'Mrs. Doubtfire' child star was expelled from school while filming — then Robin Williams wrote a letter
She would mail her schoolwork but received a letter from school saying she shouldn't come back as the arrangement did not work for them
Robin Williams was not only a talented actor but an incredible human being as well, and this story is just another example of that. During a reunion of Hillard siblings from the cast of "Mrs. Doubtfire" on the "The Brotherly Love" podcast, Lisa Jakub recalled how she was thrown out of high school at 15 while filming Mrs. Doubtfire, and how Williams stepped in to support her education. Not only that, but he also wrote Lawrence a letter of recommendation for college years later, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
Jakub was attending a Canadian high school as a 9th grader when they were shooting the film. She was away for four months, so they set up a system where she would mail her schoolwork back and forth, since there was no internet at the time. However, a few months later, she received a letter from the school saying she shouldn't come back because the arrangement did not work for them.
At 15 years old, Jakub was devastated. Williams saw her upset and wrote a letter to the principal asking them to support her career and education. What happened next, when the school got the letter, was unexpected. She said, "The principal got the letter, framed the letter, put it up in the office, and didn't ask me to come back. Amazing."
Despite not going back to high school, Jakub managed to get into the University of Virginia. She recalled an incident when a teaching assistant took a dig at her for not having a high school education. She explained, "I took a statistics class, and when I got [a grade] back, the TA had written: 'Dear Doubtfire Girl, you got a B-" She learned new techniques while acting with Williams. In her words, "We had always used a script, so I knew when it was my turn to speak, I could say my line. Then you go on set with Robin, and it's like, who the f*ck knows what's going to happen now? It really was so much more meditative than what I'd done before, which always felt really rote."
Teaching child actors on set can be tricky and does not work the way a traditional classroom would. Judith Phillips has taught several child actors on films such as the final Harry Potter film, The King's Speech, Jurassic World, and Assassin's Creed.
In an interview with The Guardian, she revealed, "There is no average day. I could be on call from as early as 8 a.m., but I might not see my pupil until 3 p.m.... Time is money on the film set, so when you get a knock on the door saying they need your pupil on set, it’s not a case of finishing up what you’re working on – it’s put your pen down and go." Phillips shared that the maximum number of tutoring hours a day for each pupil is five hours. She also added that lessons can be tricky if her pupils are in their costumes because they have to be extra careful with the kind of stationery they are using.
Mrs. Doubtfire was released in 1993 and earned $20.4 million in just three days. It earned $441 million at the box office worldwide and won an Oscar for Best Makeup in the following year. Williams also won an Academy Award for 'Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role).'
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