Nathan Lane: Robin Williams ‘Protected Me’ From Coming Out as Gay on ‘Oprah’ in 1996 Because ‘He Was a Saint’

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Emily Ratajkowski announced in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times that she has basically quit acting because Hollywood is so “fucked up.” The supermodel started her acting career in a major way with a supporting role opposite Ben Affleck in David Fincher’s “Gone Girl.” Ratajkowski played Andie Fitzgerald, a student of Nick Dunne’s (Affleck) who is also having an affair with him. She went on to star in films such as “We Are Your Friends” and “I Feel Pretty,” but she hasn’t acted in a movie since 2019’s “Lying and Stealing.” “I didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, I’m an artist performing and this is my outlet,’” Ratajkowski said about quitting her acting career. “I felt like a piece of meat who people were judging, saying, ‘Does she have anything else other than her [breasts]?’”

From New England to Hollywood. Matt Damon’s work as an actor, writer and producer has cemented him as one of the entertainment industry’s biggest stars.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Perhaps one of the biggest surprises in film and television last year was Liam Neeson’s cameo appearance on “Atlanta.” The actor appeared in the fourth season episode “New Jazz” and poked fun at his 2019 racism controversy. The actor ignited outrage on his “Cold Pursuit” press tour in February 2019 after revealing his past reaction to a friend’s sexual assault. Neeson’s friend was sexually assaulted by a Black man, so Neeson took to the streets with a weapon and hoped a “Black bastard” would “come out of a pub and have a go at me…so that I could, kill him.” In a new interview with GQ magazine, “Atlanta” creator Donald Glover opened up for the first time about recruiting Neeson for an episode that mocked the actor’s racism controversy. Glover wrote the episode himself.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Thomas Haden Church was one of the many Spider-Man alum who returned for Marvel’s 2021 blockbuster “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Church reprised his role of Flint Marko/Sandman from Sam Raimi’s 2007 “Spider-Man 3,” but his screen-time in “No Way Home” was fairly limited when compared to fellow returning villains like Electro (Jamie Foxx), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina). In a new interview with The DisInsider, Church said conversations are taking place about future big screen appearances for Sandman. “We had a whole story involving his his daughter, for ‘No Way Home,'” Church said about the character. “And it just ended up [cut]. There was just so much going on…Amy [Pascal] and Kevin [Feige], we all had a lot of conversations. And I would say that conversations have been had about the possibility of Sandman coming into an a future iteration of it.”

Oprah Winfrey is known for her intimate sit down chats, like her bombshell interview with Harry and Meghan. But even long-time hosts like Oprah get it wrong sometimes, as Nathan Lane recently highlighted when he told NBC Sunday Today that late actor Robin Williams for was 'a saint' after he 'swooped in' and saved him during a 1996 Oprah interview when he wasn't ready to publicly come out as gay. Lane, 67, publicly came out three years later in 1999, but during the press tour for his movie The Birdcage - where he starred alongside Williams - he simply 'wasn't ready' to tell the world when Oprah asked him if he was worried about being typecast because he played a drag queen in the movie.

Nathan Lane hasn’t forgotten how his The Birdcage co-star Robin Williams helped protect him during an interview almost 30 years ago.

Nathan Lane is remembering his friend Robin Williams — as a “saint.”

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 “Today” show Sunday 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 and New Jersey native 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.Tony winner Lane explained on the morning show how he knew that starring in a queer film would bring inquiries about his own sexuality — and 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 “Good Will Hunting” star Williams prior to the interview.

Nathan Lane says he wasn’t ready to publicly come out of the closet when The Birdcage opened in 1996, and co-star Robin Williams helped him dodge the issue during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Robin Williams helped him avoid being outed on a TV talk show.The actor recalled the incident, which took place on The Oprah Winfrey Show around the time that the two stars appeared in The Birdcage together in 1996.“I was not prepared at all for that,” Lane explained on TODAY of the possibility of discussing his sexuality publicly at the time.“And I certainly wasn’t ready to go from table-to-table and tell them all I was gay. I just wanted to talk about I finally got a big part in a movie and I didn’t want to make it about my sexuality, although it was sort of unavoidable because of the nature of the film and the character.”Speaking further about the interview, the star recalled: “I don’t think Oprah was trying to out me.

told Today’s Willie Geist of the potential pressure to discuss his sexuality while promoting the 1996 film on Oprah’s talkshow. “And I certainly wasn’t ready to go from table-to-table and tell them all I was gay.”While Lane, who dressed in drag in the film, admitted that discussing his sexuality was “sort of unavoidable because of the nature of the film and the character,” he remembers wanting to expand on his big break rather than his identity, saying, “I just wanted to talk about I finally got a big part in a movie and I didn’t want to make it about my sexuality.”While Lane clarified that he, to this day, doesn’t think Winfrey was trying to out him, he shared his concerns with Williams prior to their appearance on the show.

Nathan Lane is recalling the sweet moment when Robin Williams saved him from having to talk about his sexuality when he wasn’t ready to do so.

Sam Neill has said that Robin Williams was “inconsolably solitary and deeply depressed” at the height of his career. The actor has penned a new memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?In the book, Sir Sam, 75, writes of Williams: “He had fame, he was rich, people loved him, great kids — the world was his oyster. “And yet I felt more sorry for him than I can express.

Nathan Lane is recalling the sweet moment when Robin Williams saved him from having to talk about his sexuality when he wasn't ready to do so.In an upcoming interview on, the 67-year-old actor fondly remembered the time he and Williams were set to appear on to promote but before doing so, he turned to Williams and told him why he was feeling nervous.«I said to Robin beforehand… 'I'm not prepared to discuss, you know, that I'm gay on national television. I'm not ready,'» Lane says, before revealing Williams told him not to worry.Lane admits not talking about his sexuality was a bit of a challenge, considering his character in the 1996 comedy, Albert Goldman, is an openly gay man who stars in a South Beach drag club owned by his partner, Armand Goldman, played by Williams, who tragically died in August 2014. «And so then, of course she [Winfrey] was like, 'How come you're so good at that girlie stuff? Are you worried about being typecast?'» Lane recalls.

Sam Neill has described his late co-star Robin Williams as both the "funniest" and the "saddest" person he has ever met. The 75-year-old reflected on the time he spent with Williams shooting 1999's Bicentennial Man in his new memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, and described the late actor as "irresistibly, outrageously, irrepressibly, gigantically funny". However, the Jurassic Park actor could also sense a "dark space inside" the Good Will Hunting star.

Sam Neill has special memories of Robin Williams, who worked with him in 1999’s Bicentennial Man. Neill, 75, looked back on their time together in his new March 21-released memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Did Millie Bobby Brown turn down a multi-million dollar deal to reprise Eleven in a “Stranger Things” spinoff series? The Sun and The Daily Mail reported as much this week, with sources claiming that Brown was offered $12 million (£10 million) for a potential Eleven spinoff but rejected it because she wants to “branch out” into other roles. The official “Stranger Things” writers room took to Twitter to reject the report. “Yeah, there’s nothing in this article that is true,” the “Stranger Things” writers said while sharing The Daily Mail article. “Don’t know why we have to keep debunking this rumor but get those clicks you guys!!”

Did I Ever Tell You This?, the actor recalls how they had “great chats” together while visiting each other’s trailers on the set of 1999 film Bicentennial Man.“We would talk about this and that, sometimes even about the work we were about to do,” Neill wrote (via People), adding that Williams was “irresistibly, outrageously, irrepressibly, gigantically funny”.Neill describes the late actor as simultaneously the “funniest person” he ever worked with and “the saddest person I ever met”.He added: “He had fame, he was rich, people loved him, great kids – the world was his oyster. And yet I felt more sorry for him than I can express.

Sam Neill thinks Robin Williams was the "saddest person" he's ever met. The comedy star committed suicide in August 2014, and Sam - who worked alongside him on the 1999 movie 'Bicentennial Man' - has now opened up about their friendship, describing Robin as the "funniest person" he ever worked with. In his new memoir, 'Did I Ever Tell You This?', he writes: "He had fame, he was rich, people loved him, great kids - the world was his oyster.

Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and several other celebs are in hot water after allegedly promoting cryptocurrency endeavors without revealing they'd been paid to do so.The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Wednesday that they have filed fraud charges, as well as unregistered securities charges, against crypto founder Justin Sun — who is also a Grenadian diplomat.The SEC also announced charges related to various violations against eight celebrity influencers, who are accused of collaborating with Sun by promoting his Tronix and BitTorrent crypto assets -- specifically the TRX and BTT crypto coins — in a way that led investors to believe they were being actively traded and had the potential for financial success.The SEC alleges that Sun was «orchestrating a promotional campaign in which he and his celebrity promoters hid the fact that the celebrities were paid for their tweet.»Lohan and Paul were among those accused of being a part of the fraudulent efforts, as well as music artists Austin Mahone, Soulja Boy, Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo and Akon, and adult film actress Kendra Lust.Six of the eight artists accused of the violations have subsequently agreed to pay a collective total of $400,000 in disgorgement and penalties. However, the settlements were not an admittance or denial of guilt, according to the SEC.