Robin Williams' onscreen daughter from 'Mrs Doubtfire' Lisa Jakub recalls the late star working with military veterans on film sets

Lisa Jakub reminisced about Robin Williams' commitment to veterans and his penchant for hiring them on his film sets
PUBLISHED MAY 28, 2024
Lisa Jakub worked as Robin Williams' onscreen daughter in 'Mrs Doubtfire (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images and Getty Images)
Lisa Jakub worked as Robin Williams' onscreen daughter in 'Mrs Doubtfire (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images and Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Robin Williams may not be with us today, but his legacy continues. To celebrate his legacy, his onscreen daughter, Lisa Jakub, who played Lydia in the 1993 film ‘Mrs Doubtfire,' remembered Williams’ commitment to veterans on this Memorial Day.

During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Jakub reminisced about the late comic star’s commitment to veterans and his penchant for hiring them on his film sets, per Deadline.

Lisa Jakub (L) and Robin Williams in 'Mrs Doubtfire (20th Century Fox)
Lisa Jakub (L) and Robin Williams in 'Mrs Doubtfire'(20th Century Fox)

Lisa Jakub reminisces about Robin Williams

During a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Jakub said, “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.”

Jakub, now leading a veterans nonprofit called Mission Flexible, further expressed her ongoing gratitude for having Williams as her on-screen father.

She also revealed that the 'Dead Poets Society' star supported her during her struggles with mental health, despite his own battle with severe depression before his death by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63.

(US TABLOIDS OUT) Actor Robin Williams appears onstage during MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios on April 27, 2006 in New York City.
Robin Williams worked with veterans on set (Getty Images)

Jakub continued, “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.”

The 45-year-old writer elaborated, “(He was) probably one of the first people who ever really spoke to me super honestly about mental health.”

She recalled, “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.'”

Lisa Jakub praised Robin Williams for his mental health wellness advocacy

However, this wasn't the first instance of Jakub opening up about Williams' impact on mental health wellness.

Previously in an interview with 'Good Morning America', Jakub said, "He was very open about his issues with mental wellness.”

She continued, “He taught me it was OK to be vulnerable. What was most meaningful to me was to see that human beneath the comedic act."

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