Photo Gallery
Beard Science

Robin Williams movies are a hit-or-miss lot, but you can tell his latest, The Night Listener, means to be a quality, prestige drama just by looking at a still photo of Williams' character (see above). Playing Gabriel Noone, a radio host who strikes up a phone friendship with an abused, AIDS-afflicted boy who may not exist, Williams sports a bristly, closely trimmed gray beard. The beard is the giveaway; in general, Williams wears chin whiskers for his most Serious Thespian performances and goes clean-shaven for his most manic, shtick-driven comedy roles. Just take a look, on the pages that follow, at some of Williams' career highlights, which we've rated according to their facial-hair factor.