Steven Spielberg relied on weekly phone calls from Robin Williams to get through Schindler's List

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Steven Spielberg has revealed the brilliant way Robin Williams helped him through the strenuous shoot of his war drama Schindler's List. Speaking at a retrospective event taking place at Tribeca Film Festival, Spielberg - who was accompanied by stars Ben Kingsley, Embeth Davidtz, Liam Neeson and Caroline Goodall - recounted how the late actor would call him weekly for the sole purpose of performing comedy over the phone to cheer him up. Mic drop.” The event marked the first time Spielberg had watched the drama - which won seven Oscars - with a full crowd since it was released in 1993, an experience he said filled him with a greater sense of “meaningful accomplishment” than he's felt on any film he's made since. Deadline also reports a moving anecdote from Neeson who recalled an encounter with one of the film's producers, Branko Lustig, outside the gates of Auschwitz where they were shooting a scene one freezing morning.