Behind the Scenes: Mrs. Doubtfire (Columbus, 1993) with Robin Williams and Sally F

My wife first read the book six years ago. And it was an English children's story called Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. And she just read it. I think an agent at CAA sent it to her saying, I think, look at this book. She thought it would be a wonderful, she just thought it would be a great idea for me to play that character. I mean, just the comedy potential, that was incredible. I liked the idea that a man would have to play a woman and do it well enough to pass. I looked at things at that point more in terms of the range that it would require of Robin as an actor. And I figured that, you know, we could make the rest work around that. I mean, I was just purely interested in the idea of Robin playing this woman more than anything. She basically nurtured this thing through all the different levels. You know, a couple of different writers, you know, each time it was improving. Then they asked if Chris could have a crack at it. And he had some ideas, met with us, and said, those sound interesting. And then he, you know, it's one thing to have the pitch. It's another thing to actually see it fulfilled. Set. Set. And action. There were several drafts of the script before I got involved. And I read the script, and it was good. I mean, I never want to get into a situation where I'm negating the other writers' contributions because the other writers contributed a great deal, especially to me wanting to get involved with the picture. But I felt that the film at that point lacked a real good sense of humor. It didn't have a lot of heart. And the biggest problem was Daniel Hillard and Miranda got back together at the end of the picture. We really didn't want to take it away from what we feel is the reality in the world and in the country in terms of divorcing families and what ultimately happens. And, you know, we didn't want to make a Cinderella kind of story. I think all great comedy, really, you need to have a good, solid, almost realistic basis, and you can play off of that. So the fact you have Robin Williams dressed as a 65-year-old woman trying to win his family back is, to me, the makings of a great comedy. I think people a lot of times think of Chris in terms of his comedy, but he has such a warmth that I also think that he really, he brings any project, and to these scenes, this is a perfect project for him in that it is very dramatic, but, you know, also you have the comedy element. So I got involved actively with the rewrite. It took about 3 months to really nail a good, what I felt was a good version of the film. And that's what we sent to Robin and Marcia, and that's really the point when Robin decided to do the picture, when he finally committed to the picture. His rewrite came in, I said, this looks interesting. It finally has an emotional feel to it, plus it was funny. He heightened the comedy, plus gave it kind of an emotional level, which was great. And that's when I said, I'll do it. Well, I look forward to meeting you. Oh, lovely dear, me too. Bye-bye. Ta-ta. Robin has always been one of my screen idols. I mean, there are about 5 or 6 actors I really wanted to work with, and Robin is one of them. And for me, it was a dream come true. So it was really an opportunity to work with someone who I consider in the same sort of comedic league as Charlie Chaplin. You know, someone who really can combine emotion and brilliant comedy at the same time. You wanted to get the one where they, where I'd send them off, basically, like the, oh, Mrs. Telford. For me, the best part about it all was to play someone totally unlike myself. That's why I wanted to do it. And it isn't just drag, but it was just the fact that it was like to be, to have this character that really had a life of her own. No longer does it look anything like myself, and you're free to be this woman and create her and to make her, you know, as funny as you can, but yet still be in character. There's certain boundaries. And sometimes I would cross over, but most of the time I could stay within her, who she was, and be this kind of sweet, blue-mouthed old woman. Which one? What's the occasion? It's my birthday. Oh! Sally was a leading contender from the very beginning. I think when everyone read the script, Sally, there's always several people that you have in your mind. It just felt like Sally was really the right person for the role. Sally is the actress with the most likable quotient I can imagine. She's an amazing actress. She is equally adept, like Robin, at comedy and drama. She can also keep up with Robin, which is very important. And she also, which is key to the picture, is likable to everyone in the theater. So no one dislikes Sally Field because of who she is. So you utilize what she brings to the picture in the character of Miranda, and she very much rounds out the character, and I think that's important. That was great. Thank you, you look lovely. Oh, guys, I'm so glad you could make it. Ooh, by the looks of you, that water's so cold. Here you are, you're divorced, you really love your kids, you want to be with your kids, but you're unfortunately divorced. Your wife doesn't love you anymore, and you're dressed as a 60-year-old woman. Here comes the new James Bond walking into their lives. The perfect guy. There's nothing wrong with him. He loves the kids, he loves her, he's going to give them a better life than Daniel Hillard ever could. What's more frustrating and more upsetting for Robin as Mrs. Doubtfire? To me, that was a perfect comedic combination. The part was written really well. He could have been a jerk, and he was a likable character. He was a businessman who's made his fortune, he's got everything in life, traveled, you know, but he doesn't have a family. And he falls in love with this woman who's an old flame from his past, Sally Field, Miranda, and she just happens to have children. The thing about Mara Wilson is she was completely new. She had not done any theater, she had not done any film work, she had done a couple of commercials. So she was like taking a real person and putting her in front of a camera With those three kids, I found a real sense of reality and naturalism. You've got Matt Lawrence, who's got a lot of film experience, a lot of TV experience, and also Lisa Jacob. I tried to find kids, though, who did not let that experience cloud their performance level. And those kids just, to me, were very real and very natural. And background! Background action! With Harvey Fierstein, it was a kindred spirit, because when you got that voice, what do you need, Dietrich? You're off and running. Bingo! When he says right there, I'm ready for my close-up. Get real. You know? He just flies right into it. I would say something, he could top it. I would top that. He would just go. He builds up that. It's not working. You need to go older. Older? You mean like Shelly Winters older or Shirley MacLaine older? What's the difference? Some scotch tape and red hair dye. We were booked to do this thing, and I was on my way to San Francisco, and somebody said, did you hear, Robin is going to do this new movie, and he has a gay brother in it. I said, wait a second, because I had seen Robin on Comic Relief do me, and I thought it was very flattering. So we get to San Francisco, and there's no dress rooms. They have like these buses out in the parking lot. So I'm sitting in my trailer, and I see him coming, and I tear the door open. I said, how dare you? How dare you use my voice in vain? And he started laughing, and I said, now, give me the job of your brother. And he turned to Marsh and said, that's a good idea. Two weeks later, I got a call. I had the job. Could you make me a woman? Honey, I'm so happy. I knew you'd understand. Every great actor to me, you can see their soul through their eyes, and that's the thing that's wonderful about Robin. You can see the pain in his heart. You can see the joy in his soul through his eyes, and I found that finding every other actor in this picture, I looked at their eyes. I looked into their eyes to see what I could find. It's not just like other movies where if you're dressed up as a woman, you can fool people because they don't know who you are anyway as a man. You have to fool your own family. You have to fool, especially your wife, who's seen you with nothing on. You remind me of someone. People say, you know, there's that method acting of, you know, you create the character and it kind of comes from within. This is one of those things that as they added the elements, she, you know, she appeared. I always felt that Mrs. Doubtfire would be the grandmother that you always wanted, you know, the perfect grandmother. Hello. Mrs. Hillard, I presume? Yes, I'm Miranda Hillard. Eugenia Doubtfire. Greg Canham designed the makeup and Greg did several different sculptures on Robin's face, and we actually had a picture of a woman who resembles Mrs. Doubtfire quite a bit, and it was a black-and-white picture taken in the 40s, and Greg sort of fashioned this makeup after this picture of this woman that we had. That look took really one Saturday to perfect. The makeup pieces were put on to Robin. He went through makeup. We'd all decided on a particular wig and hair color that we liked. We found wardrobe that we thought was perfect for Mrs. Doubtfire, the right glasses, and then we did a videotape test, and on that particular videotape test, it's the first time you actually see Mrs. Doubtfire, and the first time you actually, Robin started to feel comfortable in the role, and it's an amazing sort of transformation. It's almost like a screen test because Robin just became Mrs. Doubtfire. Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Effigenia Doubtfire, and I'm very, excuse me. They had a television monitor set up. It was like, ooh, look at that. Ooh, isn't she, oh, and ooh, my fun bags. Look at that. I saw everything, and all of a sudden I started to play with the voice. It was just so freeing to be able to be someone totally different. Hello. Your name is? Fred. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, Fred. Please, Fred. You look like a biker. The makeup, I think on a good day, would take 3 hours, 3 1⁄2. Bad day, 4 hours, 4 1⁄2. We knew we had to get it down from there because they wanted to be able to shoot with him for at least 10 hours a day. So if it took us 4 hours to get him ready and an hour to get him out at night, that was going to make for a very long day for Robin. So the more we did it, the faster we got. Robin's makeup is comprised of 8 overlapping foam latex appliances, and they fit together kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. At this point, I'm going in with a colored Pax paint. On top of the Pax, I then go in with rubber mask grease paint, which I'm stippling on now, and that is also done in several layers. I'll do a flesh tone, then I'll go in with a pink tone, and then stipple a flesh tone back on top of it. Now Yolanda is placing the wig on, and there he is. It's her bodysuit. Looks like that old ancient fertility doll that they used to make, the one that was out of clay, you know, it's like, yeah, with the, yes, with the amazing hands. Are these real tits? They're actually kind of frightening when you see them, because they're made out of, it's made out of like spandex and beans, and it's like a walking beanbag chair. Oh, it feels lovely. Pardon me. It's riding. He was sitting on the couch with my two sisters who's going to be on the film, and I didn't know that it was Mrs. Doubtfire or Rob, and I just thought, well, it could be like the social worker or the teacher or something, but I, and they introduced me, and I was like, oh, and it wasn't even, the makeup wasn't even really done yet still. It was still in its like first stages, and it was really amazing then. And you are? I'm Chris. Oh, Chris. Hello. Oops. At that time, the only thing that gave me away because I hadn't yet shaved my hands, it was all of a sudden it went, hello, oh, geez. It's the monkey woman. Oh, my God. Sigourney Weaver's mother. What is it there? Look at that there. It's gorillas in the mist. Oh, no. Let's also look at our hands today. Different makeups on different hands. No longer a quest for fire. He's instilled with the spirit of a 65-year-old woman. That's all I can say. I mean, he no longer becomes the person I know. He becomes this woman. I really feel like I'm not talking to him anymore, even when he uses his own voice. Stop. Don't do that. There. No. Put it down. The first voice was a little bit like that. And then it softened up as she got softer, and it kind of, you know, went from being Margaret Thatcher a little bit into Julia Childs and slowly, but surely, Chris seemed to like that voice more than anything. And then if you bring up the tone up to there and start to play with a little bit of our S's and our T's, we're very much in the zone, I think. But, you know, and if I want to increase volume, if you're not coming down now, don't make me come up the stairs because it will not be a pretty picture. Sometimes the first time you see him Mrs. Doubtfire get a little scared, kind of scares you, then she doesn't. And Robin really made that character. I mean, he gave her a lot of heart, and it really, if it wasn't for him, I mean, I don't think it would have been able to pull, been able to be pulled off because it was just done really well. And I think it was Robin that really made it. And background action! Oh, hello! You look lovely! Mmm! You got your swimsuits? You want to go for a dip? I'd love to. Yeah? Sorry, I don't have one. The tent maker died. He was Mrs. Doubtfire 100%. I mean, it wasn't Robin Williams. I forgot about Robin Williams, actually. I only saw Robin Williams once when he poked his head around the door one morning and said, good morning. And I was like, ooh, Jesus, there's Robin Williams. You do sort of forget it's Robin and you think it's this person, this other person. So you, you do catch yourself, but wait a minute, who's this Robin? Robin, when he was Robin, he was, I mean, he was himself. But when he went into Mrs. Doubtfire, he was really, he was really her and he really saw, it was pretty easy for me to, um, see her and then him. Want to get your swimsuits on? Go for a swim maybe? Yeah, great. How about you, Mrs. Doubtfire? Oh, no, dear, I think they've outlawed whaling. Thank you very much. I remember thinking, jeez, I'm going to be working with Robin Williams, what's he going to be like? You know, he's a very funny guy and for me, it was just a question of really keeping it simple, just doing the scene, doing what's on the paper. But of course, what was on the paper was not always what Robin would do because Robin likes to extemporize and do his thing. Oh, sir, I saw it. Some angry member of the kitchen staff, did you not tip them off? A terrorist, they ran that way, it was a run by fruiting. Filmmaking is not, uh, playwriting, you know, you don't have to stick to the words so closely. In fact, you don't have to stick to the words at all in a lot of cases, especially in the case of a comedy, I feel. I feel improvisation is a key and it's very important for us in this picture because we had one of the most one of Robin's brilliant talents is the fact that he can improvise so well, so beautifully. And I felt that that was such an important part of this picture. He would let me try things, especially in, you know, there's some scenes we had to keep very simple, very tight. Obviously, some of the emotional scenes, it's better that you just, you know, stay confined, stay disciplined to that. But there's other scenes where we just had to kick out. Don't fall apart. Don't fall apart now. Dear, he died in a saddle. Good God. Yes, dear, it was so sad. Whose saddle? Well, the horse's, dear. He was a rider? He was a jockey. The gun went off, it startled him, he had a heart attack. He stiffened up. He what? He did what? He stiffened up. Like that? Like that. That way I was able to sort of mold and shape the scene. You had your original scene as written and scripted, and then you could intersperse improvisational moments. So as a result, you have this wonderful combined sense of madness. It was the drink that killed him. How awful. He was an alcoholic. No, he was hit by a Guinness truck. So it was quite literally the drink that killed him. Oh, tragic. She knew that she had to hold the center sometimes in order for the comedy to work. And then she knew when she could break out and do it. It's just so much fun. You can, you never get bored, ever. You really just have to stay alive because it's, you don't want to, you know, happen to have stepped on a, where he was going, you know, when he takes flight. You want to be able to see where he's going and not interfere or get in the way. Hey, hey, I got the stretch outside. What? Does your, does the waitress have a friend? A friend? Well, we could take him out and show him the town. Sort of a double date, huh? What do you say? There were times when he just, it was too much for me to take. And I tried very desperately not to laugh, but you sort of have to just sort of ball yourself up and not laugh. And we had crew members leaving the room so they wouldn't destroy the take with their laughter. How many people want a clean soundtrack? Bob Hope, live, right here. Swear to God. Beautiful. We'll be right back. We're just picking out some things for Ruda Lee. And it's wonderful because he gives and he takes and, and you can top each other and still go on. I mean, if there was, if there was enough film we could have gone on for hours just on, on one take. A big stack of hay? You got a needle in there somewhere? You shouldn't smoke when you're nothing but hay, scarecrow. And you, Dorothy, how about those ruby slippers? I got my own. Ooh, this is scaring me. Yeah, no, I don't think this is really working, but don't get discouraged. You're my brother. I'm not going to let you look foolish. All right. We've got to do the entire face. Ooh, if I was deaf, I'd be doing a different act. Bless you, look at me now. Ha ha! He's just a, he's just this ball of energy and an amazing actor. So for me, it's just a complete joy as a director because he gives me a lot of choices and, uh, always, on every take, turns in a flawless performance. Like you to meet the host of your new show. Host? You, Virginia, don't fire, dear. I specialize in the education and entertainment of children. Surprise! I wanted to do it, basically, to talk about divorce using this comic device, using, basically, like, you know, pure farce, but in the process of doing that, to talk about, you know, a very painful issue, divorce and children and what they go through. Thanks for the time, warden. You know, and it's, you know, you're taking something and, you know, using comedy and some people are very uncomfortable with that, but other people, it's a way of getting them to deal with it. Action! Lydia! Lydia, we gotta call the cops! We gotta call 911! What's the matter with you? Mrs. Doubtfire, she's a freak! It opens up a discussion. It opens up a valid discussion and a discussion that every divorced parent should have with his or her child. And I also think it opens up a valid discussion between married parents with their children. The movie was really special for the sense that it really came off real, that it didn't have this happy, I mean, it had a happy ending but didn't really have this sweet, happy, totally perfect ending. It really sort of gave the realism about it. It just sort of said, you know, that this is the way it is and usually everything will work out even though it's not the perfect thing that could happen. Set, action! You're not mad at me? I think it affects them realistically. I mean, they're very upset by it and they don't want to have to choose between their mom or their dad at all because they love them both a lot. So it's kind of rough for them because they don't get to see their father as much as they'd like to and he'd like to. Your Honor, please. I mean, every Saturday, that's one day a week. That's not enough. I have to be with my children. It's not a question, really. I mean, I have to be with them, sir, please. It's that thing of, no one can tell me I can't see them. So he goes to this extreme, takes an extreme measure to, you know, be with them more. You know, it is part obsession, in part, but it's also part primal in the sense of, I want to be with them. I don't go to old lady bars or anything like that after work, you know? You know, it's the only way I could see you guys every day. Who did this? Uncle Frank and Aunt Jack. And I know that the most important job you can do in this world is bringing up children. And this is a movie about that, about learning what that responsibility really is about. It's your job to be our father. No, it's not a job. It's a joy being your father. I've gotten so many letters from people all over the world saying, thank you for talking about this. You know, from men, but also from women saying, thank you for showing that it is, you know, that there's another way. That you don't have to use children as like little hostages to somehow seek vengeance on each other. You know, to try and say, even though you don't work out, that you still have a responsibility as a father and not to give up on that. I've also letters from people saying, I've reconnected with my son, thank you. I mean, I know I took my children to see this and somehow they understood and I understood and thank you. I mean, it's like this thing of saying, it meant something to them because they, you know, they've been through it. And just to say, yeah, you still are a family. You're not that kind of Norman Rockwell painting family. You're a different type of family, but you still have that responsibility. You still have a connection and don't give up on that or you'll spend years in therapy going, oh, I didn't make the connection. There's always this stigma that's been attached to divorce. It still exists even though most people end up getting divorced. And I think, I think it's important to break that stigma. We tried to do as much as we could with Mrs. Doubtfire to break that particular stigma.