Sam Neill described the late, great Robin Williams as the “saddest person” he had ever met.
The 75-year-old New Zealander had already collaborated with Williams on the 1999 film Bicentennial Man, which helped propel him to global fame for his portrayal of Dr. Grant in the Jurassic Park series.
Williams, who appeared in numerous childhood favorites like Mrs. Doubtfire, the Night At The Museum trilogy, and Flubber, tragically committed suicide in 2014 at the age of 63. A few months prior to his passing, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and struggled with despair.
As evidenced by his discussion of their friendship in his new memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, Neill clearly had a special connection to the late comic?
Williams and Neill would have “great chats” in their trailers while filming Bicentennial Man, recalls Neill, who also notes that Williams “was irresistibly, outrageously, irrepressibly, gigantically funny.” Neill writes (via People): “We would talk about this and that, sometimes even about the work we were about to do.”
Williams, however, obviously had a darker side because Neill also called him “the saddest person I ever met.”
“He was famous, wealthy, well-liked, had wonderful children, and had the world at his disposal. And yet, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly sad for him. Williams seemed “inconsolably solitary, and deeply depressed,” according to Neill, who called Williams “the lonely man on a lonely planet.”
Williams kept his trailer dark, but the moment he “swung open the door,” he supposedly transformed into a happier version of himself.
Williams’ son Zak has been candid about his late father’s mental health issues, telling Dr. Oz in 2020 (according to People): “I was acutely aware of my dad’s struggles with depression, it occasionally manifested in addiction, and he took great lengths to support his well-being and mental health, especially when he was challenged. It was something that he thought about every day.
The most striking aspect for Zak was seeing how he went to tremendous lengths to support himself so he could be there for others. It was evident that he prioritized his mental health throughout most of his life, at least that I experienced with him.”
When addressing her previous involvement in the film on the SAG Awards red carpet earlier this year, Williams’ Mrs. Doubtfire co-star Sally Field recalled him, telling reporters: “What you think about immediately is Robin. Every second of it is infused with my love and excitement at being in his company. Robin was Robin, after all. He was all he appeared to be: a kind, caring, sympathetic, and extraordinarily gifted man.
We all miss him, she continued, adding that he should have been there with her that night and that she missed him. For the love of God, he ought to be getting older like me. I detest that he is absent.
Neill writes in the first chapter of his memoir, “The thing is, I’m crook,” that he is battling stage 3 blood cancer. maybe passing away. I may have to move more quickly now. With quotes from well-known people like Meryl Streep and Stephen Fry, the book is expected to be a heartfelt and delightful read.
