Matthew Lawrence has opened up about some of the advice the late Robin Williams gave him in his younger days.
Lawrence played Williams’ son in the 1993 movie, Mrs. Doubtfire.
He appeared at the first annual ‘90s Con on Saturday, where he spoke about the advice Williams gave him and how Williams helped him land the part in Mrs. Doubtfire.
Matthew Lawrence shares advice that Robin Williams gave him
Matthew Lawrence recalled how Robin Williams warned him to stay away from drugs.
Williams himself has admitted to heavily abusing alcohol and cocaine in the 1970s.
“He was the first adult who really let me in on his condition. Like, full-on let me in,” Lawrence said.
He continued, “I mean, as bright as he was on camera — I would go visit him in his trailer to talk to him — it was painful for him. It’s really painful for him. He didn’t hide it. He talked to me about it.”
Lawrence said that his talks with Williams are why he stayed away from drugs.
Lawrence also spoke about how Williams helped him land the part in Mrs. Doubtfire.
He said that the studio was torn between him and another boy for the part, but Williams did something during their screen test to further Lawrence’s chance of being selected.
“He very secretly reached behind my back and pinched me so hard,” Lawrence said. “The studio started bawling and wept. I got the role because of that little moment over the other boy. It was all Robin Williams.”
Lisa Jakub shared how Robin Williams impacted her
In May 2021, another Mrs. Doubtfire cast member shared how Williams impacted them.
Lisa Jakub, who played Williams’ eldest daughter in the movie, shared with Yahoo Entertainment how Williams helped her when she was dealing with mental health struggles.
She said, “Robin was everything that you would hope he would be, and he was very open and honest with me about his issues with anxiety and depression. I was able to share with him that anxiety was something that I struggled with, and he would talk to me about mental health issues in a way that 14-year-olds aren’t usually used to adults being really open about those sorts of personal experiences with them.”
She added that Williams also warned her about addiction and substance abuse, a conversation she says was important to have as a child star.