'Mrs. Doubtfire' star Matthew Lawrence says he 'stayed away' from drugs thanks to Robin Williams' advice

• Matthew Lawrence spoke at 90s Con this weekend about Robin Williams' advice to him.
• While on the set of "Mrs. Doubtfire," Williams told Lawrence to stay away from drugs.

"Mrs. Doubtfire" star Matthew Lawrence said on Saturday that he "stayed away" from drugs because of advice Robin Williams gave him on set.

The actor spoke at the first-ever 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut, this weekend, reflecting on his time playing Williams's on-screen son in the 1993 film, People reports. Lawrence, who was 13 when the movie premiered, said he would visit Williams in his trailer, where he would talk openly about his struggles.

"He was the first adult who really let me in on his condition. Like, full-on let me in," he said. "I mean, as bright as he was on camera — I would go visit him in his trailer to talk to him — it was painful for him. It's really painful for him. He didn't hide it. He talked to me about it."

Williams died by suicide at the age of 63 in 2014. Lawrence, now 42, said Williams warned him about the dangers of drug use, especially cocaine, following Williams' own experience with the drug. Lawrence called the advice "a gift."

"He was very serious. He was like, 'You know when you come to my trailer and you see me like that?' He's like, 'That's the reason why. And now I'm fighting for the rest of my life because I spent 10 years doing something very stupid every day. Do not do it," Lawrence recalled. "I stayed away from it because of him."

Actress Mara Wilson, who played Lawrence's younger sister in "Mrs. Doubtfire," said Williams also talked to her about addiction and mental health. Although she was just 6 years old when the film was released, Wilson said she's had a lifelong struggle with anxiety and depression, so her conversations with Williams made her feel less alone.

"I think it was so good for me to realize that it's okay to talk about this. It's okay to be vulnerable. And it was really the first time that I had someone sit down with me and go, 'I understand that you have anxiety and you are not alone. You're not just some weirdo freak who has something going on that nobody's going to understand, that everybody's going to reject you for,'" she said of Williams. "Like, this is okay and there are things you can do, and you will be alright."

Representatives for Lawrence did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Representatives for Wilson declined to comment further.

Williams won a Golden Globe for his performance in "Mrs. Doubtfire," and the movie also won best comedy or musical.

Although a sequel was originally planned in 2014 with Williams on board, it was scrapped after his death. Director Chris Columbus told SF Gate last year that it would be "just impossible" to think of a sequel without him.