Robin Williams is widely regarded as one of the greatest comic actors of all time. But behind his famous smile, he was plagued by personal demons and took his own life in 2014 at the age of 63.
After his death, his daughter Zelda summed up the immensity of the loss on Twitter, writing: "The world is forever a little darker, less colorful and less full of laughter in his absence."
Now, to honor his brilliance on the fifth anniversary of his death, heartbreaking deleted scenes from Mrs. Doubtfire have been circulating online.
These aren't just any old deleted scenes, either. They show Williams' true range as an actor.
On the off chance that your memory needs refreshing, the 80s classic centers around a nasty divorce in which Williams' character, Daniel Hillard, loses custody of his children to his ex-wife, then dresses up as a woman so that he can see them in secret as their housekeeper.
To see the heartbreaking scene for yourself, check out the video below:In the scene, after turning up later to her Spelling Bee, Williams' on-screen daughter asks why he simply can't be Mrs. Doubtfire all the time or pretend that he and his mother are happy like they used to be, and with impressive emotional range, he tells her that no one can act all the time. It's nigh on impossible to watch without feeling a little teary-eyed.
Director Chris Columbus explained that the scene never made the movie's final cut because it was simply deemed "too heartbreaking".
Another emotional scene which was cut for the same reason is featured below. It revolves around the fallout of Mrs. Doubtfire's true identity being unveiled.
In it, Williams perfectly portrayed the heartbreak in his character's eyes:So while Williams' might have earned his place in cinematic history because of his ability as a comic actor (other notable performances include the likes of Flubber and Jumanji), these deleted scenes are a testament to the fact that he could really do anything.
His ability to break our hearts onscreen is also more poignant in light of his own struggles, which have forever changed how we read quotes like the one below:
"I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it's like to feel absolutely worthless and they don't want anybody else to feel like that."
