Robin Williams Revealed His Mrs. Doubtfire Process Felt Like Possession

Robin Williams was never one to be boxed into a single category. Throughout his career, he moved seamlessly between making audiences laugh and bringing them to tears, proving time and again that he could master both comedy and drama. While some tried to pigeonhole him into one genre, Williams always insisted that his choices were driven by the quality of the roles, not a preference for one style over another. He thrived on opportunities that let him stretch his talents and connect with viewers in new ways.

Unmatched Improvisation on Set

Many fans remember Williams best for his comedic performances, especially in films like Mrs. Doubtfire, Flubber, and RV. These movies showcased his quick wit and ability to make every moment feel spontaneous. On the set of Mrs. Doubtfire, his improvisational skills were so legendary that the director, Chris Columbus, set up multiple cameras to capture every angle of the cast’s reactions. Williams’ constant riffing led to so much footage that they ended up with two million feet of film, a testament to his boundless creativity.

His approach to the character was hands-on from the very beginning. Williams experimented with different voices for Mrs. Doubtfire during preproduction, searching for the perfect sound. Columbus recalled, “Robin started playing around with the voice, but with him, it doesn’t take a long time to get the voice. He probably had it within ten minutes, and we all agreed that’s exactly how Mrs Doubtfire should sound.”

Transforming Into Mrs. Doubtfire

For Williams, finding the right voice was the key to unlocking the character. He once described the transformation as,

[It was a] bit like demonic possession. Once in the right makeup and finding that voice, I was so freed up. You know, that very sweet voice.

He joked that his first attempt sounded like Margaret Thatcher and terrified children, so he softened it, making Mrs. Doubtfire gentle and endearing, even when delivering sharp lines. The heart of the film, he explained, came from a lesson he learned during his own divorce:

The idea of that film, which literally came from a divorce counsellor in my first marriage, was, ‘Don’t use your children as little hostages. Just treat them with love and respect and you can get through this.’

Completing the Character

Once the voice was set, everything else fell into place. Columbus noted that while some details shifted during filming, the core of the character remained unchanged. The final touch was the glasses—when Williams put them on, the team knew they had found the complete Mrs. Doubtfire. This attention to detail and commitment to authenticity is what made Williams’ performance so memorable and beloved by audiences everywhere.