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Movies

Robin Williams’ ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ improvising racked up 2M feet of film

By
Jack Hobbs
Published Nov. 22, 2023, 11:18 a.m. ET

“Hellooooo!”

Robin Williams improvised so much on the set of the 1993 comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire” that production ended up shooting two million feet of film by the time the movie wrapped.

“Early on in the process, he went to me, ‘Hey boss, the way I like to work, if you’re up for it, is I’ll give you three or four scripted takes, and then let’s play,’” Chris Columbus, 65, told Business Insider. “By saying that, what he meant was he wanted to improvise.”

“And that’s exactly how we shot every scene,” the “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” director added. “We would have exactly what was scripted, and then Robin would go off and it was something to behold.”

In the film, Williams, who died by suicide in 2014 at age 63, plays Daniel Hillard, a struggling actor going through a divorce from wife Miranda (Sally Field).

After their split, the newly single mother hires as a babysitter Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, who, unbeknownst to her, is actually her ex-husband.

Film director Christopher Columbus revealed Tuesday that the late comedian Robin Williams improved so much on the set of the 1993 comedy "Mrs. Doubtfire" that they had shot 2 million feet of film by the time the movie had wrapped.
Film director Christopher Columbus revealed Tuesday that the late comedian Robin Williams improvised so much on the set of the 1993 comedy “Mrs. Doubtfire” that they had shot 2 million feet of film by the time the movie had wrapped. Art Streiber/CBS via Getty Images
In the film, Williams, who died in 2014 after committing suicide, plays struggling actor Daniel Hillard who is beloved by his three children but despised by his wife Miranda (Sally Field).
In the film, Williams, who died in 2014 after committing suicide, plays struggling actor Daniel Hillard who is beloved by his three children but despised by his wife, Miranda (Sally Field). Courtesy Everett Collection

The film, which grossed more than $440 million worldwide and later spawned a Broadway musical, also stars Pierce Brosnan as Miranda’s colleague Stu.

According to Columbus, Williams’ antics would often throw the entire production team off-kilter.

“Early on in the process, he went to me, ‘Hey boss, the way I like to work, if you’re up for it, is I’ll give you three or four scripted takes, and then let’s play,'” Columbus, 65, told Business Insider. "By saying that, what he meant was he wanted to improvise."
“Early on in the process, he went to me, ‘Hey boss, the way I like to work, if you’re up for it, is I’ll give you three or four scripted takes, and then let’s play,’” Columbus, 65, told Business Insider. “By saying that, what he meant was he wanted to improvise.” ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
The film, which grossed over $440 million at the worldwide box office and later spawned a Broadway musical, also stars Pierce Brosnan as Miranda's colleague Stu.
The film, which grossed over $440 million worldwide and later spawned a Broadway musical, also stars Pierce Brosnan as Miranda’s colleague Stu. ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

“The poor script supervisor,” Columbus reminisced. “Remember, this is the early 1990s, she wasn’t typing what he was saying. She was handwriting it and Robin would change every take.

“So Robin would go to a place where he couldn’t remember much of what he said. We would go to the script supervisor and ask her and sometimes she didn’t even get it all,” he continued. “Often, he would literally give us a completely different take than what we did doing the written takes.”

The “Home Alone” director revealed that Williams sometimes improvised until the camera would run out of film.

After divorcing Hillard, the newly single mother hires Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, who unbeknownst to her is actually her ex-husband, to watch the children while she works.
After divorcing Hillard, the newly single mother hires Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, who unbeknownst to her is actually her ex-husband, to watch the children while she works. ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
According to Columbus, once the film had been completed, he was left with nearly 1,000 boxes of footage which the "Gremlins" writer stated he wanted to turn into a documentary about William and his process.
According to Columbus, once the film had been completed, he was left with nearly 1,000 boxes of footage, which the “Gremlins” writer stated he wanted to turn into a documentary about William and his process.

“It got to the point that I had to shoot the entire movie with four cameras to keep up with him,” Columbus laughed. “None of us knew what he was going to say when he got going and so I wanted a camera on the other actors to get their reactions …[the studio was] loving what they were seeing. Did they watch everything? I don’t think so. We shot almost two million feet of film on that picture.”

Columbus was later left with nearly 1,000 boxes of footage, which he wants to eventually turn into a documentary about William and his process.

“There are roughly 972 boxes of footage from ‘Doubtfire’ — footage we used in the movie, outtakes, behind-the-scenes footage — in a warehouse somewhere and we would like to hire an editor to go in and look at all of that footage,” he explained.

“We want to show Robin’s process,” Columbus added. “There is something special and magical about how he went about his work and I think it would be fun to delve into it. I mean, there’s 2 million feet of film in that warehouse so there could be something we can do with all of that.”

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.