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Sir Sam Neill marveled at how ‘inconsolably solitary and deeply depressed’ his Bicentennial Man co-star Robin Williams was in 1999 despite being at the height of his career fresh off his Oscar win for Good Will Hunting.
‘He had fame, he was rich, people loved him, great kids – the world was his oyster,’ the 75-year-old Irish-born Kiwi wrote in his new memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?
‘And yet I felt more sorry for him than I can express. He was the loneliest man on a lonely planet.’
Sam (born Nigel) fondly recalled having ‘great chats’ with the legendary comedian in their trailers on the set of Chris Columbus’ dismally-reviewed sci-fi dramedy, which only earned $87.4M back from its $100M budget.
‘We would talk about this and that, sometimes even about the work we were about to do,’ Neill wrote.
Contradiction: Sir Sam Neill (R) marveled at how ‘inconsolably solitary and deeply depressed’ his Bicentennial Man co-star Robin Williams (L) was in 1999 despite being at the height of his career fresh off his Oscar win for Good Will Hunting
‘He was irresistibly, outrageously, irrepressibly, gigantically funny.’
Despite this, the two-time Emmy nominee claimed Robin was ‘the saddest person I ever met’ and he ‘could sense the dark space inside’ but ‘as soon as he flung open the door, he was on.’
Sam wrote: ‘Funny stuff just poured out of him. And everybody was in stitches, and when everybody was in stitches, you could see Robin was happy.’
Williams – who was only a Tony away from elite EGOT status – was incorrectly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three months before his August 2014 suicide at age 63, but he was actually suffering from Lewy body dementia.
The Chicago-born funnyman is survived by his widow Susan Schneider and three children – son Zak, nearly 40; daughter Zelda, 33; and son Cody, 31 – from his two prior marriages.
‘I was acutely aware of my dad’s struggles with depression, it manifested in addiction at times, and he took great lengths to support his well-being and mental health, especially when he was challenged. It was something that was a daily consideration for him,’ Zak said on The Dr. Oz Show in 2020.
‘The main thing for me was noticing how he went to great lengths to support himself while he could show up for others. It was clear that he prioritized his mental health throughout most of his life, at least that I experienced with him.’
The 75-year-old Irish-born Kiwi wrote in his new memoir Did I Ever Tell You This: ‘He had fame, he was rich, people loved him, great kids – the world was his oyster. And yet I felt more sorry for him than I can express. He was the loneliest man on a lonely planet’
Sam (born Nigel) fondly recalled having ‘great chats’ with the legendary comedian in their trailers on the set of Chris Columbus’ dismally-reviewed sci-fi dramedy, which only earned $87.4M back from its $100M budget
 Neill wrote: ‘We would talk about this and that, sometimes even about the work we were about to do. He was irresistibly, outrageously, irrepressibly, gigantically funny’
‘Funny stuff just poured out of him’: Despite this, the two-time Emmy nominee claimed Robin was ‘the saddest person I ever met’ and he ‘could sense the dark space inside’ but ‘as soon as he flung open the door, he was on’
Williams – who was only a Tony away from elite EGOT status – was incorrectly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three months before his August 2014 suicide at age 63, but he was actually suffering from Lewy body dementia (pictured with his family in 1999)
Legacy: The Chicago-born funnyman is survived by his widow Susan Schneider and three children – son Zak (L, pictured in 2012), nearly 40; daughter Zelda, 33; and son Cody, 31 – from his two prior marriages
Zak said on The Dr. Oz Show in 2020: ‘I was acutely aware of my dad’s struggles with depression, it manifested in addiction at times, and he took great lengths to support his well-being and mental health, especially when he was challenged. It was something that was a daily consideration for him’
Speaking of health struggles, Neill only wrote his 416-page tell-all – which hit shelves Tuesday – after being diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma last year.
‘I was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer and that left me with a lot of time on my hands. I wasn’t able to work and I was stuck on my own in my flat and I decided I would start writing,’ The Twelve star – who boasts 1.1M social media followers – said in his book trailer.
‘It was a dark time for me last year but writing the book also had a sort of therapeutic effect in that I found myself very grateful for so many things. And that light came into sharp relief against the darkness. I’m glad I wrote it. It was good for me. It’s not a cancer book. It’s actually a book about life and love and laughter and all the weird and wonderful baroque things that have happened to me.’
Sam will next play the villainous J.W. Wells & Co. middle manager Dennis Tanner in Jeffrey Walker’s fantasy flick The Portable Door, which premieres April 7 on MGM+ in the States and Sky Cinema/Now TV in the UK.
The Jim Henson Company-produced magical corporate tale also features Christoph Waltz, Patrick Gibson, Sophie Wilde, and Miranda Otto.
‘The book had a sort of therapeutic effect’: Speaking of health struggles, Neill only wrote his 416-page tell-all – which hit shelves Tuesday – after being diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma last year
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