ashley williams: face freeze

The "Snow 2 Brain Freeze" star's stories give new meaning to the concept of "chilling on the set."

We recently got to talk with Ashley Williams about everything from her start in show business to what the typical day was like on the set of “Snow 2: Brain Freeze.”

Hint: It was BEYOND cold — or is that below cold?

Anyway, here’s what Ashley had to say ...

"My sister [Kimberly] started to make money doing commercials when she was probably 14 or 15. We had a close friend who was on 'Another World.' Her name was Anna Holbrook, and she was a role model for me, my sister, and my brother. Anyway, once [my sister] started working, my mom would take her to auditions, and she was like, 'Well, if I have to make the car trip into New York City anyway, I should just take all the kids.' So, we all started auditioning. We all got agents. I did a couple of commercials and then I did 'As the World Turns' for two years. Then I went to theater school, and everything sort of fell into place."

BTW, Ashley went to Boston University, just like "Lincoln Heights" star Russell Hornsby.

Ashley also described a typical day on the set. "A typical day: Wake up at about 4:40. Brush my teeth really quickly. Throw on some clothes. A car picks me up at 5 to take me to the set, which is usually about an hour away. Arrive on set at 6. Hair and makeup until about 7:30. Hit the set at 7:30 and rehearse the first scene, which was usually outside and really cold.

"So, at this point I've got like 18 huge coats on, and we do a rehearsal, and then I run back and change clothes and I put these, what I call hot pockets, all over my body. They've got this sand in them, and when you shake them they warm up. I would put those in my shoes, and I would strap them around my legs and in my underwear and in my bra and on the back of my neck and in my pockets and everywhere, so that I could stay warm. That was like a little process. It took a little while."

We'll bet! But, as Ashley said, it was really cold. "It's, like, 45 degrees below zero. I would put my mittened hands over my face before every take so that I would be warm, and then they would say, 'Action,' and I would open my fingers so that my eyes showed, and I’d be like, 'Are you sure?' The problem was, as soon as I would take my hands away and start the scene, I had like a minute and a half before my face stopped working."

Ouch! "It was really hard," Ashley said, "but I have to say, I've never laughed so hard. It was a set full of laughter and togetherness and community."

Guess they made up for the cold with a lot of warmth. Awwwww. Thanks, Ashley!

What's the coldest you've ever been? What did you do to keep warm?