Nathan Lane recalls Robin Williams’ The Birdcage fanboy avatar: ‘Clint Eastwood is here!’
Nathan Lane recalls the moment The Birdcage set took an unforgettable turn when Robin Williams reacted to a Hollywood visitor in a way nobody saw coming.
Between setups on The Birdcage, Nathan Lane says a low-key visitor turned the set into a fan pilgrimage: Clint Eastwood had popped by for a quick trim, thanks to a stylist who worked on his movies. Robin Williams burst in with the update and, despite Lane being fully costumed in drag — “basically looking like Barbara Bush,” as Lane put it — insisted they go meet him.
“Clint Eastwood is here!”
Lane recalled that Williams assured him a fellow actor would understand the wardrobe situation and marched him to Eastwood’s trailer. They caught the Western icon just as he stepped out, hair freshly cut. Lane couldn’t resist a pitch about doing a Western someday. Eastwood, deadpan as ever, didn’t miss.
“Maybe for the school marm.”
The story came out at a SAG-AFTRA Foundation event on Oct. 19, where Lane was looking back on the 1996 comedy, in which Williams played Miami nightclub owner Armand and Lane played his high-strung partner, Albert.
Beyond the bit
Lane also talked about the way Williams looked after people. He said he felt protected and supported by his co-star while making the film, calling Williams intelligent, sensitive, and attentive on set. Lane has previously credited Williams with stepping in to deflect an uncomfortable question during a televised interview.
The glare of fame, though, wasn’t simple. Ethan Hawke, who worked with Williams on Dead Poets Society, has said on the Scene Stealers podcast with John Feitelberg that public attention followed Williams everywhere — into restaurants, cars, even on walks — and called the day-to-day reality of it “super complicated.”
Robin Williams died in 2014.