12 things that fans of the TV show “Friends” probably didn’t know
Off the air since 6 May 2004, the hit 90s TV show “Friends” left a lasting impression on a whole generation of viewers. With 236 episodes and 10 seasons, it was mainly the iconic characters made this comedy such a success. For those familiar with the show, here’s a list that may surprise you. Indeed, “Friends” has many secrets about its production, cast, and characters:
1. Bruce Willis appeared on two episodes of “Friends” because he lost a bet.
Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis made a bet while filming The Whole Nine Yards. So as a good loser, Bruce Willis filmed two episodes of “Friends” for free!
2. Courteney Cox refused to play the role of Rachel, because she thought the character was too moody!
3. The frame behind the door is actually a broken mirror.
The famous gold frame hanging on the door of Monica's apartment is actually a mirror. In fact, it was broken during filming, but the team chose to leave it for aesthetic reasons.
4. During the last season, each actor earned $1 million per episode.
In the first season, the 6 main actors each earned $22,000 per episode and $100,000 in 1997, and then $1 million in 2004.
5. Courteney Cox is older than David Schwimmer, but played his younger sister on the show.
Courteney Cox was born in 1964, and David Schwimmer was born in 1966.
6. “Friends” could have been called “Insomnia Café”.
Before giving the show its final name of “Friends”, the writers and producers came up with some other names: “Friends Like Us”, “Six of One”, “Across the Hall”, and “Insomnia Café”.
7. The actor who plays Joshua's dad is Matthew Perry’s real dad.
8. Joey’s white dog statue belonged to Jennifer Aniston in real life.
One of her friends gave it to her to bring her luck in her career. Obviously, it worked!
9. All the actors were already friends in real life.
Yes, before playing the characters on the “Friends” set, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer were actually friends in life. This probably explains why the series lasted so long!
10. Jennifer Aniston was not supposed to play Rachel.
Committed to filming another TV show at the time of casting, the beautiful Jennifer Aniston was not the production team’s first choice to play Rachel Green. Téa Leoni had been chosen, but she refused to play on another show.
11. At first, Gunther was an extra.
James Michael Tyler took the role of Gunther, because he was the only one that could operate a coffee machine.
12. On average, an episode of “Friends” took 5 hours to film.
That’s 1,180 hours (49 days) for the entire series!
By Straker Julia
Writer
Passionate about writing, I write articles on the subjects that I love. Creativity and Animals themes are my favorites!
