Over time, the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire has become a staple of classic cinema. It even went on to inspire a stage musical of the same name in 2019. Thirty-three years later, star Sally Field still has incredible memories from the movie set.
In a new interview, Field details the safety and comfort she and Robin Williams experienced on set and how it led her to improvise one of the best lines in the entire movie.
Sally Field & Robin Williams Felt Safe to Ad-Lib Lines
In Mrs. Doubtfire, Sally Field’s character has an incredulous response when she discovers her ex-husband, played by Robin Williams, has been masquerading as her children’s nanny. During the confession, Sally Field keeps repeating, “The whole time?” in complete disbelief.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Field opened up about the iconic scene. Interestingly enough, the stars went completely off-script.
“That was me improvising,” the 79-year-old admitted. “That whole sequence, we shot it at the end of the film. It was several days in that restaurant. But that moment, that is an ad-lib because the line was [supposed to be] very calm.”
The improv scene stemmed from the comfort that Robin Williams and Sally Field shared.
“‘The whole time’ was an improvisation,” Field remembered. “Robin [Williams] and I had created a relationship, a world where we improvised a lot. It allowed ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ to come alive because it was such a weird circumstance.”
During a “Mrs. Doubtfire” reunion this year, the child stars recalled how much they loved working with Robin Williams.
“One of my favorite memories is when we were doing the petting zoo scene, and we were outside and I’m riding the pony, and he took his hat off, and he put oats into his hat for the pony to eat,” Mara Wilson, who played the youngest child, shared during the panel. “And the pony ate it out of his hat. Then, he turned to me with this hat, full of oats and pony slobber, and said, ‘Wanna wear it?’ And that’s just classic Robin.”
The ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ Stars Were Allowed Input in the Film’s Direction
Looking back, Sally Field and the rest of the “Mrs. Doubtfire” team felt certain the film would be popular with audiences. But no one predicted that it would become part of the pop culture zeitgeist.
“I think they thought it would be successful,” Field told The Hollywood Reporter. “Robin was at the height of just … brilliance. But I don’t think anyone saw it being as huge as it was.”
The dynamic between Robin Williams and Sally Field was incredibly important to the film. The production team allowed them to have some creative control.
“The script wasn’t what was on the page because of what Robin and I were allowed to do by [director] Chris Columbus,” the actress continued. “We did not want — and Robin felt this strongly, too — the mother to be the villain. We both felt that there were no villains in this divorce. Marriages don’t always last.”
“Sometimes there are no bad guys,” Field admitted. “It’s time to move on. Without getting in the way of the comedy, it was a delicate dance to allow her to not be mean. She was hurt to lose her marriage, too, but he was impossible. Who could be married to this guy?”
“Mrs. Doubtfire” is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ with a subscription.
