January 09, 2026
Sarah Michelle Gellar opened up about her extended hiatus from acting and it has got to do with her The Crazy Ones co-star, Robin Williams.
During her recent appearance on podcast Shut Up Evan, Gellar told the host Evan Ross Katz how his shocking death in 2014 put a hold on her acting.
"I had had children back to back. I started Crazy Ones when my son was three months old," Gellar recalled her time with late Patch Adams actor.
"I was breastfeeding the entire time. And then Robin passed away, and everything just sort of hit me. It was like, the postpartum hit me, and that loss was so huge. And I just felt a little directionless for the first time in my life."
Williams’ death accompanied with other factors led her to introspect her life choices.
"I thought, 'Maybe that's my sign that I'm not living the moments enough, because they can go away so quickly,'" the Scooby-Doo actress said.
"And at that point, I just said I needed to take a break. And I'm so glad I did on so many levels."
Gellar doesn’t regret doing so at all.
In fact, she is glad that she took the break.
"First of all, I'll never get that time back with my kids," she said.
"I didn't miss a show, a performance, a first step, a lost tooth. Every moment, I was able to be there for. And that's not something you can do as a working actor. Our days are long. We travel a lot."
The hiatus has even changed her work choices too. She doesn’t ‘have the desire to prove stuff' that she used to have.