Isn’t that just kick-you-in-the-crotch, spit-on-your-neck fantastic?
Friends may be one of the best known and loved sitcoms but it turns out not everyone who acted in it was that funny – awkward.
Let’s not lie, most of us have re-watched the iconic American television series so many times we know most of it off by heart, but that doesn’t stop every line and moment being just as funny every time around.
However, no matter how many times you’ve watched Friends, what you may’ve not realized – and is proof of how good the acting really ultimately is – that one guest star was viewed by one of the show’s directors as more tricky to work with because they simply weren’t ‘funny’ in his eyes. Could he BE any more judgy?
Any fan of the 90s’ sitcom will know that there has been a plethora of famous guest stars who made hilarious cameo appearances during its decade-long reign.
From the likes of the Ben Stiller’s alarming cameo as Tommy to the hermaphrodite rumour-spreading Will Colbert (Brad Pitt), as well as the legendary Robin Williams and Bruce Willis making appearances too, many guests stars really made their own unique marks on the sitcom.
However, according to director James Burrows, there was one guest star who he found hard to work with – Helen Baxendale.
Helen played Emily for 14 episodes (NBC)
Baxendale played one (of the many) girlfriends of Ross Geller (David Schwimmer).
Appearing as the British bombshell Emily Waltham in 14 episodes, the romance between the two was short lived due to Ross saying Rachel’s name (Jennifer Aniston) at the altar during their wedding in London – it’s been over two decades and we still cringe when we watch it.
While Baxendale’s short stint on Friends was mostly down to her becoming pregnant, Burrows claimed it was hard on set for the other actors to ‘bounce off her’.
In his new memoir, he recalled of the episode ‘The One with All the Rugby‘: “She was nice but not particularly funny. Schwimmer had no one to bounce off. It was like clapping with one hand.”
Burrows went on: “In sitcoms and any type of romantic comedy, the funny is just as important as the chemistry. We discovered that any new girlfriend for Ross needed to be as funny as Rachel.
Emily married Ross and swiftly divorced him (NBC)
“Often, you can’t recast, because of tight shooting deadlines or other logistical considerations. You don’t cast anyone to be a straw man, unless it’s for one episode.”
The director explained how ‘you need someone who gets laughs’.
He said: “Sometimes you start an arc and it ain’t working out, so you have to get rid of that person. If it’s a day player, it’s a quick goodbye.
“The reverse is also true. If there’s chemistry, the writers go to work to figure out some way of keeping the actor.”
Baxendale has previously discussed her time on the sitcom, once referring to it as a ‘surreal little blip’ in her life.
Apparently it was hard for Schwimmer to bounce off Baxendale (NBC)
Speaking to The Mirror back in 2012, she said: “I look upon it as a strange surreal little blip in my life almost like a dream.”
However, she spoke highly of the Friends cast, adding: “They were all very nice and professional. We were never great mates though.
“People expect because it is called Friends that everyone was great friends, but they were real professionals. They’d been doing it for years and I was one of many guest stars to appear.”
Well, that’s that then.
Featured Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty/NBC/Getty
