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Mrs. Doubtfire child star Lisa Jakub recently said Robin Williams openly discussed his struggles with mental health during the filming of the 1993 comedy
“It was really the first time that someone was so completely open and teaching me to not feel ashamed of these things,” Jakub, now 47, said of working with the late comedian
Jakub also shared a story about Williams’ kindness, which comes after Mrs. Doubtfire star Sally Field shared a similar story
In between shots of him cooking and cleaning, Robin Williams was teaching Lisa Jakub some valuable lessons about mental health on the set of Mrs. Doubtfire.
At a Mrs. Doubtfire reunion event alongside Matthew Lawrence and Mara Wilson — who played her fellow Hillard siblings in the 1993 comedy — in Los Angeles on Friday, May 29, Jakub, 47, remembered how Williams’ openness about his mental health struggles impacted her.
When they filmed the movie starring Sally Field and Williams, who died by suicide in 2014 at age 63, Jakub said that the Good Will Hunting Oscar winner spoke with her and Lawrence, 46, about mental health. Wilson, 38, “was a little too young and innocent,” she noted at the event, held at the Burbank Marriott Airport.
Williams, who struggled with addiction and depression for much of his life, “talked to me because obviously I was honest with him and he and I talked a lot about my issues with anxiety and depression and he shared a lot about his struggles in life too,” Jakub said.
Robin Williams in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (1993)
Credit: 20th Century Fox/Blue Wolf/Kobal/Shutterstock
“And it was really the first time that someone was so completely open and teaching me to not feel ashamed of these things,” she continued, “and that there was help that I could get and there was support that I could get and I didn’t have to feel like a messed up weirdo because of what I was struggling with.”
The actress added that she has “been greatly influenced by the fact that [Williams] was so accepting and loving and vocal with me about what he had gone through.”
Jakub also remembered how the Night at the Museum actor supported her after finding out that her teachers in Canada would not allow her back because they “were not used to child actors” and felt that educating her was “too much work.”
“I was very upset about this. Being kicked out of school when you’re 14 years old is a little bit upsetting,” she said at the Mrs. Doubtfire reunion event.
“Robin was the kind of person that if he saw that any one of us was upset or not okay, he would check on us,” she continued. “He asked me what was wrong. I explained what had happened and he wrote a letter to my principal, which I still have. It was an incredibly kind, lovely letter saying, ‘Lisa is just trying to pursue her career and get her education at the same time, so can you please support her in that?’ ”
The principal “did not ask me to come back and finish school, so it didn’t work,” Jakub said, but clarified that the “story is not about the fact that it didn’t work. It’s a story about how kind Robin was.”
From left: Matthew Lawrence, Lisa Jakub, Robin Williams, Mara Wilson and Sally Field in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (1993)
Credit: Snap/Shutterstock
“It’s a story about the fact that Robin saw some kid he was working with who he did not have to take the time to care about, and he wrote this unbelievable letter,” she continued. “And he really kind of went out of his way for me, which he did for all of us in various ways. And we all had different kinds of connections with him. And he went through the trouble to connect with us as individuals.”
“I can tell you it did not happen on every set,” added Jakub.
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Jakub’s story of Williams’ support on set comes after Mrs. Doubtfire star Field, 79, recalled to PEOPLE how the late comedian stepped in to support her after she learned her father Richard had suffered a second “massive” stroke, after which he died.
Field learned of the stroke over the phone while shooting a scene. After she resumed filming, Williams immediately sensed something was wrong and pulled her aside, and she explained what had happened. Without a word, he stepped in.
“Robin turned around,” Field said, and told director Chris Columbus and the production team, “‘That’s it for the day, guys! We’re wrapped here. You can get a few shots at the kids and maybe one of Mrs. Doubtfire, but Ms. Field’s going home.’ And he walked me out. That was Robin.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
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