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Robin Williams Improvised One of Mrs. Doubtfire's Most Iconic Scenes, Recalls Pierce Brosnan

robin williams
robin williams

20th Century Fox/Blue Wolf/Kobal/Shutterstock

Pierce Brosnan vividly recalls meeting Robin Williams for the first time. The moment occurred on Brosnan's first day of filming Mrs. Doubtfire while the late legendary actor was in full makeup, but still wearing his regular clothes, going back and forth between voices to crack up his fellow actor.

In a recent career retrospective video for GQ, Brosnan, 69, revisited some of his most iconic films, including the 1993 comedy classic, directed by Chris Columbus and starring Williams, Brosnan and Sally Field. In the segment, Brosnan shared two fantastic anecdotes about Williams, including their initial meeting.

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"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 harry arms and cargo shorts with harry legs — but he had the head of Mrs. Doubtfire," Brosnan recalled.

RELATED: Director Chris Columbus Explains Why a Mrs. Doubtfire Sequel Is 'Impossible'

Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan
Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan

20th Century Fox/Blue Wolf/Kobal/Shutterstock

Williams then went back and forth between his speaking voice and Mrs. Doubtfire for a bit of razzing, he said. "Oh, you're very handsome. Give us a kiss," Brosnan said, imitating Williams' character, adding in a deep voice, like Williams' speaking voice, "Hey there, buddy. Nice to see you. Glad you came up."

Brosnan also explained how Williams improvised one of the film's most classic moments: the "run-by fruiting," in which his character Stuart Dunmeyer got hit in the back of the head with a lime thrown by Mrs. Doubtfire that she blamed on an angry staff member at the county club the family was visiting.

"It wasn't in the script," Brosnan said of the line. "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."

RELATED: Mrs. Doubtfire Cast: Where Are They Now?

In an interview last December, director Columbus said that it would be unfeasible to ever do a sequel, as Williams was irreplaceable.

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"It's impossible. It's just impossible," Columbus said of anyone else playing one of Williams' iconic role. "I just was reading a lot of reviews, ironically, today and about the Broadway show [which opened in New York this week]. And this guy who's playing him [Rob McClure] is supposedly very energetic and phenomenal. But he's no Robin. Robin was one-of-a-kind."

The Oscar-winning actor died Aug. 11, 2014. He was 63.