Sam Neill has spoken out about the late Robin Williams and revealed that he was the ‘saddest person’ he had ever met.
The 75-year-old actor, who gained fame after playing the role Dr. Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, had worked with License to Wed star on 1999’s Bicentennial Man.
Williams was part of many childhood classics, including the Night At The Museum trilogy, Mrs. Doubtfire, Flubber, and Jumanji.
But in 2014, the actor decided to end his life at the age of 63. He reportedly struggled with depression and had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease only months before he died.
In Neill’s upcoming memoir Did I Ever Tell You This, he talked about his special bond with the late actor.
He also remembered some of the great conversations he had with Williams.
“We would talk about this and that, sometimes even about the work we were about to do,” adding that the late star “was irresistibly, outrageously, irrepressibly, gigantically funny.”
Even though Neill sensed something was wrong, Williams would easily transform into a jolly version of himself “once he swung open the door” of his trailer.
“He had fame, he was rich, people loved him, great kids—the world was his oyster. And yet I felt more sorry for him than I can express. He was the loneliest man on a lonely planet,” Neill wrote, adding that Williams seemed “inconsolably solitary and deeply depressed.”
Earlier this year, Williams’s Mrs. Doubtfire co-star Sally Field also remembered him while talking about her past role in the film on the SAG Awards.
She told reporters: “What you think about immediately is Robin. There isn’t a moment of it that’s not filled with my love and joy at being in his presence. I mean, Robin was Robin. He was everything he seemed to be: a generous, loving, sweet, geniously talented man.”
Williams’ son, Zak, previously spoke about his late father’s struggles with mental health.
In a 2020 interview with Dr. Oz, Zak said: “I was acutely aware of my dad’s struggles with depression, it manifested in addiction at times, and he took great lengths to support his well-being and mental health, especially when he was challenged. It was something that was a daily consideration for him.
He continued: “The main thing for me was noticing how he went to great lengths to support himself while he could show up for others.
“It was clear that he prioritized his mental health throughout most of his life, at least that I experienced with him.”
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