1990, Robin Williams broke Robert De Niro’s nose. Somehow, they only grew closer

Robin Williams and Robert De Niro became close friends while filming the 1990 medical drama *Awakenings*, despite Williams accidentally breaking De Niro’s nose during a scene. Their friendship lasted for decades, and their story shows how an on-set mishap became part of an affectionate bond between two respected actors.

The film drew on Oliver Sacks’s memoir and followed Dr Malcolm Sayer’s work with Leonard Lowe, an encephalitis patient. Williams later joked that his elbow had put De Niro’s previously broken nose back into place; they reunited in *The Big Wedding* in 2013. After Williams died in 2014, De Niro dedicated an award to him and said, “No one made me laugh like Robin.”