Sally Field reveals she improvised one of “Mrs. Doubtfire”’s most iconic lines
Sally Field reveals she improvised one of “Mrs. Doubtfire”’s most iconic lines
Raechal ShewfeltFri, August 14, 2026 at 1:25 AM UTC
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Robin Williams and Sally Field in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (1993)Credit: Disney+Ket Points -
Sally Field explained how her Mrs. Doubtfire line “the whole time” came about.
The two-time Oscar winner played Miranda, who was divorcing Robin Williams’ Daniel in the 1993 comedy.
Field said she and the late Williams had created a relationship by the time that scene was filmed.
Sally Field just explained the origins of one of her most famous lines, from 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire.
It comes in the scene in which Field’s character Miranda learns the true identity of the delightful and helpful title character. Plot twist: It’s Robin Williams’ Daniel, Miranda’s estranged ex-husband! He wants to have more time with their kids, who are played by Mara Wilson, Matthew Lawrence, and Lisa Jakub.
Field, as Miranda, reacts by saying “the whole time” increasingly frantically. It’s all very Sally Field.
“That was me improvising,” the two-time Oscar winner told The Hollywood Reporter for a story published Thursday. “That whole sequence, we shot it at the end of the film. It was several days in that restaurant. But that moment, that is an ad-lib because the line was [supposed to be] very calm. ‘The whole time’ was an improvisation.”
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She said her late costar, Williams, who played Daniel and, of course, Mrs. Doubtfire, deserves some of the credit.
“Robin and I had created a relationship, a world where we improvised a lot,” Field said of Williams, who died in 2014, when he was 63. “It allowed Mrs. Doubtfire to come alive because it was such a weird circumstance.”
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Field, whose movies also include Smokey and the Bandit, Steel Magnolias, Forrest Gump, and Lincoln, said the people involved in making the comedy hadn’t anticipated it becoming the phenomenon it’s gone on to be. It was one of the highest grossing movies the year it was released and continues to pop up at movie theaters.
“I think they thought it would be successful. Robin was at the height of just … brilliance,” Field said. “But I don’t think anyone saw it being as huge as it was.”
Part of that was because of lines like hers.
Sally Field on June 8 in Los AngelesCredit: Amanda Edwards/Getty
“The script wasn’t what was on the page because of what Robin and I were allowed to do by [director] Chris Columbus. We did not want — and Robin felt this strongly, too — the mother to be the villain,” Field said. “We both felt that there were no villains in this divorce. Marriages don’t always last. Sometimes there are no bad guys. It’s time to move on. Without getting in the way of the comedy, it was a delicate dance to allow her to not be mean.”
Field defended her character, who’s role in the relationship is being the grownup, the one who, for instance, shuts down a wild birthday party he throws for their son in the beginning of the movie. Miranda also doesn’t break into funny voices.
“She was hurt to lose her marriage, too,” Field said, “but he was impossible. Who could be married to this guy?”
Field’s latest movie, Remarkably Bright Creatures, is available on Netflix.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
