'We are a staple question in pub quizes, and Michael liked that. We both liked pubs ... he could not hit a false emotional note for toffee. He would dip into what he called his 'little green baize acting bag' and pull out blazing rabbit of emotional intensity.'Clive Merrison on their partnership as Holmes and Watson on Radio 4, Guardian 16.1.01
'King Lear was a piece of cake. There's nothing quite as demanding as a Ray Cooney farce. You need such mental and physical agility - and stamina. If you come off the stage without a headache, you haven't done it properly'.Michael Williams on acting in farce.
'He was one of the best of our actors: his comedy, his timing, his humanity were remarkable.'Producer Michael Redington in the Telegraph, 16.1.01
'The best work I saw him do was the comedies on TV with Judi, very subtle and professional.'Glenda Jackson in the Telegraph, 16.1.01
'My great Irish splodge.'Michael Williams describing his face!
'One of the most gifted and versatile actors of his generation. he will be sadly missed by everyone with whom he worked - and by the public who, I think, held him in their affection as something of a national treasure.'Adrian Noble, Guardian, 13.1.01
'I'd single out his performance as a wry Schweyk and as the only Petruchio I've seen who has succeeded in squaring the circle of making the character loveable as well as credible. ... This small, neat, dapper man on a large stage could alchemically fuse a thousand individuals into an audience of one.'Richard Eyre, Observer, 14.1.01
'He always turned in exceptional performances and I will miss the way he made everyone around him laugh.'Richard Briers, Glasgow Herald
'I am afraid I didn't manage to keep my upper lip stiff. I was overwhelmed not because Jude had won that particular award - we've got five Baftas at home already - but because of the roar of approval from the audience.'Michael Williams on his wife, Dame Judi Dench, receiving her Bafta for 'Mrs Brown'
'If you have a taste for first-rate acting at the level to which Miss Dench aspires, the actress will be reason enough for a visit. But at the same time, in the less showy role, Mr Williams can match her subtlety as the equally perplexed but less affected husband whose fears for his wife's health are expressed with such delicate restraint.'Eric Shorter, the Telegraph Review for 'A Pack of Lies'.
'What richeness! What memories! What a gap!'Ned Sherrin, Evening Standard, 18.1.01
Thanks to Mike Kennedy for sending these quotes which appeared on the Rogues and Vagabonds web site on July 7, 2001.