Actor Matthew Lawrence has opened up about the advice he treasures from his former co-star Robin Williams.
Both Williams and Lawrence were in the 1993 hit movie Mrs. Doubtfire, featuring Williams playing a father who loses custody of his three children — one of which is Lawrence — who decides to dress up as an elderly babysitter to spend more time with them.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly after his elimination from The Masked Singer on Wednesday, Lawrence spoke about what he learned from the late comedian.
Williams died by suicide in 2014 when he was 63 years old as he was suffering from debilitating Lewy body dementia.
“I didn't quite realize it at the time, but that moment there on set of Mrs. Doubtfire, that those six to eight months were the biggest learning curve anyone can get when it comes to making movies and being an entertainer,” he told the publication. “And then on top of that, you get a chance to be around Robin Williams, and he takes an investment in you, as he does with people. But in particular, he really took an investment with me.”
He specifically cited two lessons he learned from the Jumanji actor which are: “Don't judge until you walk in someone else's shoes” and what “type of compassion you need to have for people.”
“He really explained his life to me and really brought me in and taught me not just about in front of the camera, but a lot about the behind the camera as well, and how he felt that substances really further pushed his brain to not function properly," Lawrence continued. Friends reported after Williams’ death that he struggled mightily with substance abuse issues, including with alcohol and cocaine.
“He really opened up with me, and I'll never forget it. There were times he would just grab me and he'd be like, ‘Don't put that stuff in your body. If I could go back and tell myself, this is why I'm telling you, don't put that stuff in your body.’”
The Boy Meets World actor admitted that Williams’s warning worked for him. He never went on to put “that stuff” into his body throughout his subsequent career.
Even thought the Dead Poets Society actor’s death died over 10 years ago, Lawrence said he still thinks about Williams. “Man, it's a real shame that he's not with us. There's not a day that goes by that I don't hear his voice,” he said.
“I even wish, now with artificial intelligence, I kind of want to go to his family and be like, would you guys allow me to use his voice for some sort of creative expression? Because I hear it every day, in my head.”
