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“ | You're an orphan, right? Do you think I'd know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, 'cause I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don't give a sh-t about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you I can't read in some f--kin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't wanna do that, do you, sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief. | „ |
~ Sean Maguire breaking through Will Hunting's defenses. |
Dr. Sean Maguire is the deuteragonist of the 1997 drama film Good Will Hunting. He is the court-ordered therapist of Will Hunting, a troubled math genius and orphan, who tries to break through the young man's defenses and help him overcome his childhood trauma.
He is portrayed by the late Robin Williams, who also portrayed John Keating in Dead Poets Society, Batty Koda in FernGully, Genie in Aladdin, Peter Banning in Hook, Alan Parrish in Jumanji, Phillip Brainard in Flubber, Jack Powell in Jack, Daniel Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire, Mork in Mork & Mindy, Lance Clayton in World's Greatest Dad, Popeye in Popeye, Ramón and Lovelace in Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2, Dan Rayburn in Old Dogs, Rainbow Randolph in Death to Smoochy, Fender Pinwheeler in Robots, and Theodore Roosevelt in the Night at the Museum franchise.
Overview[]
Sean Maguire was born and raised in Boston. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and as a child Sean would provoke him so the elder Maguire would hit him instead of his mother and younger brother. He went to college with Gerry Lambeau, with whom he forged a lifelong friendship. He becomes a psychiatrist, specializing in counseling victims of child abuse.
He met his future wife, Nancy, one night in a bar and fell in love with her at first sight; he was so determined to win her over that he gave his friends his ticket to Game 6 of the World Series so he could "see about a girl". They were married soon afterward, and were happy together for 18 years before she died of cancer. Devastated by Nancy's death, Sean becomes a recluse, practicing only sporadically and actively refusing to have a social life.
In Good Will Hunting[]
Three years after the death of Sean's wife, Gerry asks him to counsel young math prodigy Will Hunting so he will not go to jail for getting into a bar fight. Will refuses to cooperate with the therapy and even makes a wisecrack about Sean's wife, which provokes Sean into slamming him against a wall and threatening to "end him" if he ever disrespects her again. The following day, he meets with Will in a park and bluntly tells him that he knows nothing about real life or true, genuine love because he is afraid to lower his defenses and let someone in. Chastened, Will begins trying to make an effort in therapy.
During one session, Will tells Sean that he has met a young woman named Skylar, but is hesitant to pursue a relationship with her. Sean tells him the story of how he met his wife, and advises him to give Skylar a chance. Later, Sean asks Will who his soulmate is; when Will lists a series of long-dead authors and philosophers, Sean confronts him about refusing to have meaningful relationships. Angry, Will accuses Sean of hiding from the world since his wife's death, and storms out of Sean's office.
Gerry blames Sean for Will turning down several prestigious job offers, and accuses him of deliberately sabotaging Will to get back at him for being more successful. Sean angrily retorts that he resents Gerry for thinking that he became a psychiatrist because he "f--ked up", and refuses to let him push Will into the life that he, not Will, wants. At the moment Gerry leaves, Will enters Sean's office for their final session. Sean shows Will the police reports of the abuse that his various foster parents inflicted upon him in order to prompt him to confront the pain he has spent years repressing, and tells him about his own abuse history to show him that he is not alone. He then repeatedly tells Will "It's not your fault" until Will bursts into tears and collapses into his arms.
After making amends with Gerry, Sean decides to take a teaching job as a first step toward re-engaging with the world. In the film's final scene, Sean reads a note Will left on his door before leaving Boston, in which he says he is "going to see about a girl," implied to be Skylar. Sean smiles and says, "Son of a bitch! He stole my line!"
Trivia[]
- Williams won his first, and only, Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing Sean.