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I always defend her.
Because I think Lydia was taking on a lot of responsibility.
In her 2018 follow-up,Not Just Me, she described her childhood struggles with debilitating anxiety and depression.
Whatever happened to the actor who plays Lydia in Mrs. Doubtfire?
Doubtfires lasting power in its truthful portrayal of family dynamics.
You left acting behind at 22.
Was acting something youd expressed interest in as a child?
No, it was because of an entirely random encounter.
This guy came up to us, and he worked for an advertising agency.
They were casting for a commercial, and he wanted me to be in it.
It was never something that I had really dreamt of when I was 2 years old.
It was just something that felt very random.
My parents were not at all film-industry people, we were just very normal people.
They took the card, and we left.
They called, turned out that he was legitimate.
I was just like, Sure, an audition, that sounds fun.
From there, they sent me to an agent, who sent me out on more auditions.
It entirely snowballed from there, and I ended up with an 18-year career.
It was something I enjoyed once I was in it for the most part.
It got me out of school, I got to travel, I got to meet wonderful people.
But it was never something that was this deep-seated desire for me to do when I was really young.
What do you recall about the audition process forMrs.
Were you aware that this was going to be a movie starring Robin Williams?
Yes, we knew that.
I dont remember the initial auditions, but I remember the screen test.
That was the point where I realized this was a big deal.
That was where I met Matt [Lawrence] and Mara [Wilson] for the first time.
They would mix and match the actors for the three kids roles.
Part of that is that I am an only child and always desperate for siblings.
I was instantly protective of her.
We worked through some scenes with Robin.
But honestly, I was way more excited about Matt and Mara.
My focus during the screen test was How do I get to spend more time with them?
because we just felt like family.
Do you remember the moment you realized that this older British-sounding lady was, in fact, Robin Williams?
I think we were the guinea pigs to see if it could actually be believable, and it was.
And then we put it together.
I just felt so stupid.
To what extent have the three of you kept in touch over the years?
We did lose touch for quite a while.
She was working a lot.
I was working a lot.
Texting wasnt a thing.
So it was really hard to keep in touch when we were on location.
I remember really missing her.
Then, when we got back into touch, it was like no time had passed.
Doubtfire nobody else but Matt and Mara and I understand what that experience was like as a child.
Its really nice to be able to connect with them and feel like they get it.
What do you remember from that day?
Was that scene as much fun to shoot as it looked?
That was a really good day at work.
That was areallygood day at work.
I got to spend quite a bit of time with a baby cow named Norman.
I just remember thinking,Theyre paying me for this.
How are they paying me for this?
I seem to remember you and Norman making it into that scene, no?
It is such a vibrant city, and we were there long enough to feel like we belonged there.
It wasnt just that we were visiting for a week.
We really got to know the place.
I was 14, so you go through this phase where youre obsessed with Alcatraz.
We were living at the St. Francis Hotel.
That was its own level of fantastic.
First of all, its just a beautiful hotel.
We lived there for such a long time and got to know all the staff who were so wonderful.
Matt had his golden retriever who was living at the hotel as well.
We just had these wonderful kid experiences in this hotel.
Mara and I ordered those little butterfly chrysalids.
Looking back, thats an incredibly important part of being a kid actor.
Sally is just everything you would hope she would be.
That does not happen on all sets, and it can be really difficult for kids.
Both Robin and Sally were really always looking out for us, and thats a pretty amazing thing.
I didnt have that much contact with Pierce during filming.
He was always absolutely lovely, but he was a little bit standoffish.
Onscreen, we didnt need to have that much interaction or chemistry.
He was the moms boyfriend he wasnt really involved with the kids very much.
Thats just reasonable boundaries.
What are your memories surrounding the pivotal restaurant scene, when Mrs. Doubtfire is uncovered to be Daniel?
We knew that it had to be done right.
What was interesting for me about the restaurant sequence was what was happeningoffset.
That was the first time that we had started filming in more public places.
People would come and set up to watch.
They would be outside the restaurant, and they had barricades.
It was at that point that we all got personal security.
We had Hells Angels that were assigned to us as our security team.
My security bodyguard was named Fuzzy, and I loved him.
That was the first time I had ever experienced that.
Robin and Sally were used to it.
Pierce was used to it.
Im a massive introvert.
Realizing that being in public was going to be different for a little while was a pretty eye-opening experience.
I have to assume you faced the same issue?
How did you deal with being asked inappropriate questions, especially when it was all so new to you?
I never received any training on that.
I dont think that Mara did either.
I just had to be the nice, good girl who was easy to work with.
Because thats the reputation you want if you want to continue working.
I think that has changed somewhat.
Theres more awareness around this.
But certainly, when I was a teenager, that was not the case.
There is not a clear-cut good guy and a bad guy.
This is not a battle between good and evil.
This is not something that ends with a happy ending or a sad ending.
It evolves, and it exists in this complicated gray area in which we all live.
Even if it means that it doesnt look like you expected it to work, can that still work?
How did you get into that mind-set at the time?
Being 14 is incredibly difficult.
Its just a really tough age.
Lydia was going through some typical 14-year-old angst.
Shes trying to be an adult but is still a child.
Its that space that shes trying to navigate, which is really difficult.
I think when I was 14, I pretty much had teenage angst covered.
I knew how to do that.
I was an incredibly sensitive person.
I was highly emotional.
I already had a lot of experience with anxiety.
Because, of course, under all of that is pain.
I remember seeing aninterviewwhere you spoke about how Robin honestly discussed subjects like anxiety and depression with you.
How did that land with you at the time?
Especially since youve described yourself as an anxious child?
Was it in any way a comfort to know that adults deal with anxiety too?
It was incredibly meaningful to me at the time.
Looking back at it, I realized that it was really brave of him.
I was always a highly sensitive kid, and that worked well for my job as an actor.
Its really good to be able to cry instantly when youre an actor.
Being sensitive, being that kind of tortured-artist soul worked well for me.
Especially back then, it was not something that was talked about very often.
