Matt Damon just revealed a proposal to install a statue of Robin Williams in Boston, Massachusetts, and he supports the idea. Damon told journalist Jake Hamilton that he was approached about putting a bronze statue of Williams in the Boston Public Garden – right where he and Damon filmed the iconic park bench scene for Good Will Hunting. Damon thought this was a great idea for Williams’ legacy and for the community.
“[An artist] proposed to us to do a bronze statue of Robin and permanently put it there,” Damon said in an interview for the Jake’s Takes YouTube channel. “The idea being that if you feel alone you can go sit next to him, which I think is the coolest idea. It would be the most beautiful installation and such a tribute to that guy, who I think would have loved that.”
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Damon didn’t mention if the statue would be made to look like Williams’ Good Will Hunting character, but either way it would be appropriate for the setting. In the movie, Williams plays psychologist Sean Maguire, who tries to help Damon’s character Will Hunting overcome his cynicism and trauma to unlock his massive potential. Their scene at the Boston Public Garden represents a major breakthrough, as Sean finally gets through to Will by pointing out that no matter how smart and well-read he is, he still doesn’t have the life experience and wisdom he really needs.
For many fans, this was the first time they saw Williams tackle a purely dramatic role, and they were taken aback by the actor’s powerful performance. In hindsight, the movie’s focus on mental health and hard-earned human connections is even more poignant, as Williams died by suicide in August of 2014 during a struggle with his own mental health.
According to a report by Boston.com, the park bench where Williams and Damon filmed their scene actually became an impromptu memorial at the time of Williams’ death. Fans visited the site to remember Williams and left tokens of their admiration in his honor. At the time, MIT administrator Garry McLinn proposed installing a permanent memorial of some kind, and he gained a lot of traction with an online petition. However, he later revealed on Reddit that the city was not interested in the idea. Local reporters note that the city is notoriously choosy about public installations – particularly in the last four decades or so.
Damon still has hope for this statue, however. He told Hamilton: “I hope it comes to pass. I hope they let this artist do it because it would be pretty cool.”
