Prince Harry Praises Robin Williams' Son Zak For His Sobriety & 'Remarkable' Growth In 'The Me You Can't See: A Path Forward'
In the follow-up to 'The Me You Can't See,' Prince Harry and Zak Williams bonded over their experiences of losing a parent, which led to substance abuse.
In the follow-up to mental health docuseries The Me You Can't See, Prince Harry continued his candid conversation with Zak Williams, who's the son of late actor Robin Williams.
The two had previously talked about their experiences with losing a parent, both admitting that they turned to drugs shortly after.
After the comedian took his own life in 2014, Williams started "drinking" to mask the pain he was feeling, but he admitted that his problem worsened.
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"We have a lot of shared experience," the Duke of Sussex noted during The Me You Can't See: A Path Forward. "When you talk about that ... when you see so many people around the world grieving for someone ... You feel as though they knew them better than you did, in a weird way, because you’re unable to grieve yourself."
Eventually, Williams got sober, and he's now an advocate for mental health.
Harry praised him for taking control of his life again, stating that the Mrs. Doubtfire star would be proud of the man he's become.
"Me and Oprah have talked about this consistently, especially around substance abuse," explained Harry. "It is trying to numb that feeling that you feel or trying to give yourself a different feeling to how you are actually feeling."
"So to be able to say no to that and to focus so much on your own growth, leaning and healing and the process while helping others, full respect. I think it is remarkable."
In a previous episode of the series, Harry admitted that he used to drink a "week's worth" of alcohol in one day so that he didn't have to think about the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
"And I would find myself drinking not because I was enjoying it but because I was trying to mask something," he acknowledged.
"I was willing to drink, I was willing to take drugs," he said. "I was willing to try and do the things that made me feel less like I was feeling."
