The cast of “Friends” was known to be tightly knit, but this wasn’t necessarily a good thing for the beloved sitcom’s guest stars.
According to Kathleen Turner, that was definitely the case in her experience whenever she appeared on the show in the recurring role as Helena Handbasket, the transgender father of Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry).
“I’ll be quite honest, which is my wont: I didn’t feel very welcomed by the cast,” says the 64-year-old “Romancing the Stone” star in a wide-ranging interview with Vulture.
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Even though Turner appeared on the show three times, she reveals she didn’t feel the love from her TV son and co-stars Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow.
“The ‘Friends’ actors were such a clique — but I don’t think my experience with them was unique,” she adds. “I think it was simply that they were such a tight little group that nobody from the outside mattered.”
She recalls how that manifested itself while shooting one episode in particular. “I was wearing this difficult sequined gown — and my high heels were absolutely killing me,” she explains. “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.’“
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Turner, who is an Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner who conducts acting master classes throughout the world, says she “won’t comment” on the “Friends” cast’s abilities as thespians.
“Maybe if I’d had months to work with them, I’d be in a better position to evaluate their skill,” she adds. “But I could only judge based on the period I worked on the show, which wasn’t long.”
Despite feeling shut out, Turner admits that she admired their closeness.
“I do respect the camaraderie they had,” she says. “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.”
