Friends director reveals frustrations during guest star’s appearance
Friends director James Burrows recently revealed that he struggled to work with Helen Baxendale the most since she “wasn’t funny.”
Baxendale, who played the role of the British bombshell Emily Waltham on the hit television show, appeared in fourteen episodes.
In the director’s new memoir, Burrows recalled the episode The One with All the Rugby, claiming that it was difficult for other actors to “bounce off her.”
He revealed: “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.”
Emphasizing on the show’s need to cast “someone who gets laughs,” Burrows continued, adding, “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.”
Meanwhile, Baxendale spoke highly of her time on the iconic sitcom, referring to it as a “surreal little blip’ in her life.”
