Nathan Lane Remembers How Robin Williams Came to His Rescue

The late actor rescued his 'The Birdcage' co-star from an uncomfortable situation.

Nathan Lane shared a touching story about how Robin Williams protected him from coming out as gay before he was ready.

In the preview for an upcoming interview on Sunday TODAY With Willie Geist, Lane opens up about not being ready to discuss his sexuality back while he was doing press for The Birdcage.

"I was not prepared at all for that, and I certainly wasn't ready to go from table to table and tell them all I was gay," he explains. "I'd finally gotten a big part in a movie and I didn't want to make it about my sexuality—although it was kind of unavoidable because of the nature of the film and the character."

Lane then recalls that when he and Williams had to go on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he told Williams that he wasn't ready to talk about being gay.

"I said to Robin beforehand, 'You know, 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 remembers.

Williams told Lane not to worry—the actor's sexuality didn't need to be discussed.

However, Winfrey's line of questioning made it tough. He recalls the talk show host asking him, "How come you're so good at that girly stuff? Are you worried about being typecast?"

But Williams stood by his promise and protected Lane from having to uncomfortably discuss his sexual orientation. "Robin sort of swoops in and diverts Oprah and goes off on a tangent and protects me because he was a saint," he says.

When Williams died by suicide in 2014, Lane penned a touching tribute, remembering his co-star and longtime friend's kindness.

"What I will always remember about Robin, perhaps even more than his comic genius, extraordinary talent, and astounding intellect, was his huge heart—his tremendous kindness, generosity, and compassion as an acting partner, colleague, and fellow traveler in a difficult world," he wrote in a statement to TIME.