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Nathan Lane: ‘Robin Williams stopped Oprah from dragging me out of the closet’

Nathan Lane has lifted the lid on the heartwarming way the late Robin Williams protected him during their 1996 Oprah Winfrey interview.

Nathan Lane has revealed how Robin Williams protected him from speaking publicly about his sexuality before he was ready.
Nathan Lane has revealed how Robin Williams protected him from speaking publicly about his sexuality before he was ready.

Nathan Lane will always remember Robin Williams for protecting him when he wasn’t ready to be open about his sexuality.

The Broadway legend, 67, recalled a moment in 1996 when they were on the press tour for their queer comedy The Birdcage, and Williams helped him fend off intruding questions, reports the New York Post.

Lane’s sexual orientation became a topic of conversation during an interview on the Oprah Winfrey Show when the Oscar winner then stepped in.

“I was not prepared at all for that,” Lane said during a chat on the US Today show about being open with his homosexuality in public.

“And I certainly wasn’t ready to go from table to table and tell them all I was gay,” the Lion King actor continued.

“I just wanted to talk about finally [I] got a big part in a movie, and I didn’t want to make it about my sexuality.”

In The Birdcage, Williams (who died in 2014) and Lane played a gay couple whose son is about to be married.

Nathan Lane with Robin Williams in 1996 comedy The Birdcage.
Nathan Lane with Robin Williams in 1996 comedy The Birdcage.
The actor has opened up about his career. Picture: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
The actor has opened up about his career. Picture: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Lane explained how he knew that starring in a queer film would bring inquiries about his own sexuality, saying it was “sort of unavoidable”.

However, while he knew that Winfrey, 69, wasn’t trying to out him on purpose, he recalled what he mentioned to Williams prior to the interview.

“I said to Robin beforehand, ‘I’m not prepared. I’m so scared of going out there and talking to Oprah. I’m not prepared to discuss that I’m gay on national television. I’m not ready,’” Lane said.

Williams attempted to ease his anxiety.

“He said, ‘Oh, it’s all right, don’t worry about – we don’t have to talk about it. We won’t talk about it,’” Lane continued.

Lane confided in Williams prior to the interview.
Lane confided in Williams prior to the interview.
He was able to avoid Winfrey’s questions, with his co-star’s help.
He was able to avoid Winfrey’s questions, with his co-star’s help.

Winfrey wound up asking questions that did leave an opening for Lane to talk about his sexuality.

Questions she asked included, “How come you’re so good at that girly stuff?” and “Are you worried about being typecast?”

Lane claimed that the late comedian “sort of [swooped] in and [diverted] Oprah, goes off on a tangent and protects me because he was a saint” and was a “beautiful, sensitive soul”.

“I just wasn’t ready to do that,” Lane said. “Now you have to make a public statement about it – I was terrified … It’s great that everyone now feels comfortable but homophobia is alive and well and there are plenty of gay people who are still hiding.”

For The Birdcage, Lane scored a Golden Globe nomination, and the film had the seventh-highest box office takings for 1996.

A 2022 Primetime Emmy winner for his guest role in Only Murders In The Building, Lane is currently starring in the Broadway play Pictures From Home.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/nathan-lane-robin-williams-stopped-oprah-from-dragging-me-out-of-the-closet/news-story/45886801683e5eb54dda22af25f86c82