“It was obvious to me that all that power and that charisma came at a certain cost,” he said of his costar and mentor.

Ethan Hawke remembers sensing Robin Williams’ private struggles on *Dead Poets Society set: *‘It was taxing’

"It was obvious to me that all that power and that charisma came at a certain cost," he said of his costar and mentor.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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December 7, 2025 7:49 p.m. ET

Robin Williams and Ethan Hawke in 'Dead Poets Society'. Credit:

Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Even at 18, Ethan Hawke could tell that his *Dead Poets Society *costar Robin Williams was troubled.

Reminiscing about his time filming the future classic in 1989, the actor told *CBS Sunday Morning*'s Tracy Smith that Williams' 2014 death does not change the way he sees the movie now because at the time, he said, "I was aware of the complexity of his emotional life."

When he landed the leading role of introverted prep school student Todd Anderson, Hawke had made only one feature film, 1985's failed sci-fi epic *Explorers. *Williams hadn't reached his peak yet either, but his memorable performances in films like *Popeye *and *The World According to Garp *had turned him into a beloved and bankable box office star.

But Hawke was able to discern quite quickly that it wasn't all sunshine and roses for Williams.

Robin Williams and the cast of 'Dead Poets Society'.

Courtesy Everett Collection

"I've had a lot of depression in my family, and it was obvious to me that all that power and that charisma came at a certain cost," Hawke said, describing Williams as "a deeply, deeply sensitive person who was highly attuned to the energy of a room."

Hawke then recalled a moment on set when Williams was "making up lines, and everybody's laughing, everybody's praising him." Later, though, things were different. "Then I went to get a glass of water, you know, get a bagel or something, and I saw him hiding in a little corner. He was hiding in the dark by himself. And I [thought], 'Okay, it makes a lot more sense to me now.' It was a lot. It was taxing."

Robin Williams taught young 'Dead Poets Society' costar Ethan Hawke an important lesson

The best Robin Williams roles

*Dead Poets Society *stars Williams as John Keating, a spirited English professor at a stuffy New England boarding school who inspires his young students (played by Hawke, Josh Charles, and Robert Sean Leonard, among others) to pursue their dreams in the face of demands to conform.

Hawke has addressed the fact that life imitated art for him during production, as Williams began to take on a mentorly role for him.

"Robin Williams didn't do the script," he recently recalled to *Vanity Fair*. "And I didn't know you could do that. If he had an idea, he just did it. He didn't ask permission. And that was a new door that was opened to my brain, that you could play like that."

During his *Sunday Morning* interview, Hawke said when he watches *Dead Poets Society *now, "I think of the spirit of the man that I knew on those days, and how powerful it was, and how much he weathered that storm of his own psyche for us and for other people. And I admire him tremendously."

You can watch Hawke's full interview with *CBS Sunday Morning *above.**

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