The Pop TV Show Friends which recently completed 25 years since its debut — is still widely watched and loved around the world. The popular series features an ensemble cast which includes Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. The story of FRIENDS revolves around six friends who live in Manhattan, New York City.
FRIENDS: 15 Surprising Facts About Friends That Most Fans Don’t Know
1. “Friends” wasn’t the first name choice for the show.
Friends co-creator David Crane and Marta Kauffman had a number of working titles — Insomnia Cafe, Six of One, and Friends Like Us. When the show premiered on September 22, 1994, they had finally landed on simply Friends.
2. Before the show was cast, the main love story was intended to be between Monica and Joey.
According to co-creator Marta Kaufman, the two “seemed the most sexual of the characters”
3. The Cast Took A Trip To Vegas Before The Premiere
James Burrows treated all six of the young actors to dinner at Caesars Palace. He revealed to US Weekly that “had a feeling” that the show was going to be a huge success, and that this would be the actors’ last chance to enjoy their anonymity.
4. Courteney Cox wanted to play Monica but was originally offered the role of Rachel.
The producers of the show offered the role of Rachel to Courteney, but, after reading the script she requested to play Monica instead because she could relate more to that character’s neatness and competitiveness.
Ellen DeGeneres was actually the producers’ first choice to play Phoebe Buffay, but Ellen turned the role down.
6. The storyline of Phoebe having her brother’s babies was thought up when Lisa Kudrow announced her real-life pregnancy
As she was not big enough to have triplets, and the show was shot in “TV time”, the costumers had to pad her to make her look bigger for the show.
7. Lisa Kudrow Did Not Know How To Play The Guitar
Phoebe was originally going to be a good musician, but Lisa Kudrow hated playing the guitar and refused to learn. Thankfully, her terrible guitar playing ended up being one of the things we love and also Smelly Cat.
8. Courteney Cox is the only regular cast member to not receive an Emmy nomination for their work on the show
Ken Tucket explains that “Monica’s character’s fierce competitiveness was not an attractive trait I think she gets overlooked because the actress has always been such a selfless ensemble player.”
9. When Lisa Kudrow first read the script, she thought Chandler’s character was gay
Lisa Kudrow said that she was surprised to hear Mather Perry’s interpretation of Chandler and she thought his character was gay and she was not the only one.
10. The actress who played Emily, Helen Baxendale, was pregnant during the wedding scene.
According to Racked, the costume designer had to alter her wedding dress in order to hide her belly and in season 5 this is also the reason why we see Emily in bed, under covers, talking to Ross on the phone
11. The orange couch used in Central Perk was found in the basement of the Warner Bros. studio
12. The White Dog Statue Actually Belonged To Jennifer Aniston
In reality, the white dog belonged to Jennifer Aniston and her best friend gave it to her as a good luck present when she signed on for the series, and the actress offered it to the show.
13. Ross was 29 for three seasons.
In season 3, he denies Chandler’s offer for chocolate milk by saying, “No thanks, I’m 29,” according to HuffPost. In-season 4, when the guys realize they don’t like partying as much as they used to, Joey says to Ross and Chandler “We’re 29.” Also, in season 5, Ross wonders what to do about Emily, saying “I either keep my wife and lose one of my best friends, or I keep my friend and get divorced for the second time before I’m 30.”
14. Matt LeBlanc And Jennifer Weren’t Fans Of Joey And Rachel’s Romance
In 2012, Matt told Vanity Fair they felt it was “wildly inappropriate.” and their romance lasted three episodes.
15. Joey owes an estimated $114,260 to Chandler in the show
This Reddit user noted that Chandler paid for two sets of headshots for Joey, along with acting, dancing, and voice lessons. Add all this together, and had to replace all of the stolen furniture from their apartment. This added on another $5,500, bringing the total to $114,260.
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