Sally Field reveals kind act Robin Williams made on set so she could grieve late father

13 August 2024, 11:56

It's crazy to think it's been a decade since he passed.

Without doubt, Robin Williams was one of the world's most beloved comedians and comedy actors, lighting up the screen in whatever film he featured.

Of course, off the screen was a different story, given Robin's well-documented issues with substance abuse and depression.

But despite his own personal demons, he brought an inordinate amount of joy to people with his wild, characterful, and heartfelt comedic performances.

Williams' film roles don't come any more iconic than Mrs. Doubtfire, as he plays a father struggling to reconnect with his children after a divorce, so pretends to be their nanny in order to spend time with them again outside of the confines of the law.

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As soon as anybody hears Aerosmith's hip-shaking rocker 'Dude (Looks Like A Lady)', it's difficult not to envisage Williams dressed as an elderly woman prancing around with a hoover whilst cleaning the front room.

Since Robin died on 11th August 2014 however, many stories have been told about the actor's kindness and generosity.

Reflecting on her co-star, Sally Field also recently revealed an immensely kind act of Robin's whilst the pair were filming Mrs. Doubtfire together.

For Vanity Fair, plenty of Williams' friends and former co-stars shared their favourite memories of the actor.

Hollywood icons like Billy Crystal, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, Ben Stiller, Jeff Bridges, and Julianne Moore all shared stories of Williams' thoughtfulness and ability to bring joy wherever he went.

But Field shared an act of Robin's that meant a dear amount to her - Williams ensured filming stopped so she had time to grieve her father who died during filming.

"I never shared this story before," Field said. “I was in the camper outside of the courtroom where we were shooting the divorce scene.

"My father had a stroke a couple of years before, and was in a nursing facility. I got a phone call from the doctor saying my father had passed, a massive stroke."

Sally recalled how the doctor asked if she wanted them to try and resuscitate her father, but she knew that's not what he would have wanted.

Instead, she chose to let go and say goodbye. Sally tried to push those emotions aside to carry on filming Mrs. Doubtfire, but was so numb she couldn't cry.

That was until Robin noticed her strife, took Sally off set and after finding out her father had recently passed said: "Oh my God, we need to get you out here right now."

“And he made it happen,” Field told Vanity Fair. “They shot around me the rest of the day."

"I could go back to my house, call my brother, and make arrangements. It’s a side of Robin that people rarely knew: He was very sensitive and intuitive."

Field added that his understanding of human emotion and his one-of-a-kind spontaneity made filming opposite Robin unpredictable, but buckets of fun.

"It was my task to simply respond to whatever he did, as a real person would," she added.

"I completely loved that stay-on-your-toes feeling. You couldn’t really see what 'Mrs. Doubtfire’ was on the page. It became its own life form primarily because of him."