Kathleen Turner didn't feel very welcomed by 'Friends' cast, says "they were such a clique"
A handful of people don't appreciate the Friends cast and Kathleen Turner is one of them. In a recent interview with Vulture, the 64-year-old legendary actress reflected on her guest appearances on the hit NBC series, where she played Helena Handbasket, the father to Chandler. However, in reality, she never warmed up to the cast members including Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc.
Turner appeared only in three episodes over the course of the TV show’s 10 seasons (which ran from 1994 to 2004). In her interview she blatantly said, “I’ll be quite honest, which is my won't: I didn’t feel very welcomed by the cast."
“The Friends actors were such a clique — but I don’t think my experience with them was unique. I think it was simply that they were such a tight little group that nobody from the outside mattered,” she added.
Sharing her rather cold experience, she narrated, “I remember I was wearing this difficult sequined gown — and my high heels were absolutely killing me,” the Oscar-nominated star and Golden Globe winner recalled about filming one episode. “I found it odd that none of the actors thought to offer me a seat. Finally, it was one of the older crew members that said, ‘Get Miss Turner a chair."
When she was asked how she found the Friends stars as actors and actresses, Turner — who has been acting for 41 years and regularly conducts master classes for acting students across the country — said, “I won’t comment on that.”
“Maybe if I’d had months to work with them, I’d be in a better position to evaluate their skill. But I could only judge based on the period I worked on the show, which wasn’t long,” she said.
Yet, Turner still had positive things to say about the bunch.
“I do respect the camaraderie they had,” she said to the publication. “You can see camaraderie on the screen. When I did Body Heat with Larry Kasdan and Bill Hurt, we rehearsed significantly before shooting and there was a familiarity before the camera rolled. You see it in the film.”
In the same interview, Turned shared another work experience that she quite did not enjoy. Talking about working with Burt Reynolds in 1988’s 'Switching Channels' she said, "Working with Burt Reynolds was terrible,” Turner claimed.
“The first day Burt came in he made me cry. He said something about not taking second place to a woman. His behavior was shocking.”
“It never occurred to me that I wasn’t someone’s equal,” she said. “I left the room sobbing. I called my husband and said, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ He said, ‘You just do the job.’ It got to be very hostile because the crew began taking sides. But as for the performance, I was able to put the negativity aside. I’m not convinced Burt was.” Earlier this year, Burt was as candid about Turner when he stated that the most overrated actor of the ’70s and ’80s is Kathleen Turner.