Robin Williams portray the deep-driven man. From Dustin Hoffman, with whom he co-starred in "Hook", he learned to take on totally different character types, and to transform his characters by extreme preparation. Mike Medavoy, producer of "Hook", told its director, Steven Spielberg, that he intentionally teamed up Hoffman and Williams for the film because he knew they wanted to work together, and that Williams welcomed the opportunity of working with Spielberg. Williams benefited from working with Woody Allen, who directed him and Billy Crystal in "Deconstructing Harry" (1997), as Allen had knowledge of the fact that Crystal and Williams had often performed
John Williams "Bridge of Spies" that year, which would have been his 27th collaboration with director Steven Spielberg. However, in March 2015, it was announced that Thomas Newman would replace Williams for the film, as Williams's schedule was interrupted by a minor health issue and he became unavailable to score the film. This is the first Spielberg film since "The Color Purple" (1985) not scored by Williams. In 2016, Williams composed the score for Spielberg's "The BFG", which opened in July 2016. In March 2017, Williams scored the animated short film "Dear Basketball" directed by Glen Keane and based on a poem