There is presumably a ton of pressure that comes with appearing on a fan-favorite TV show, so add in a two-part season finale and a wedding plotline, and that’s a disaster waiting to happen. Friends fans know how the infamous season four finale and subsequent cliffhanger affected the beloved series, but it seemed like making the actual episode was more stressful than the failed wedding itself.
Olivia Williams guest-starred in the two-part season finale “The One With Ross’ Wedding” in 1998, and her experience was not very friendly. She told The Independent, “Well, just as an example, I was taken to the studio in a shared car with a wonderful actress whose character, I think, was called ‘Old Woman’,” she recalled, describing the old woman as “distinguished” and “very good,” though she was not liked by production. “At one point, a producer – who shall remain nameless – just yelled at her: ‘You’re not funny!’ And she didn’t come back the next day. So that was alarming,” she explained. It’s not clear where she went but maybe she just enrolled in some comedy classes.
In the episode, Williams portrays a bridesmaid who hits on Joey. Of course, Williams understood why the show’s producers were so particular. She continued, “Friends was a brand, and you had to fit the brand. You go into hair and make-up and you’re told, ‘There’s a look here, this is what we do.’ And that involved, essentially, plucking off all of your eyebrows.” She said. It was the ’90s after all, but she begged, “Please don’t take my eyebrows off, I might need them in another job… That’s the sense in which it was harrowing,” she concluded.
While her experience might have been a little sour, Williams is gearing up to appear in another beloved franchise for Max’s upcoming Dune: Prophecy series. Hopefully, she will keep her eyebrows but who’s to say?