4 days ago
Child star is unrecognizable on rare outing after bizarre plea to clone Robin Williams using AI
Fans of Mrs. Doubtfire got a surprise treat when one of its beloved child stars was spotted out and about in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Now 45, the actor, who played pre-teen Chris alongside Robin Williams in the 1993 classic, appeared in good spirits as he ran errands around town.
Dressed casually in a white T-shirt, gray pants, and flip-flops, he carried multiple grocery bags as he went about his day.
Sporting a newsy cap and glasses, he looked a far cry from his role as college roommate Jack in the cult sitcom Boy Meets World.
This rare outing comes after the star—whose older brother had roles in Gimme a Break! and Blossom— expressed interest in seeing the late Robin Williams brought back via AI for a future project.
Can you guess who this former child star is?
If you said Matthew Lawrence, you're right!
Lawrence's recent outing comes shortly after he shared his hopes to honor Williams, who tragically died by suicide in 2014 at age 63, in a modern way.
'I would love — now, obviously, with the respect and with the okay from his family — but I would love to do something really special with his voice because I know for a generation, that voice is just so iconic,' Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly in July.
Lawrence was just 12 years old when he starred alongside Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, the beloved film about a devoted father who disguises himself as a Scottish nanny to stay close to his children after a divorce.
The memories of working with Williams have stayed with him ever since.
'It's not just the fact that I knew him and worked with him and so it's in my head — it's in everybody's head. And it would be so cool,' he said of the idea to use AI to bring Williams' voice back.
The idea sparked after Lawrence watched an old commercial featuring Williams using a computerized voiceover, which struck him as eerily ahead of its time.
'It's kinda like this very contemporary, modern, almost sort of foreshadowing of what's going on commercial that he did, where he did this computerized voiceover, and it always stuck with me,' Lawrence explained.
Lawrence was about 12 when the comedy about a divorced dad disguising himself as a nanny to be close to his kids was released, and the memories of the experience remain close to the actor's heart; (Lawrence far left, with Lisa Jakub, Williams, Mara Wilson and Sally Field)
'And then, during his passing, with the AI coming out, I'm like, 'Man, he's gotta be the voice of A.I. He's gotta be the voice in something.' So yeah, I would love to do that.'
In an earlier conversation with the publication, Lawrence reflected on the valuable life lessons, especially compassion, that he gained from working with Williams on the set of Mrs. Doubtfire.
'He really quantified what it was to be a real artist for me in the sense that he was definitely... the most brilliant artist I've ever worked with.'
'But on top of that, he had the compassion, he had the humility, and he also had these things that he struggled with.'
In 2023, Zelda Williams publicly opposed the use of artificial intelligence to replicate her late father's voice.
'I am not an impartial voice in SAG's fight against AI. I've witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/re-create actors who cannot consent, like Dad,' she wrote on Instagram.
Zelda continued: 'This isn't theoretical, it is very very real. I've already heard AI used to get his "voice" to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings.'
