'Mrs. Doubtfire' Star Matthew Lawrence 'Stayed Away' From Drugs, Thanks To Robin Williams' Advice

Matthew Lawrence fondly recalls his time working with Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire. Lawrence was barely a teenager when he played Williams' character's son in the 1993 film. The endearing and funny 1993 American comedy-drama film was directed by Chris Columbus and starred Williams in the lead as Mrs. Doubtfire. The comedian played a freelance voice actor who loves his three children, Lydia, Chris, and Natalie. His wife sees him as an unreliable man-child and files for divorce. In an attempt to win back his family, he disguises himself as the now-iconic nanny. Williams won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his role, while the film took home the Oscar for Best Makeup. Variety reports that with just over $440 million at the worldwide box office, Mrs. Doubtfire was one of the actor’s biggest comedy films. Williams died in 2014 at the age of 63. 

Lawrence remembers the late actor off-screen and how he gave him a “gift” on set by advising him never to do drugs. During his appearance at the first-ever '90s Con on Saturday, Lawrence revealed the late comedy icon's advice was the reason he stayed away from drugs as he grew up in Hollywood. "He was the first adult who really let me in on his condition. Like, full-on let me in," the now 42-year-old said. "I mean, as bright as he was on camera—I would go visit him in his trailer to talk to him—it was painful for him. It's really painful for him. He didn't hide it. He talked to me about it."

'Don't ever do drugs. Especially cocaine,'" Lawrence recalled Williams saying. "He was very serious. He was like, 'You know when you come to my trailer and you see me like that?' He's like, 'That's the reason why. And now I'm fighting for the rest of my life because I spent 10 years doing something very stupid every day. Do not do it.' I stayed away from it because of him."

Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Harvey Fierstein, Robert Prosky, Lisa Jakub, and Mara Wilson also starred in the movie. Wilson who was also at the event recalled that the late actor "had a massive influence on me," the 34-year-old, shared, adding, "He, during filming, would talk to me a lot about his issues with mental health and addiction. And I have had a lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression. So we had those conversations. I think it was so good for me to realize that it's okay to talk about this. It's okay to be vulnerable. And it was really the first time that I had someone sit down with me and go, 'I understand that you have anxiety and you are not alone. You're not just some weirdo freak who has something going on that nobody's going to understand, that everybody's going to reject you for.' Like, this is okay and there are things you can do, and you will be alright."