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Josh Charles is sharing what it was like to work alongside Robin Williams on the 1989 film, Dead Poets Society
In an appearance on The View, Charles said Williams was "really kind to all of us"
And while Williams was funny on set, Charles said he could also "see the human behind it"
Josh Charlesis opening up about working with the lateRobin Williamson the 1989 film,Dead Poets Society.
In an interview onThe Viewon Monday, January 5, 2026, Charles, 54, said getting to work with Williams was "an incredible experience."
"Obviously such a huge star and such a funny man," Charles said of Williams, who played John Keating, an eccentric English professor at an all-boys school who develops a deep bond with his students. "He was really kind to all of us. He was obviously the big star but he was very respectful of knowing that he was one part of this ensemble and was very gracious about that and treated us all really well."
Charles continued: "And I could see his humor but I could also see the human behind it and the toll that took on him, even at that young age. I could see it."
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Charles added that he and Williams bonded over their love of comedy, saying, "Very funny man and we bonded over Richard Pryor immediately because I grew up a big Richard Pryor fan and would do a lot of Richard Pryor impersonations for him. That got him going pretty quick so we would go back and forth on that."
Williams would go on to become one of the world's most beloved icons following the film. Afterstruggling with an undiagnosed caseof the debilitating brain disorderLewy Body Dementia(LBD), the prolific actor and comediandied by suicide at age 63on Aug. 11, 2014, athis Paradise Cay mansion in San Francisco.
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Nearly 30 years after the film came out, he paid homage to it alongside fellow cast memberEthan HawkeforTaylor Swift's 2025 music video for her song, "Fortnight."
Charles said he felt "really old" when he realized "people weren't even born when we made this movie and now are discovering it through Taylor."
Still, he said the experience was "incredible," adding, "What a unique experience to have to see people discovering this film that you made long ago that's touching people today. And that was obviously a super fun thing to do. And I got to spent the day with one of my oldest buds [Hawke]. It's great."
In the video, Hawke and Charles play scientists working in a lab as Swift is hooked to an upright table reminiscent of a scene fromFrankenstein. The actors then check her vitals and read paperwork before giving the star a major shock.
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