Harriet Sansom Harris Looks Back On Her Time on Wisteria Lane

Tony winner Harriet Sansom Harris shares what it was like playing the devilish housewife-adjacent Felicia Tilman.

Desperate Housewives saw many guest stars across its entire run, but few had the seismic impact of Harriet Sansom Harris. As Martha Huber’s estranged sister Felicia Tilman, Harris was the very desperate housewife who cut through all of the bullshit. Who told it exactly as she saw it. Who said the things people were thinking but never actually said.

Harris played the role with an infectious glee and inspired mania. Shockingly, she never received attention from the Television Academy despite being an integral part of the Paul / Mary Alice Young plot line of season one. Their loss.

Here, in a special edition of Desperate Housewives Revisited, Joey and Clarence sit down with Harriet Sansom Harris to talk about her experience on the dramedy. She talks about working often in isolation despite the ensemble cast. She shares how she approached the character and developed that cheshire cat smile and physicality. Harris also reveals her experience filming Felicia Tilman’s death scene later in the series and confesses that she can’t believe Tilman is actually dead.

With only ONE episode left, we’re winding down Desperate Housewives Revisited. If you’ve never seen Desperate Housewives, then you need to start before we close things out with the finale. The Emmy-winning series streams on Hulu / Disney+. Catch up with our podcasts here! On Monday, we look at episode twenty-three, “One Wonderful Day,” the first season finale. We also welcome another housewife as a special guest.

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Podcast Music:
Abbreviated Version of Desperate Housewives Theme by Danny Elfman