Paul Feig has claimed the late Robin Williams "sabotaged" his stand-up comedy career.
The 'Bridesmaids' director and the 'Mrs. Doubtfire' actor - who took his own life in 2014 - were rivals on the comedy club circuit decades ago, and the 62-year-old filmmaker has claimed the legendary star deliberately took over his slot at The Improv in New York.
Speaking to Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his 'Dinner's On Me' podcast, Paul said: “I was in the era of when Jay Leno was out there and [Jerry] Seinfeld was out there and, you know, and I, and Robin Williams, I mean, yeah, I got sabotaged by Robin Williams a couple of times when I was finally got to be a performer at The Improv."
Noting he "wasn't one of the main guys" at that time so would "have a later spot", Paul recalled how he missed his chance to perform for a "full" audience because of the 'Good Will Hunting'[ actor's actions.
He said: “I remember like once, it's my time to get up and there's a full audience. I was like, so excited and they come up like, ‘Oh, you know Robin just wants to get up and do a quick set first.’ I'm like, ‘Well cool'.
“He did an hour and he finished it. Everybody left except for one woman who was waiting for her husband to come back from the bathroom."
But while things didn't always go as he'd hoped on the stand-up comedy circuit, Paul recalled the "life-changing" moment he found out NBC had acquired his show 'Freaks and Geeks' while he was in London.
He said: “It was huge, I mean it was life changing.
“I remember I was on the tube and had this little notebook and I wrote in the notebook, I think I'm about to get everything I've ever wanted out of my life in my life.
“And it was just like, I couldn't believe it because I've been struggling for so long. So, it was great. I remember when the first episode came out, the reviews were unbelievable. They were just glowing, glowing reviews.”
