Fans of Robin Williams sure have their opinions about what his best film was. Honestly, there is no shortage of amazing Robin Williams films that you can track down on numerous streaming services. While Hook may not have been the critics' favorite movie, it sure moved an entire generation of moviegoers. So many prominent people, including Travis Scott, credit Robin Williams as an inspiration, but his performance in Hook really moved kids. He was Peter Pan, after all.
According to a fascinating expose by UPROXX about the actors who played the Lost Boys in Steven Spielberg's Hook, Robin did more than just inspire the audiences. Here's how his young co-stars experienced the beloved actor.
Robin Was A Big Kid
In the expose by UPROXX, Dante Basco (Rufio), Thomas Tulak (Too Small), Raushan Hammond (Thud Butt), James Madio (Don't Ask), and Brett Willis (Later) were all interviewed about their experiences working with Robin Williams. While they also worked with legends like Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts, the then-kids spent most of their time on set with Robin, who was already extremely famous at the time.
"Robin will always have a place in my heart because he was never like Mr. Professional Actor," Thomas Tulak explained to UPROXX. "He was just a big kid. Of all the kids on the set, he was the one kid that I got along with the most even though he was a middle-aged man."
By the sounds of it, Robin Williams was precisely what you'd expect him to be.
"He took us all under his wing and he had this amazing ability to keep us all entertained and just at the end of this rope waiting for any little thing he could do so he could laugh. It kept us all together," James Madio explained.
How Did Robin Williams Relate To The Kids?
Of course, Robin Williams had a natural way of relating to kids. He could keep just about anyone entertained. The adults loved his edgy, wild, and utterly positive sense of humor and the kids definitely gravitated toward the latter. But a few of the stars could relate to him on a more adult level, especially the eldest, Dante Basco, who played Rufio.
"Of course I grew up with Mork and Mindy, I grew up with so many of his films, but to this day one of my favorite films is Dead Poet’s Society," Dante said of Robin's work. "So we got to talk about poetry in our off time and he would talk about poets and poems he loved, I would talk about poems I loved and I started writing poetry during that time. It was really fascinating."
The kids loved playing with Robin in the treehouse set. Robin would even find ways of helping them conquer their fears and insecurities. Of course, he did this in the most charming way possible.
"They had me put on a harness, and they had a giant aircraft cable going up my pants so, just in case I fell off, I would dangle by the cable. And Robin Williams looked at me, because I was terrified, and he said, 'Hey, buddy, don’t worry. If you fall, you’ll just be dangling by your underwear,'" Raushan Hammond said.
"[Robin] would come in and knock on my trailer after a day of shooting and my mom would answer, and he’d stand there with his hands behind his back, 'Can Tommy come out to play?'" Thomas Tulak said. "Then we’d go and I’d have more fun playing with him than anyone else on the set. There was no air of, oh this is Robin Williams, star-struck. He was just a big kid who was a best friend."
Robin also acted like a dad to some of the kids, especially Raushan Hammond who found himself being roughed up by some of his co-stars.
"Robin Williams would see this going on in-between shots and he would come over, like he was my dad, and he would turn the other kids straight," Raushan said. "It was really surprising because we always saw Robin Williams always joking, always laughing, always doing the craziest things. And when he would do that all the kids would stop because they were so shocked that the 10-year-old child in him would stop for a minute or two."
Dealing With Robin's Death
Like every single one of Robin's fans, the actors who played The Lost Boys in Hook took his death hard. Perhaps they took it even harder as they built a personal relationship with him. But like us, they mostly saw a man full of happiness, not the one plagued by the disease that ultimately encouraged him to take his life.
"I took Robin’s death very, very hard," Thomas admitted. "I think I locked myself away and shut off my internet for days. I did nothing but watch his movies and cry for days."
"I was shocked and definitely saddened, " James Madio said to UPROXX. "It was hard for me to understand. I only remember him as this man full of life and happiness and he was giving to others and would lighten up a room and he’s incredibly infectious with people and just so warm and engaging with you. I know these are all words a lot of people use about him and they were true. I’m not one to speak otherwise, and it was tough for me to understand that someone with so much and how real that was and how real that disease can be."