What Robin Williams Was Really Like With The Kids Behind The Scenes Of ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’
Williams is truly like no other and that was apparent on the set during the film.
For those that grew up in the ’90s, ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ is likely a film you’ve seen several times before.
Its impact on pop culture was profound and even today its impact can still be felt. Type in Mrs. Doubtfire on Google and the first question that pops up is, “does Netflix have Mrs. Doubtfire?” Cleary, decades later, the film still has an impact.
The film was a monster success at the box office, bringing in $441 million, despite the fact that it had a $25 million budget. Robin Williams was the leader on-screen and he was surrounded by lots of youth, especially his children in the film, Lisa Jakub, Mara Wilson, and Matthew Lawrence.
As it turns out, not only was Williams the leader on camera but he was also tremendous off-camera as well.
We’ll take a look at the career-changing advice Williams gave to both Jakub and Lawrence during their time together on set. We’ll else delve into other stories of Williams behind the scenes during the film’s shoot. The likes of Pierce Brosnan would also chime in on the experience, of course, it was a unique one, to say the least.
The late actor will never be forgotten, he continues to inspire people to this day.
Fond Memories
Williams is truly like no other and that was apparent on the set during the film. Williams did a lot of spontaneous work, which added to the majesty of his character. Matthew Lawrence recalls the casting process alongside Variety and as expected, it was out of the norm, “Robin basically got me the role,” said Lawrence. “He leaned over me and said ‘I really like you. I want you to play my son, so you got to work with me on this one. I’m going to do something, just go with it” He turned his back to the camera and just pinched me so hard, right in that sensitive spot between your arm and your chest. My reaction was a normal reaction — ‘Hey, you can’t do that. You just hurt me. What are you doing?’’’
Everyone in the room started laughing. “That was the moment that got me the role,” he noted “The fact that I reacted that way to Mrs. Doubtfire was what they were looking for and Robin knew that.”
Along with the kids, Williams had a positive impact on veterans of the game like Pierce Brosnan. The 007 star recalls meeting the late actor in his makeup chair for the first time.
“They said, ‘Do you want to meet Robin Williams?’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ I went into the makeup trailer and Robin was there,” he told Esquire. “He was sitting at the end of the trailer in his Hawaiian shirt and his big hairy arms, and his hairy legs coming out of his cargo pants. But he had the head of Mrs. Doubtfire. He said, ‘Pierce. Oh, Pierce. Oh, you’re so handsome. Oh, look at ya, Pierce. Oh, give us a kiss. Come here, give us a hug,’” Brosnan said.
As great as the interaction was, it wasn’t as meaningful as Robin’s interactions with the kids.
Life Lessons
Open and honest, that’s exactly what Robin was towards his kids on the film. Lisa Jakub in particular struggled with anxiety.
Williams and his positive energy were able to help the actress during a tough point with some real advice, “One of the most powerful things for me about working with him is that he was very open and honest with me talking about his issues with addiction, depression, and that was so powerful to me at 14. I have struggled with anxiety my whole life.”
Robin was a role model for Matthew Lawrence as well, he always tried to steer the young actor in the right direction, especially when it came to temptations, something that Williams himself struggled with.
“Robin…was like a guiding force. Like he would just, all of a sudden out of the blue look over to me like, ‘By the way, don’t do drugs! Really messed up my brain! I’m serious. Do not do them.’ I was like ‘Ok!’ That stuck with me.”
This, without a doubt, adds to the film’s already great legacy.
Everything we saw from Williams on-screen, was pretty much the same off-camera with his peers.
He was a legend for so many different reasons. He’ll always be missed.
