed," Bushnell shares.

She adds, "There's so many stories about dating and it's something that people are just so inherently interested in relationships. It doesn't really matter what age you are. They're always interested in how to maneuver these intimate relationships."

Additionally, she says there's so many young women who approach her and tell her the show has gotten them through a "really difficult time in their life." Bushnell says, "That's really the best thing about it is that it's been inspiring to so many people, and that's really very rewarding."

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HBO Max (2); Dave Hogan/Courtesy of Getty/HBO

If you want to go behind the music,HBO Maxis singing your song.

There's something inherently personal about appreciating music, so it's only natural to want to learn more about the artists behind the songs stuck in our heads. HBO Max is a particularly rich seam for documentaries about 20th century legends in the rock and R&B realm, but there are pockets of Latin jazz and folk, too. (Not so much when it comes to Western classical. Fans of J.S. Bach, it's time to activate your Kanopy account.)

Entertainment Weeklyhas narrowed down the 10 bestmusic documentariesstreaming on HBO Max that'll get your toes tapping — and teach you a thing or two about the voices you thought you knew so well.

Buena Vista Social Club(1999)

Wim Wenders' tag-along with Ry Cooder to make recordings with aging giants of traditional Cuban music was a revelation for so many viewers unaware of the art form. On its surface, this is a "making of" movie with musicians hanging out in the studio; but it doubles as an exploration of Cuban culture, observing its decaying architecture and hot nights with old-timers at the beach swapping stories while playing dominoes.

The film climaxes with a triumphant visit by the musicians,some in their 90s, to New York's Carnegie Hall. The project's success launched a series of secondary albums (and copycats) and a hit Broadway musical.

Don't Look Back(1967)

Rarely do you get to see mythmaking happen before your own eyes. WithDon't Look Back, D.A. Pennebaker, one of the architects of "direct cinema," deployed a new handheld 16mm camera and portable Nagra audio recorder to pretty much invent the modern music documentary. It didn't hurt that his subject was Bob Dylan in 1965, the leading light of the folk revivalism scene on the cusp of embracing electric instruments.

Most of the film followsDylan and his entourage(including Joan Baez) on a tour of England, trading wits with journalists and getting hammered at a notorious hotel party that involves someone (who? whoooo? we'll never know) throwing a glass out a window. No one ever wore sunglasses better.

George Harrison: Living in the Material World(2011)

Apple Corps Limited/Courtesy of HBO

Everyone has hobbies. Some knit, some play backgammon, and some (like Martin Scorsese) make documentaries about people that interest them.George Harrison: Living in the Material Worldfocuses on the most enigmatic Beatle. This two-part investigation begins with Harrison's early days in Liverpool through his Fab Four years, including sojourns to India that radically changed the aims (and style) of the counterculture in Europe and North America.

Harrison'spost-Beatles careerwas the coolest of anyone's (no disrespect to Paul's "Silly Love Songs"): releasing the triple-album masterpieceAll Things Must Pass, organizing some of the first global benefit concerts, and becoming a successful film producer. The Traveling Wilburys albums weren't so bad, either. And Scorsese approaches it all through the lens of Harrison's humble humanism.

Gimme Shelter(1970)

This is the only film on this list that doubles as crime-scene reporting. For many, the concept of "The Sixties" as a doe-eyed exploration of peace and harmonyended at California's Altamont Speedway, where a free festival headlined by the Rolling Stones was hastily assembled in a quixotic attempt to replicate Woodstock's lightning-in-a-bottle.

The film is framed by band members looking at footage — first of their triumphant concerts at Madison Square Garden, a visit to Muscle Shoals, Ala., then the tragedy at Altamont. The Stones took the stage as tensions rose between fans and drunken Hells Angels, leading to a fateful skirmish that marked the end of an era.

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley(2025)

Merri Cyr./Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

It's Never Over, Jeff Buckleyshows how the great singer-songwriter, who only released one completed studio albumbefore he died in a freak accidentin 1997, was hardwired to express himself through song. Though he barely knew his absentee father Tim Buckley (who also died young), the specter of that similarly genre-defying artist was always in his life.

Alternately embracing and dodging comparisons, the younger Buckley rode the wave of notoriety in the downtown Manhattan scene, securing a recording contract and an army of dedicated followers. It didn't hurt that he was handsome as hell, but the sudden thrust onto magazine covers (balanced by only modest sales) sent him into a tailspin. Though poised for a remarkable second act, cruel fate intervened.

Listening to Kenny G(2021)

Kenny G knows people think he's a joke, and he's laughing all the way to the bank. Somehow this dopey guy who makes music for people who don't ever think about music secured himself adecades-long career. Director Penny Lane interviews jazz critics who howl at his wretchedness, then balances it with fans who simply don't care. What is "good art," anyway?

By and large, Kenny comes off as a nice guy, if not a smidge obnoxious. But wouldn't you be a little defensive if everyone had publicly mocked your work? Above all, this doc is an examination of the mercurial nature of taste and individuality. And it may even get you to listen to some Kenny G.

Luther: Never Too Much(2024)

This look at "love doctor" Luther Vandross is a celebration of his great career and a sad look at how culture wasn't ready to accept him for who he was. As a closeted gay man who shed and gained weight in the public eye, the spotlight often took a toll on his mental and physical health, making him an unfortunate punchline.

For those who knew him, and those who packed theaters to see him, he was atitan of romantic R&Band a great professional.Never Too Muchbalances personal stories with examples of his remarkable musical output, including early years singing and arranging on David Bowie's ode to Philly Soul,Young Americans.

Monterey Pop(1968)

AfterDon't Look Back, D.A. Pennebaker continued to cover the contemporary music scene, capturing 1967's Monterey International Pop Festival. In a time before YouTube (to say nothing of MTV), footage of stars like Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and Simon & Garfunkel were harder to come by, soevery captured momentbecame precious. Most memorable inMonterey Popis Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar ablaze (not a euphemism) and the Who smashing their instruments.

Also groundbreaking was the way Pennebaker shot Otis Redding's performance, using flashes from stage lights (previously considered a filmmaking "error") as something of a dance partner and in-camera editing technique. Perhaps most important was including the audience, offering fashion tips for everyone watching in theaters.

One to One: John & Yoko(2024)

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

You'd assume we don't need another John Lennon documentary, butOne to One: John & Yokois much more than a typical biography. It focuses on 18 monthsin the couple's lifewhen they lived in an unglamorous Manhattan apartment while involving themselves in major political and artistic affairs. Despite great wealth, they lived simply, watched a lot of television, and recorded many of their phone calls so they could one day get used in a project like this.

The film is a collage of the time and place — a city and culture undergoing tumultuous change. It concludes with one of Lennon's few post-1966 concert appearances, a benefit concert for a school for the disabled inspired by a news report from, of all people, Geraldo Rivera.

Tina(2021)

Courtesy of HBO

If ever anyone deserved a victory lap, it was Tina Turner. This film, released only a couple of years before her death, is a comprehensive reflection of her difficult life, which ultimately ended with her finding solace in Switzerland with a good man by her side.

This isn't just a documentary about a gifted performer, but a condemnation of institutional sexism and racism that dominated mass medianot too long ago. Bravely, Turnerfaces her biographyone last time to show that demons from the past can be overcome. There's also some incredible concert footage to boot.

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