‘Expendables 3′ Premiere: Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes Reflect on Robin Williams’ Legacy

The Expendables 3 premiere was filled with excitement from screaming fans who lined up on Hollywood Boulevard outside of the TCL Chinese Theater on Monday night, all waiting for a chance to catch a glimpse of stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes.

But the mood on the black carpet was noticeably subdued with news earlier in the day of Robin Williams‘ death at 63.

Although publicists requested that the press refrain from asking about Williams’ death, Snipes — who worked with the late actor in the 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar — remembered his former co-star with The Hollywood Reporter: “He was like a shooting star that landed on the planet. I don’t know if you’ll ever find that kind of intellect and that kind of talent in one individual ever again.”

Gibson, who joined the all-star Expendables 3 cast as the villain, recalled speaking to Williams on several occasions and was saddened by the news. “He was versatile. He was a benchmark in comedy. He crossed over into dramas. Anything he attempted, he did and excelled at. He’s gone too early and we’ll miss him,” he told THR.   

Crews arrived with his wife and daughter, snapped photos with fans and walked down the entire street before joining his castmates on the black carpet. He reminded people to appreciate others in the here and now, telling THR, “A movie like this is never going to happen again — these are the people who built the town and I love it.”

As the Brooklyn Nine-Nine star worked his way down the carpet, he bumped into director Patrick Hughes, who described working on the Expendables set “like running a kindergarten” but “fun.” The duo shared laughs as Crews described Hughes as the man who was always in charge. “He never asked us to do anything with a question mark at the end of it; it was always with a period,” he said.

For newcomer Glen Powell, working with such veteran actors he had always admired was a dream come true. “I’ve been picking up tips on how to stick around in Hollywood, how to keep your body in shape and how to shoot guns until you’re about to croak,” he said.

Also on hand at the premiere were Randy Couture, Dolph Lundgren, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Antonio Banderas, Victor Ortiz, Kelsey Grammer, Robert Davi, Carmen Electra, Garcelle Beauvais, Chuck Liddell and model-actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

The Lionsgate movie hits theaters on Aug. 15.