Robin Williams Was Clearly Not Himself During His Final Interview Before His Death
His final interview has over 12 million views, but it clearly shows a different side of Robin Williams.
Looking back at a star’s final perfomrance can be a very emotional process. That was the case with those working behind the scenes on Something Wicked, it turned out to be Brittany Murphy’s final appearance and it took four years to edit.
Robin Williams’ last performance came in Night at the Museum, and according to those behind the scenes, the actor was struggling with the process, and that included things like remembering his lines.
In the following, we’ll take a closer look at Robin’s diagnosis, and what his final interview was like. The moment has millions of views and fans agree, the actor seemed different during his interview.
Robin Williams Was Suffering From Lewy Body Dementia During His Final Days
Alongside The Irish Times, Susan Schneider Williams discussed Robin’s final days, and what was revealed following his passing. Schneider was well aware there wasn’t any type of foul play – however, the actor was suffering from LBD, going through different waves of emotions throughout the day.
“I knew my honey was clean and sober, they sat me down and said, essentially, Robin died of diffuse Lewy body dementia. They started to talk about neurodegeneration. He wasn’t in his right mind. [The coroner] described how these Lewy bodies were in nearly every region of his brain.”
“It makes sense why he was experiencing what he was experiencing. Cognitive [function]. Moods. Movement. Depression. Fear. Anxiety. Hallucinations. Delusional thinking. Major sleep disorders. Paranoia. They were all affected. I remember walking out of that facility down the steps and feeling: now I have the name of it.”
Williams at the time knew something was wrong, he just could not pinpoint what it was.
“Do I have Alzheimer’s? Do I have dementia? Am I schizophrenic,” he told his doctor at the time.
Following his passing, fans wanted to feel nostalgia from the actor’s best moments. However, his final interview clearly showed he wasn’t himself.
Fans Noticed A Different Robin Williams During His Final Interview
Dressed in a white suit, Robin Williams kept a calm tone throughout his interview, discussing his latest role and how much of a tough portryal it was.
Particularly fans of the ’90s are accustomed to seeing Robin Williams go off the rails during interviews, looking back at his hilarious days on the Late Show alongside David Letterman, and various other talk shows. However, this moment showed a different side of Williams.
The interview has a staggering amount of views, with over 12 million tuning in. He was clearly loved by millions, but fans in the comments couldn’t help but notice a difference in the actor.
“It’s still hard to believe that the legendary man who was so upbeat, goofy and happy in his movies was going through these horrible issues.”
“You can tell even then just by looking into his eyes that he already had a deep seated sadness. We miss you Robin. If there ever was a time for you to come back to make us laugh it’s now.”
“I normally hate when people act like they knew a celebrity personally when they pass away…but I frequently think of this man and get very, very sad. I’ll often come back and watch his movies or videos and almost always cry.”
Not only did Williams come across differently in the interview, but the same held true for his final film.
Those Behind The Scenes On Night At The Museum Confirmed That Robin Williams Was Not Himself During His Final Film
Director Shawn Levy confirmed that Williams struggled on-set, and that included the basics like remembering his lines.
“I would say a month into the shoot, it was clear to me — it was clear to all of us on that set — that something was going on with Robin,” the director tells People.
“We saw that Robin was struggling in a way that he hadn’t before to remember lines and to combine the right words with the performance.”
Levy also revealed that Williams was aware that his performance had dropped, and he worried that his time in the film was unusable.
“When Robin would call me at 10 at night, at two in the morning, at four in the morning, saying, ‘Is it usable? Is any of this usable? Do I suck? What’s going on?’ I would reassure him. I said, ‘You are still you. I know it. The world knows it. You just need to remember that,’ ” Levy adds.
“My faith in him never left, but I saw his morale crumbling,” Levy says. “I saw a guy who wasn’t himself and that was unforgivable.”
The makeup artist in Night at the Museum also confirmed that the actor was unsure of himself during their chats.
“He was sobbing in my arms at the end of every day. It was horrible. Horrible,” makeup artist Cheri Minns recalled with New York Post. “I said to his people, ‘I’m a makeup artist. I don’t have the capacity to deal with what’s happening to him.”
Sadly, Williams passed away at the age of 63 in August of 2014.
