'His Heart Was So Big': Robin Williams' Co-Stars Talk About Working With The Iconic Comedian

Cameron Brooke Stanley was 7 years old and fighting cancer when she met Robin Williams on the set of Patch Adams in 1998. Stanley remembered Williams being just like the kind doctor he portrayed in the movie, spending time with her and the other children on set who were sick: 

He was such a real person so when, even off the set when we weren't filming, he was just trying to hang out with the kids and trying to make us forget that we were sick... Not just when the cameras are on, when they're off, he just wants to be someone's friend, like a best friend. He wants to make someone laugh that's sad. He was just so wonderful.

Mara Wilson filmed the huge hit Mrs. Doubtfire with Williams in 1993, at the tender age of 5. After his passing, she paid tribute to the actor with a blog post remembering the delight that Robin Williams took in entertaining herself and the other children on set: 

Robin would do anything to make me and the other kids laugh. He seemed to know instinctively what we would find funny... [but] my strongest impression came when we saw each other for the first time that day. Robin [came] to me from across the room, got down to my level, and whispered "Hi, how are you?" He asked how my family was doing, how school was, never raising his voice and only sometimes making eye contact. He seemed so vulnerable. "So this is what Mom meant," I thought. It was as if I was seeing him for the first time. He was a person now.

Bradley Pierce was just 13 when he starred in the blockbuster Jumanji film with Robin Williams in 1995. Speaking with CBC Listen in 2020, Pierce recalled Williams standing up for him and the other cast members during a particularly grueling day on set:  

We were filming the monsoon scene and I think it was day 7 or 8 in that rain tank. We were all in wetsuits, but spending 8 hours in the water was really draining. It was coming to the end of the day, and children on set can only be on set for a certain number of  hours. Producers approached our parents and said, "We've only got a half hour left of shooting, is there anyway we can do a little bit of overtime just to get it done?" 

Robin caught wind of these conversations happening and apparently he pulled the director and producers aside and said, "No we're not doing any extra time. You're gonna let everyone out of the pool now and we're going to be come back next week." For all the dollars that would have cost, nobody else could have stood up the way he did. In addition to being warm and generous and kind, he was also very protective of all of us. He told everyone, '"we're done today, time to go home."

When 14-year-old Lisa Jakub filmed Mrs. Doubtfire with Robin Williams in 1993, she continued her high school work via correspondence, just like many other child actors did at the time. Although she kept up with her studies, the school decided to not let her return since her unique situation created extra work for teachers. Jakub wrote in a blog post how Williams stuck up for her, writing a letter to the school on her behalf:

When I arrived at work the next day, Robin noticed that I was upset and asked me what was wrong. I explained what had happened, and shortly after that, he handed me a letter that he had written to my school. He explained that I was just trying to continue my education while pursuing my career. He wrote embarrassingly kind things about my character and my work, and requested that they reconsider and allow me to return to my classes.

When I told him I still didn't think they would take me back, he said, "It's kinda like Amnesty International. That school just needs to know that people know the truth." The school framed the letter. They hung it in the principal's office. But they didn't invite me to return to school. But here's what matters from that story. Robin stood up for me. He was in my corner. I was only 14, but I had already seen that I was in an industry that was full of back-stabbing. And it was entirely clear that Robin had my back.

Ben Stiller starred with Robin Williams in the Night at the Museum trilogy, playing a security guard to Williams's rendition of Teddy Roosevelt. Stiller recalled Williams as an incredibly kind actor who genuinely cared about other people. Stiller tweeted: 

I met him when I was 13 and a huge fan and he was so kind and I watched him be kind to every fan I ever saw him with. And with other actors he was so generous and brilliant. He made everyone feel special and equal around him even though he was the genius. His heart was so big and even if you didn't know him, what he gave everyone was that same spirit in his work, so we all felt it.

Steven Spielberg's 1991 Peter Pan fantasy, Hook, featured huge stars like Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts along with many young first-time actors. Dante Basco, who played Rufio, the leader of the Lost Boys, remembered Williams as a mentor on set:

I think for all of us [Robin's passing] was the death of our childhood. There's sadness there, also there's a lot of space to kinda celebrate one of the most legendary artists of our time. He really taught me at a young age what it means to be a star, what it means to be a leader on a set. Everything you want Robin Williams to be he delivered in spades.