The heartwarming letter Robin Williams wrote to defend a child co-star: “I respectfully request you should reconsider”
There are a lot of memorable anecdotes about Robin Williams which are often shared as tributes by the people closest to him as well as those who worked with him. It says a lot about the Hollywood star that his work has touched a whole range of people, from children to adults, fro tears to cheers and a lot of laughs in between.
The star of unforgettable classics such as Dead Poets Society, who managed to make the entire world smile with his unique brand of comedy, Williams was a unique presence within the film industry. His death was a sad tragedy that rocked millions of people. Lost to suicide, his ending left a world bereft and confused at how a man who gave such happiness to his fans could feel such sadness.
It was recently revealed that one of Williams’ most iconic film performances was set for a sequel but the actor tragically took his own life before he got the chance to reprise that role. The project in question was a follow-up to Mrs. Doubtfire, which was already to go, but after Williams’ suicide, the director Chris Columbus was convinced that nobody could ever play that role again.
This 1993 film is right up there with some of the most iconic performances by Williams. He plays the character of Daniel Hillard, an out-of-work actor who dresses up in drag and pretends to be Mrs. Doubtfire to be able to see his children every day, after losing custody of them.
Williams is brilliant in this manically emotional role. He won his fourth Golden Globe Award for outstanding performance as Daniel Hillard (aka Mrs. Doubtfire). In an interview, Williams spoke of the predicament of the character of Hillard: “Here’s a guy who lives in a very random way and, through a painful process, finds there’s more than him.”
Criticis and fans agreed that Williams was fantastic in Mrs. Doubtfire, where he brilliantly portrayed an unemployed actor whose world collapses around him when he loses custody of his children. To establish a connection with them once he grows closer, the character cross-dresses as a nanny and applies for a job at his ex-wife’s home.
A major part of Mrs. Doubtfire’s tragicomic magic revolves around the duality of Williams’ character and the love he had for his children despite the prevailing circumstances which prevented him from being with them. That’s also why the validity of a sequel was questioned because it would be embarrassing if his children fell for the crossdressing trick again after they had grown up.
While working on the original film, Williams developed a close bond with many of the cast and crew. One particularly endearing moment came when he even extended his help to get his co-star – a child named Lisa Jakub cast as his daughter in Mrs. Doubtfire – out of trouble as she had missed a lot of school days in order to be present for the production process.
Williams took it upon himself to pen a letter to Jakub’s school headmaster, advocating for Jakub’s intelligence and protesting against the school’s decision to expel her. In his letter, just like in Dead Poets Society, the actor called for a mixture between real-world experiences and academic learning to facilitate the development of school children.
