Pierce Brosnan has shed light on the moment Robin Williams chucked a lime at his head and improvised the most iconic line in Mrs. Doubtfire.
The 1993 family comedy film stars the late actor as Daniel Hillard, a divorced father who hatches a plan to dress as an older British woman to convince his ex-wife to hire him as a nanny.
Brosnan plays Stuart ‘stu’ Dunmeyer, Miranda Hillard’s new boyfriend, and Williams and Brosnan’s characters go head-to-head.
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It turns out Williams’ ‘run-by fruiting’ line was completely improvised.
Brosnan, 69, shared details about his time working with the late actor on the film as he recalled filming opposite him.
In the scene, Williams chucks a lime at Brosnan’s head after his character calls Daniel Hillard ‘a loser’.
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Daniel – as Mrs. Doubtfire – blames the flying fruit on a vexed kitchen employee.
“Oh sir! I saw it! Some angry member of the kitchen staff, did you not tip them? Oh, the terrorist they ran that way, it was a run-by fruiting! I'll get them sir, don't worry,” he says.
“’Run-by fruiting,’ it wasn’t in the script,” Brosnan told GQ. “I get the beers, I'm walking back and thinking, ‘This is going to take forever to hit me on the head.’ The first one missed. And the second one — is history.”
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In another tidbit from the film – and a testament to method acting - the Die Another Day star said he didn’t see Williams out of his Mrs. Doubtfire costume until filming wrapped.
“I remember going up to San Francisco the first day. I went into the makeup trailer, and Robin was in there with a Hawaiian shirt on, big hairy arms and cargo shorts with hairy legs, but he had the head of Mrs. Doubtfire," he shared.
Williams eventually reverted to his true self and introduced himself to Brosnan out of character.
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“I went to work every day on that movie, and I was always working with Mrs. Doubtfire. It wasn’t until the end of the movie that I met Robin,” he recalled.
Williams died at the age of 63 by suicide at his home in Paradise Cay, California in 2014. The beloved comedian and actor, who was renowned for his improvisational skills, was best known for his roles in the films Jumanji, Good Will Hunting, a voice role as the Genie in Aladdin and the Night at the Museum trilogy.
His autopsy revealed undiagnosed Lewy body disease which is a form of dementia.
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Topics: Film and TV, Robin Williams
Gregory Robinson