Denise Petski
Mrs. Doubtfire‘s Lisa Jakub, who portrayed Robin Williams‘ on-screen daughter, Lydia, in the 1993 film, is recalling Williams’ commitment to veterans on this Memorial Day, and how he would often hire them on his film sets.
“So many people have told me that Robin did a lot of work with the veteran population as well, and that he always had production crews hire local veterans to be background actors or things like that on set, which is not something I ever knew about when I worked with him… but I also love that little connection as well,” she told Fox News Digital.
Jakub, who now runs a veterans nonprofit called Mission Flexible, told the news outlet that she was “grateful” to have had him as her movie dad.
Williams, who had battled with severe depression, took his own life in 2014 at the age of 63.
Jakub said she also was grateful for his support when she struggled with her own mental health.
“Robin was everything you would hope Robin would be, and it’s so wonderful to think back on him now… (I am) grateful that I got to be in his presence, that I got to be working with him, that he was so kind to me,” she told Fox News Digital.
“(He was) probably one of the first people who ever really spoke to me super honestly about mental health,” she added. “And he would talk to me about his struggles and the things that he went through. And it was the first time that I felt like, ‘Oh, I’m not a freak. I don’t have to hide this about myself. This is just something that some of us have to deal with’.”