Sarah Michelle Gellar is, of course, widely known for her work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, yet some may forget that she once starred alongside the late Robin Williams on the CBS comedy The Crazy Ones, which ran for one season from 2013 to 2014. Shortly after the show's cancellation, Williams sadly passed away at the age of 63. Gellar has now revealed that the tragic incident inspired her to take a break from acting and has also shed light on her mindset during that time.
The aforementioned sitcom marked the first time that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Robin Williams had ever worked together and, on it, they played daughter-father advertising duo Simon and Sydney Roberts. While the show only aired for one season, the co-stars formed a special bond, one that Gellar has discussed in the past. And when the actress spoke with People, she explained that the Mork and Mindy star’s death made her re-evaluate her time with her family in relation to her professional life:
I've been working my entire life. When I had kids — and it was right after Robin passed away — there was just so much going on in my life and I just said, 'I need to take a break. . . . I need to be here for these early formative years of my kids' life. I needed that break to be the parent that I wanted to be.
It's understandable that the passing of a loved one would make one rethink their priorities. At the time of the CBS sitcom’s cancellation, the I Know What You Did Last Summer actress had a young son and daughter, and being a working mom can be a struggle for any women, especially for those attempting to balance things while working in Hollywood. And of course, as the star mentioned, there's also the fact that she's been working in the entertainment industry since she was a kid, and there's no doubt that such a lengthy grind can wear on a person.
The 45-year-old actress has taken a few gigs over the past few years, having guest-starred on shows like Cruel Intentions and The Big Bang Theory. She's also done voiceover work for Star Wars Rebels and Masters of the Universe: Revelation. Later in the interview, she explained the reason for her eventual return, which allowed her to nab the aforementioned roles:
I started to really miss it. But it's also finding the right opportunity, something that speaks to you that also speaks to your audience. . . . It's about working with people that I really love working with, where I look forward to spending time with the people. I want everyone to have a good time because look, acting's fun. We're creative, and yeah, sometimes the nights are really long, but what we get to do is really cool.
Sarah Michelle Gellar seemed ready to return to acting after a much-needed break, and surely her children and husband Freddie Prinze Jr. were happy to have more of her during that time. Fans are likely also happy to see her acting consistently again. At this point in her life, she's pretty much viewed as a pop culture icon by a number of people. Billie Eilish even named Gellar her childhood crush, prompting the star to share a flattered response.
Her next regular TV gig will be Paramount+s Teen Wolf spinoff Wolf Pack, which will see Sarah Michelle Gellar facing a different kind of supernatural creature compared to those from her Buffy days. She'll play investigator Kristin Ramsey, who's on a mission to track down a teenage arsonist who awakened the werewolf spirit. Along with starring in on the show, Gellar also serves as an executive producer. The sequel series is currently set to premiere in late 2022.
As she continues through her career, she'll surely continue to miss Robin Williams like so many of us. Though the late star's legacy continues, as other former co-stars like Ben Affleck have paid tribute to Williams by revealing sweet anecdotes about the revered comic. One would think that Williams, who was also family-oriented, would be pleased to know that his TV daughter made her own brood a priority over the business.
If you want to see Sarah Michelle Gellar in Wolf Pack, be sure that you have a Paramount+ subscription so that you can check it out. In the meantime, keep an eye on the various other TV premieres that are happening over the remainder of the year. You can also check out The Crazy Ones by getting an Amazon Prime subscription.
