Thomas Tulak was just 6 years old when he started working as one of Neverland’s Lost Boys in “Hook,” Steven Spielberg’s 1991 adventure flick starring Robin Williams as Peter Pan and Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell. It’s not like the job was dull.
The now 32-year-old filmmaker recalled filming in an Ask Me Anything Q&A on Reddit Thursday ― including one instance where Williams pulled a prank on Spielberg in front of a large audience of kids and extras. It all went down during the pirate ship battle scene, as the director attempted to catch everyone’s attention through a loudspeaker.
“He’s just about got every one calmed down and starts to give instructions, when Robin climbs to the top of the pirate ship, behind Steven, and moons everyone!” Tulak wrote, adding, “Needless to say, Steven lost control of the situation.”
Being a similar age to Williams’ son Zachary Pym, Tulak said the actor liked hanging out with him quite a bit off-set. He came to see Williams as a father figure.
“He would regularly come knock on my trailer door, and ask my mother if I could come out to play,” Tulak said, “and we would hang out and run around and play ball or whatever ... just hanging out with him off-set was the greatest.”
Tulak, who is currently working on a web series and may make an appearance in the planned Rufio origin film, shared some other tidbits from the set.
Apparently, the food fight scene was great fun ― but took three days and lots of cold-water showers to film. (”I don’t know how many times I waited in line, covered in Never Food, to take a cold shower, and come out squeaky clean.”) The food itself was mostly colored whipped cream. And although most of the kids’ weaponry was, understandably, made of rubber, Rufio’s sword was real.
Tulak said news of the actor’s death in 2014 was difficult, remembering him as “a big kid” with “not a shred of ego.” Williams died after a reported struggle with Lewy body dementia, a brain disease.
”Robin was dedicated to making every one around him happy. And he did so in spectacular fashion,” Tulak wrote. “He gave and gave of himself.”
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