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‘One Of A Kind Person’: Scott Weinger Recalls His First Meeting With Aladdin Co-Star Robin Williams
Scott Weinger was a huge fan of Robin Williams before meeting him for the studio recording of animated Aladdin film! The actor recalled his first meeting and a hilarious anecdote!
Scott Weinger is reflecting on his first meeting with Robin Williams a decade after the legendary actor’s death on August 11, 2014. Weinger was 15 when he met Williams before kickstarting production on Disney's 1992 animated classic Aladdin, where the former voiced the title character. He played the young Aladdin who discovers a magical carpet and lamp that summons a genie played by the late actor.
Speaking to PEOPLE, the Fuller House actor recalled the first meeting with one of his childhood heroes. "I think it was when I first met him, we were introduced and they said, 'This is Scott, he's Aladdin.' And he shook my hand and he said, 'I'll be your genie,' " he said. "Which I thought was very cool."
It wasn’t surprising that Weinger had a fanboy moment with the comedy legend because the first VCR his family owned was Williams' 1980 film Popeye. By the time he turned 15 and landed a role in the animated Aladdin, he was a huge geek of the late actor’s 1989 film Dead Poets Society. It had grown into his “ultimate, ultimate favorite movie."
Not only was Williams a superstar at the time, but he also had impeccable comic timing which had Weinger rolling on the floor laughing during the film’s recordings. He recalled an incident where Mrs. Doubtfire actor—known for his funny improvisations—was recording lines.
"Everybody else in the recording studio was behind six inches of glass. And I looked through the window and I could see they were literally crying, just bent over crying,” Weinger recalled. Although the Shredder actor held his laughter and tried to be professional, he eventually couldn’t resist and burst out laughing. “It got to be too much, and I just hit the floor," he added.
In the two decades between the Aladdin animated films and the Good Will Hunting actor’s death, the co-stars stayed in touch and met occasionally at official events. "All I can say is that he was a one of a kind person. He was somebody that I was very fortunate to meet," Weinger said.
Weinger feels grateful that he got to be in the “same orbit” as the legendary actor for however little time and privileged to be associated with him through this movie forever.
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