Broadway star and celebrated actor Nathan Lane has recalled a touching memory with the late Robin Williams.
Speaking with the Today Show US, Lane, who has starred in a multitude of roles on Broadway, including as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family, and also voiced the meerkat Timon in The Lion King, recalled a memorable Oprah interview he and his The Birdcage co-star did in 1996.
“I don’t think Oprah was trying to out me, but I said to Robin beforehand, ‘You know, I’m not prepared, I’m so scared of going out there and talking to Oprah,” he recalled.
Watch the clip above.
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Lane continued, ‘”I’m not prepared to discuss that I’m gay on national television. I’m not ready.'”
“He said, ‘Oh it’s alright, we don’t have to talk about it, we won’t talk about it’. And then of course [Oprah] was like, ‘How come you’re so good at that girly stuff?'” the actor said, referring to his character in The Birdcage who is a drag queen.
“And then Robin swoops in, and diverts Oprah… and protects me, because he was a saint,” he added.
Lane went on to explain that at the time, The Birdcage was his first major movie role, and he was afraid of suddenly switching from a little-known Broadway star to a household name.
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“I was terrified. I just wasn’t ready to do that,” he said. “It’s great that everybody feels comfortable [to come out], but homophobia is still alive and well.”
After the film, Lane went on to continue performing on Broadway, and appeared in a number of other films, including Mousehunt, Stuart Little and Mirror Mirror.
In his career, Lane has won three Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, three Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
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