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

Mar. 15, 2025

Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar.Photo:Richard Cartwright/CBS via Getty

Richard Cartwright/CBS via Getty

Sarah Michelle Gellaris looking back on the bond she shared with friend and costarRobin Williams, and how his untimely death helped shift her perspective about life.

Gellar, 46, joinedShannen Dohertyon herLet’s Be Clearpodcast on Monday, where she discussed feeling “very protective” of Williams while they costarred on the CBS sitcomThe Crazy Onestogetherfrom September 2013 until April 2014.

On the podcast, Gellar explained that she signed on to do the series even though her son Rocky James was just three months old because of the chance to work with Williams.

“I went back to work right away because I was desperate to work with Robin,” she explained. “When that opportunity came my way, there was no way to pass it up.”

Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar in “The Crazy Ones”.Richard Cartwright/CBS via Getty

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

“I soaked up every moment I could with him,” she continued of Williams, whostruggled with his mental healththroughout his prolific career. “I felt that the work was the easy part for me. It was just making sure that, you know, he was okay and that they weren’t working him too hard.”

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, who is now 11, she and husbandFreddie Prinze Jr.also share 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 be gone when Rocky takes this first step,'” Gellar recalled thinking. “That’s what made me take all those years off was Robin. Not just him, but just you know, those moments in your life stop you in your tracks.”

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

Prior to Gellar’s interview with Doherty, she sharedexclusively with PEOPLEin 2022 that after Williams’ death, she “needed that break to be the parent that [she] wanted to be.”

“I need to be here for these early formative years of my kids’ lives,” she shared at the time. “I’ve been working my entire life. When I had kids — and it was right after Robinpassed away— there was justso much going onin my life and I just said, ‘I need to take a break.'”

source: people.com