Nathan Lane may be a gay icon now, but he wasn’t always public with his sexuality. The actor recently praised the late Robin Williams for protecting him from being outed on The Oprah Winfrey Show while the two were doing press for their 1996 queer comedy The Birdcage.
While visiting The Today Show Sunday (March 26), the actor opened up about his experience working with Williams.
“Robin was just the greatest person,” Lane said. “Such a beautiful, sensitive soul, and so kind and generous to me.”
He continued to recall an incident where he stopped Oprah from prying into his personal life while they were promoting The Birdcage together.
Directed by Mike Nichols, the movie follows an engaged couple as they introduce each other to their family-to-be. Williams plays Armand, a gay drag club owner in a secret relationship with a man, Albert, plays by Lane. At the time of the movie’s release, Lane hadn’t been publicly open about his sexuality.
According to The AV Club, Lane told Today that he spoke with Williams ahead of their Oprah appearance and expressed his reluctance to make the movie release “about his sexuality.” He recalled Williams telling him “Oh, it’s alright, don’t worry about—we don’t have to talk about it.”
But, during the 1996 talk show appearance, Oprah repeatedly tried to get Lane to disclose his sexuality. However, Williams would interrupt the conversation and use his sharp wit to pull it into a new direction.
Remembering the interview, Lane said that Williams “sort of swoops in and diverts Oprah, goes off on a tangent and protects me because he was a saint.”
Lane continued, “I just wasn’t ready to do that. 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.”
A few years after the movie’s release, the actor came out as gay in a 1999 issue of The Advocate, sparked by the murder of Matthew Shepard.
“I’ve never hidden anything, but that appearance is not enough. I’m really not political and I worry that if I set myself up as some sort of model that I can’t live up to it,” he said.
Lane added, “But then the whole thing with Matthew Shepard happened and it was like someone slapped me away. At this point, it’s selfish not to do whatever you can.”
The actor concluded, “If I do this story and say I’m a gay person, it might make it easier for someone else.”
Lane is currently starring in Broadway’s Pictures From Home.
