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Pierce Brosnan, the suave Irish actor known for his roles as James Bond and more, recently reflected on his time filming the beloved 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire—but with a surprising twist. Despite sharing the screen with the late Robin Williams, Brosnan insists that he never truly worked with the legendary comedian. Instead, he worked with "Mrs. Doubtfire."
In a candid conversation with Vanity Fair, Brosnan recalled his first day on set in San Francisco. When invited to meet Williams, he entered the makeup trailer and found the actor already transformed—partially. Williams was in costume from the neck up as the iconic elderly nanny, but still clad in his casual Hawaiian shirt, with hairy arms and legs on full display. As Brosnan approached, Williams greeted him in the soft, lilting voice of Mrs. Doubtfire, only to break character a moment later with a deep, humorous growl. "He jumped all over the place," Brosnan laughed.
The energy on set was electric. According to Brosnan, Williams never missed a moment to push the comedic boundaries, especially when the cameras weren't rolling. One moment that stuck with Brosnan was a scene where Mrs. Doubtfire teases his character Stu about his romantic intentions toward Miranda, played by Sally Field. "There's reams of footage of me just falling around on the floor with laughter," Brosnan admitted. "He went really blue."
Though the children in the film weren't present during those adult-themed improvisations, Brosnan said the experience revealed a deeper side of Williams—one not just full of humor but humanity. "He really was such a kind-hearted man," Brosnan reflected.
Williams passed away in 2014 at the age of 63, leaving behind a legacy of joy and unforgettable performances. For Brosnan, though, the memory of working on Mrs. Doubtfire is bittersweet. He may not have worked with the man behind the makeup for long, but what he did experience was magic—a chameleon of a performer who gave his all to a single role and made everyone around him laugh uncontrollably in the process.
