Sarah Michelle Gellar Felt ‘Protective’ of Robin Williams as He Struggled with Depression Before His Death

Sarah Michelle Gellar looks back on the relationship she shared with friend and co-star Robin Williams and how his untimely death helped change her perspective on life.

Gellar, 46, was joined by Shannen Doherty Let’s be clear podcast on Monday, where she talked about how she felt “very protective” of Williams when they starred in the CBS comedy The crazy ones together from September 2013 to April 2014.

The project, in which the two portrayed a father-daughter duo, ultimately marked Williams’ final television role. He died by suicide on August 11, 2014 at the age of 63, and was later found to have dementia with Lewy bodies, the second most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.

In the podcast, Gellar explained that she signed on for the series even though her son Rocky James was only three months old because of the opportunity to work with Williams.

“I went straight back to work because I was desperate to work with Robin,” she explained. – When that opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t miss it.

Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar in “The Crazy Ones”.

Richard Cartwright/CBS via Getty

Remembering the life of Robin Williams in photographs

But once on set, Gellar said she was “one of the few people who knew … that he was really struggling, that he wasn’t doing well.”

“I soaked up every moment I could with him,” she continued of Williams, who struggled with his mental health throughout his prolific career. “I felt like the work was the easy part for me. I was just making sure that, you know, it was good and that it wasn’t being overworked.”

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star stated that “several people” on the show knew about Williams and they were all “very protective” of him. She added that because working on a TV show is “hard work,” she and those other people wanted to help him “without giving away secrets.”

Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar in “The Crazy Ones”.

Richard Cartwright/CBS via Getty

Sarah Michelle Gellar explains why Robin Williams’ death forced her to take a break from acting

After Williams died, Gellar recalled to Doherty, 52, how “everything just stopped.” She said his death inspired her to take some time away from Hollywood and spend time with her children. (In addition to son Rocky, now 11, she and husband Freddie Prinze Jr. have daughter Charlotte Grace, 14.)

“I just said, ‘What am I doing? Like, my kids are really young. I’ve lived my whole life, I don’t want to miss this… I don’t want to disappear when Rocky takes this first step,'” Gellar recalled thinking. “That’s what made me take all those years off is Robin. Not just him, but you just know, those moments in life that stop you in your tracks.”

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Doherty quickly interjected and added, “[It] it gives you a different kind of clarity. And your priorities change.”

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Prior to Gellar’s interview with Doherty, she shared exclusively with PEOPLE in 2022 that after Williams’ death, she “needed that break from being a parent who [she] wanted to be.”

“I need to be here in these early formative years of my children’s lives,” she said at the time. “I’ve been working my whole life. When I had my kids – and it was right after Robin passed away – there was so much going on in my life and I just said, ‘I’ve got to take a break’.”

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line by dialing 988, texting “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Line at 741741 or going to 988lifeline.org.

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Source: HIS Education