E.G. Daily Reflects on the 'Very Special Time' She Spent with Robin Williams on “Happy Feet Two” (Exclusive)

The famed voice actor worked with Williams on 'Happy Feet' and 'Happy Feet Two'

<p>Getty (2)</p> E.G. Daily and Robin Williams

Getty (2)

E.G. Daily and Robin Williams

E.G. Daily is looking back on the time she spent with Robin Williams fondly.

The revered voice actor, 62, worked with Williams on Happy Feet and Happy Feet Two, but it wasn't really until that production began on that 2011 sequel that she got to know him.

"We did Happy Feet in LA, and then when we did Happy Feet Two in Australia, we got to spend a lot of time with Robin," she tells PEOPLE exclusively.

"It was beautiful. We were on this giant sound stage with Elijah [Wood] and it was just all the cast and Robin so you're intimately working together," she recalls. "We were there for almost a month, I think, and after each [day] we would go to a comedy club or a dinner. So it was a very special time."

And while the cast was all about getting the work right, the time spent away from the sound stage and with each other is what really brought them closer.

Related: E.G. Daily Remembers Bringing Her Newborn to Her Friends Audition, Landing a Part with the 'Iconic' Cast (Exclusive)

<p>Kevin Winter/Getty</p> The cast of 'Happy Feet Two' in 2011

Kevin Winter/Getty

The cast of 'Happy Feet Two' in 2011

"At one point, Robin chartered like a yacht, a big boat for everybody, and we all went into the ocean and we cruised around together," Daily says. "So there was a lot of time for work, but also there was time for really connecting."

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A runaway hit, the first Happy Feet film came out in 2006 and starred Williams as Ramon, Wood as Mumble, Daily as Baby Mumble, plus Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Brittany Murphy and more stars. The sequel followed in 2011 and saw Williams, Wood and Daily reprise their roles, but also welcome new stars and characters in Sofia Vergara, Pink, Hank Azaria, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and more.

And while Daily has been in the business for decades, working with an actor like Robin Williams was particularly invigorating.

Related: Remembering Robin Williams' Life in Photos

"I mean, just super talented people inspire me. I'm super attracted to talent. And Robin Williams is this genius, creative, brilliant man. It was like getting to watch somebody really in their element," she says.

Williams died by suicide in 2014 at 63 years old.

In the years since his death, several of his former co-workers and friends have shared their fondest memories of him, and the through line seems to be that the Mrs. Doubtfire actor was extremely kind.

United Artists/Getty Nathan Lane and Robin Williams in 1996's 'The Birdcage'
United Artists/Getty Nathan Lane and Robin Williams in 1996's 'The Birdcage'

During an appearance on Sunday TODAY on NBC, Williams' The Birdcage costar, Nathan Lane, recalled the time Williams helped him avoid questions regarding his sexuality when the two visited The Oprah Winfrey Show while promoting the film. At the time, Lane had not yet publicly come out as gay and was "not prepared at all" to share that information.

"I don't think Oprah was trying to out me, but I said to Robin beforehand: 'I'm not prepared. I'm so scared of going out there and talking to Oprah. I'm not prepared to discuss that I'm gay on national television, I'm not ready,' " Lane revealed. "And he said, 'Oh, it's all right, don't worry about it, we don't have to talk about it, we won't talk about it.'"

Earlier this year, Lisa Jakub, who played Lydia Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire, also opened up about the time Williams tried to get her reinstated in school after she got expelled.

While shooting the classic film, Jakub had worked it out with her school that she would mail her assignments in as she worked. A few months in, the school decided the system wasn't working anymore and expelled her.

<p>United Archives GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo</p> Robin Williams and Lisa Jakub in 1993's 'Mrs. Doubtfire'

United Archives GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

Robin Williams and Lisa Jakub in 1993's 'Mrs. Doubtfire'

“It was just so heartbreaking because, you know, I had this life that was very unusual and that was the one normal thing,” she revealed on a "Mrs. Doubtfire Family Reunion" episode of Matthew Lawrence's Brotherly Love Podcast.

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Williams, seeing how devastated she was, tried to intervene.

“The thing was, Robin saw that I was upset,” she revealed. “He asked me what was going on. I explained. He wrote a letter to my principal saying that he, you know, wanted them to rethink this decision and that I was just trying to pursue my education and my career at the same time and could they please support me in this.”

His sweet gesture didn't yield any results, but Jakub appreciated it, of course. "This principal got the letter, framed the letter, put it up in the office, and didn't ask me to come back,” she told her former costars. “Amazing.”

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