Nathan Lane Looks Back on Filming The Birdcage with Robin Williams: 'He Was Incredibly Generous' (Exclusive)

Nathan Lane has fond memories of acting alongside Robin Williams.

As Lane, 68, stepped out at the 2024 Drama Desk Awards on Monday, the actor recalled his time on the set of the 1996 comedy classic. Birdcage with Williams, who died at age 63 in 2014.

“It was an extremely happy experience,” says Lane. “When [director] Mike Nichols asked me to do it, I remember him saying, ‘Nathan, I only want good people in this movie.’ And I said, ‘Okay, I’m sure there are good people in show business who would be willing to do this.’ And he did.”

“He assembled an extremely nice group of people who were also very, very talented and led by Robin, who was the loveliest and sweetest guy in the world, and so talented,” the actor adds of Williams. – He was incredibly generous to me.

Lane received a Golden Globe nomination in 1997 for his performance in the Birdcage, in which he and Williams memorably portrayed a gay couple posing as straight to please their son’s future in-laws. The film marked a transitional moment in Lane’s career, and he previously praised Williams for supporting him on the film’s press tour.

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Nathan Lane and Robin Williams.

Dominik Bindl/Getty; Ben Gabbe/Getty

During the March 2023 appearance Sunday TODAY on NBC, Lane recalled that Williams helped Lane dodge Oprah Winfrey’s questions about his sexuality when they appeared together on The Oprah Winfrey Show. At the time, Lane had yet to publicly come out as gay, telling host Willie Geist at the time that he was “not ready at all” to share that information.

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Robin Williams and Nathan Lane in ‘The Birdcage’.

Lorey Sebastian/United Artists/Kobal/Shutterstock

“I don’t think Oprah was trying to throw me out, but I told Robin upfront, ‘I’m not ready. I’m so scared to go out there and talk to Oprah. I’m not ready to talk about I’m gay on national television, I’m not ready,'” Lane said at the time. “And he said, ‘Oh, it’s okay, don’t worry about it, we don’t have to talk about it, we won’t talk about it.’ ”

A video of the couple’s appearance on the show, available on YouTube, shows Williams interjecting to give Lane time to come up with an answer when Winfrey asked him about his sexuality.

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Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are filming The Birdcage.

United Artists / Getty Images

Lane appeared at the Drama Desk Awards to accept the Harold S. Prince Lifetime Achievement Award in the Theater. He has been performing on Broadway since 1982, with roles in as many as 38 productions, according to Playbill.

“It’s where I started and it’s always going to be home, and it’s where I think you have the most freedom as an actor,” Lane tells PEOPLE of his love of acting on stage.

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