Sally Field Said Robin Williams ‘Wasn't Funny' When Filming ‘Mrs. Doubtfire' in 1993
When Sally Field appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on May 6, she spoke about her time filming the 1993 hit film, Mrs. Doubtfire. The comedy, which was about a divorced father who disguises himself as a nanny in order to spend time with his children, starred Field and Robin Williams as exes. Pierce Brosnan also appeared, playing her character's new love interest.
"I would never laugh, ever," Field said, when discussing her time filming alongside Williams, one of the most famous comedians in the world. "And everybody else was laughing and carrying on."
She went on to explain how her failure to break character would bother Williams, who is known for improvising and trying to get the people around him to crack. "It drove him mad, actually," she said. "It wasn't funny. It just wasn't funny."
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She continued, "Robin was always trying something different to make me laugh. It was so unfunny. I can't begin to tell you. And then Pierce-wonderful Pierce Brosnan-we were sitting at a table at the restaurant, and he made a fart noise on his arm. And I was gone. That was it."
Field spoke about another thing that drove her ‘mad' about Williams in an exclusive interview with People. "He'd also drive you mad because he wouldn't stop," she said. "We'd have to do the scene, we did the scene exactly how it was, it was wonderful, it was done. He would say, ‘How about this time if I'm crawling through the kitchen window, and then...?' ‘Robin, why would you be crawling through the kitchen window?'"
However, she also spoke about how kind he was when her father died. After she had been given the news, he realized that something was wrong while they were filming a courtroom scene. When he asked if she was okay, she broke down in tears and told him that her father just died.
"Robin turned around," she said, explaining how he addressed the director and the production team. "‘That's it for the day, guys! We're wrapped here. You can get a few shots at the kids and maybe one of Mrs. Doubtfire, but Ms. Field's going home.' And he walked me out. That was Robin."
Williams died by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63.
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 1:32 PM.