Today marks seven years since Robin Williams passed away. The comedian, who would’ve turned 70 this year, took his own life on August 11, 2014.
Zak, the eldest son of the late actor, has now opened up on his relationship with his late father, who starred in some of the most popular films to date such as Jumanji, Dead Poets Society and Mrs. Doubtfire, on the anniversary of his death.
“He was fantastic as a dad,” the 38-year-old told Ben Fordham on 2GB Breakfast on Wednesday morning.
Zak went on to say that while his father would travel a lot for work, when he was home they bonded over shared interests.
“The thing was he would travel a lot for work so when it came to actually being at home he was not working right and so the time I spent with him growing up was a lot of time engaging in his hobbies,” he revealed.
“Things like collecting, he was very into collecting toys, which is awesome when you’re a young child. He was also very into technology and science, so we would go to museums.
“For me, it was like a dream come true to be able to grow up with a dad who was so engaged in things that I was engaged in.”
Asked if he still misses him, Zak replied: “I do. It’s important for me to really carry on the legacy. I really believe that his spirit is with us.”
Zak’s comments come less than a month after he opened up about the weeks leading up to his father’s death, saying “he was very uncomfortable”. “What I saw was frustration,” the 38-year-old revealed on American television personality Max Lugavere’s podcast ‘The Genius Life’ at the time.
“What he was going through didn’t match one to one [with what] many Parkinson’s patients experience,” he said, making reference to his father’s misdiagnosis. “So, I think that was hard for him.”
Robin had been incorrectly diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, but it was later revealed after his death that he had been suffering from a rare brain disorder called Lewy body disease, a type of progressive dementia that leads to a decline in thinking, reasoning and independent function.