There is a popular quote on the Internet attributed to the Hollywood actor that sad people try to make others happy. We checked to see if he said anything similar.
The full line about how unhappy people try to make the lives of those around them better is: “I think the saddest people always try their best to make the people around them happy. Because they know what it’s like to feel completely worthless, so they don’t want anyone else to feel the same.” In different publications, the wording differs slightly, as happens when translating, but the meaning remains the same. The phrase occurs on entertaining portals, biographical articles about Williams and his selections statements. Social network users (“VKontakte", Facebook*, X) and blog platforms (LiveJournal, "Zen") also share a quote indicating the authorship of the actor.
American actor, Oscar winner Robin Williams during his life he played more than a hundred roles and was remembered by many viewers for his images of wise, ironic and slightly sad characters (for example, these were his heroes in the films “Good Will Hunting" And "Dead Poets Society"). In 2014, after a long depression, the actor committed suicide, which in the eyes of fans added even more melancholic features to his image. Therefore, it is not difficult to believe: such a person could once utter a phrase about how unhappy people feel and act. Previously "Verified" already sorted it out attributed to Williams quotes - also about sadness, loneliness and hard times, but then its authorship could not be confirmed.
As for the statement being analyzed, it is broad widespread precisely with attribution to the actor not only in Russian, but also in English language. However, not a single publication contains any reference to the original source or any authoritative resource where it was published with an indication of Williams' authorship. “Verified” was also unable to find either a credible primary source (articles, interviews, speeches by the actor), or a publication describing the context in which the Oscar-winning actor could say this phrase (for example, the memories of his friends and colleagues). Moreover, apparently, the attribution of this quote to Williams became widespread only after his death, although the statement met on the Internet until 2014 - without author attribution.
Thus, there is no evidence that Robin Williams has anything to do with the quote in question. "Verified" could not find a primary source or other authoritative evidence that he said anything like that. And the fact that Internet users began to massively attribute the authorship of the quote to him only after his death only adds doubts about the correctness of such an attribution.
*Russian authorities consider the company Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social networks Facebook and Instagram, to be an extremist organization; its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Cover photo: screenshot “Verified” / frame from the film “Dead Poets Society”
Read on the topic:
- Snopes. Robin Williams Said, 'The Saddest People Always Try Their Hardest to Make People Happy'?
- Did Robin Williams say, “The worst thing in life is to die surrounded by people who make you feel alone”?
- Did Robin Williams say, "You will have bad times, but they will always open your eyes to things you weren't paying attention to"?
- Did Jim Carrey say, "You'll be surprised how easy it is to get out of bed in the morning when you're happy"?
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