‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Star Reveals How Costar Robin Williams Helped Her Overcome Depression And Anxiety

In a new interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Robin Williams’ former Mrs. Doubtfire costar Lisa Jakub, who played his oldest daughter in the movie, is paying tribute to him. She recalls how he helped through her own mental health battle with anxiety and depression.

It’s been seven years since comedic legend Robin Williams passed away, but his legacy continues to live on through the millions of fans who miss him to this day. 

Lisa Jakub Honors Williams 

When Jakub was in high school and filming Mrs. Doubtfire, the school let her know that it would be too difficult for her to continue with classes long distance. Quite a difference from today’s schooling!

Anyway, Robin noticed she was upset and she told him about the issue.

Jakub said, “I told him what happened, and he wrote a letter to my school asking them to please reconsider. Would they work with me in trying to balance my education and my career? And he didn’t think that that was fair.”

Unfortunately, the letter didn’t change their minds, but she appreciated “that he would go out of his way, that he would take the time to realize that this would be important.” 

That’s the kind of person he was. 

“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,” said Jakub. “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.”

Williams was also open with Jakub about his struggles with substance abuse. 

Related: Two Deleted Scenes From ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Were ‘Too Heartbreaking’ to Be Kept

‘Substances Were Not Going To Help’

“He was very insistent in making sure that I knew that substances were not going to help. That that was a route that he had gone with addiction and that it just made everything worse,” said Jakub, who is now a mental health advocate. “And I think as a 14-year-old kid actor, it’s a really good story to get, a really good message to hear, because that does tend to be a well-worn path for a lot of kid actors.”

Jakub, now 42, left acting in 2000 after having spent most of her childhood as an actress.

She went on to say that Williams also taught her about the importance of paying it forward. Jakub is now a mental wellness coach and an author who’s written several books, including: Not Just Me: Anxiety, Depression, and Learning to Embrace Your Weird. She also teaches mental health workshops to help others cope with anxiety and depression.

“I feel like that is one of the ways I’m kind of paying forward some of the things that Robin taught me by being so open,” Jakub said. 

Related: Robin Williams’ Widow Recalls His Final Days – He Had An ‘Invisible Monster’ Chasing Him

Mrs. Doubtfire Reunion

Three years ago, the actors from “Mrs. Doubtfire” got together for a reunion in which they remembered Williams. 

“Robin was like a guiding source,” said Matthew Lawrence, who played the comedian’s son in the movie. “He would just all of a sudden, out of the blue look over and be like, ‘Don’t do drugs. They really messed up my brain, I’m serious. Do not do them.’ That stuck with me.”

Williams would undoubtedly be very proud if he could see what his movie children are doing to honor his legacy to this day!

There really will never be another person like Robin Williams.