Glenn Close opened up about the late Christopher Reeve‘s friendship with Robin Williams in the highly emotional documentary, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.
The movie, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, focuses on how Reeve’s life changed after a 1995 horseback riding accident left the Superman actor paralyzed and dependent on a ventilator to breathe. Reeve’s friendship with Williams, who died by suicide in 2014, plays a key part in the film, which received a standing ovation and left audiences in tears at the January Salt Lake City premiere.
Actress Glenn Close said Reeve was a huge part of Williams’ life. “I’ve always felt that if Chris was still around, Robin would still be alive,” Close, 76, says in the doc, per The Washington Post.
This is not the first time Close voiced her opinion on Williams and Reeve’s deep connection. “Their friendship, their connection is the stuff of legend,” she said at a gala for The Museum of Modern Art in November 2017. “It not only endured but became a life-giving force that sustained them both. I am convinced that if Chris were still with us, Robin would be too.”
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, explains that Williams and Reeve were roommates while studying at Juilliard before their big breaks in Hollywood. After Reeve’s accident, the comedian became even more ingrained in Reeve’s inner circle, supporting him during his hospitalization and in the years that followed. Williams was known to host a party every year on the anniversary of Reeve’s accident.
When Reeve was invited to the 1996 Academy Awards, it was Williams and his then-wife, Marsha Garces Williams, who helped figure out the difficult logistics of transportation, buying a special retrofitted van.
Reeve died of heart failure in October 2004. The film shows how bereft Williams was through archival footage of the actor reflecting on his relationship with Reeve and speaking at his funeral.
Christopher is survived by his three children, Alexandra and Matthew, who he shared with ex-wife Gae Eton, and William, who he shared with wife Dana Reeve. (Dana died of lung cancer in 2006.) All three appear in the doc and were at Sundance to discuss the film.
“Their friendship was a beautiful thing,” Will told The Washington Post on Monday, January 22. “They complemented each other so well, and they were two young kids with a passion for their craft who found each other and then found wild success and stayed true to who they were.”
The siblings revealed they are still close with “fairy godmother” Garces Williams, who divorced Williams in 2010. (Williams is survived by children Zak, Zelda and Cody.)
“One of the things I love about this film is it doesn’t just tell the story of Robin Williams, but it tells the story of Marsha Williams, who we to this day call our fairy godmother,” Alexandra told IndieWire on Monday. “She was just an ever-present force in our life providing stability and care and sisterhood and friendship. [The directors] capture the amazing gift of what it is to have not just blood family but chosen family, and they were part of the chosen family.”
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
