Olivia Williams Had an 'Alarming' Experience While Filming 'Friends' Guest Spot

Throughout her career, British actress Olivia Williams has appeared in popular films like Rushmore and The Sixth Sense and recently played Queen Camilla on The Crown. She even appeared on the beloved '90s sitcom Friends in the early days of her career, but it wasn't exactly a friendly environment on set. 

Williams recounted her experience filming Friends in a recent interview with The Independent. She appeared in the iconic episode set in London where Ross was set to marry his fiancée Emily before inadvertently saying "Rachel" during the ceremony. In the episode, she played a bridesmaid named Felicity who flirts with the American guests like Joey and appeared alongside guest stars including the one and only Sarah, Duchess of York.  

"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,'" Williams remembered. She was unable to recall the actor's name, though it could have been the late June Whitfield who played "The Housekeeper" or Jane Carr playing "The Ticket Agent," or perhaps an unlisted background character.  

Williams claimed that the actress was "distinguished" and "very good," but one of the people behind the show didn't think so. 

"At one point, a producer—who shall remain nameless—just yelled at her: 'You’re not funny!'" she recalled. "And she didn’t come back the next day. So that was alarming."

That wasn't the only red flag that Williams encountered during her time filming the show. 

"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. Thinning down her brows was a big change that she wasn't ready for and she begged them to keep her face as-is. "Literally, [I said] 'Please don’t take my eyebrows off, I might need them in another job!'" she said. "But yes, that’s the sense in which it was harrowing."

Williams' career has only gone up from there. She just starred alongside Gael García Bernal in the movie Another End and is set to star in the upcoming Dune prequel series Dune: Prophecy premiering on Max later this year.