25 little-known facts about the series “Friends” (26 photos)

Almost 20 years have passed since the end of the popular sitcom Friends, but many still remember it fondly and continue to re-watch it regularly. It became a truly cult and popular show, and had a great influence on the serial industry.





Here are a few facts about Friends that fans of the show might find interesting.

1.



Matthew Perry dedicated his life to helping others, including Hank Azaria, who played David on the show. He turned his former mansion in Malibu into a sobriety center that operated until 2015.

2.





The actors always tried to maintain the ensemble format and make sure that no one of them dominated. They participated in the same award nominations and asked to be featured on magazine covers only together.

3.



Phoebe was originally supposed to date scientist David, but the writers liked Paul Rudd's Mike so much that they changed the plot.

4.



Matt and Jen remained on set for several hours after the finale had finished filming and were the last to leave (January 23, 2004).

5.



To create the iconic look of Joey in Chandler's clothes, the costume designers took items from his closet and cut them so they were flared and looked like they were layered. Everything is fastened at the back with Velcro.

6.



Matthew and Courtney were actually distant cousins whose relatives married in England almost 500 years ago. According to the family tree, they were 11th cousins.

7.



While David took the initiative to collectively renegotiate the actors' contracts to achieve equal pay, it was Courtney who suggested that the six of them give each other feedback on what they could do to become better actors.

8.



Matthew Perry helped his friends and other actors audition for the role of Chandler while he was stuck filming the sci-fi comedy sitcom LAX 2194, and only auditioned himself when the sitcom was cancelled.

9.



During filming, the girls were on a strict diet and trained daily. Lisa Kudrow had the hardest time of all. She constantly compared herself to Jennifer and Courtney and said that chasing a figure is no fun.

10.



Since 2004, the six friends have never been in the same room together, except for one time at a dinner party at Courtney's house in October 2019.

eleven.



When viewers became concerned about Matthew's appearance in the 2021 Friends Reunion special, his reps clarified that he had emergency dental surgery before filming.

12.



There's a reason Friends didn't touch on 9/11. The writers felt that this was not the most relevant series, and did not want to make a special episode in which everyone is worried about what happened and is trying to cope with it.

13.



When the actors went to Las Vegas, director James Burrows gave them $200 each to play at the casino before filming began. Matt LeBlanc lost it within seconds and was given another $200.

14.



Lisa felt she was having a hard time playing the role of Phoebe until the third season. She eventually sought advice from Matt LeBlanc, who simply told her that she was doing great and not to stress.

15.



For many years it was believed that the ninth season would be the last. NBC Studios agreed to pay Warner Bros. $10 million for the production of each episode of the tenth season.

16.



With her first fee for filming Friends, Jennifer bought a Mercedes, which was sold for several years. It broke after two trips.

17.



Typically the live audience was 300 people, while in London scenes were filmed in a studio with three audiences of 500 people each. This became the largest audience ever for the show.

18.



Tom Selleck was initially terrified when he walked onto the set of Friends. He said he was scared to death sitting at the table and seeing how close all the other actors were, but "Courtney was a big help."

19.



In the pilot episode of Joey, it is revealed that Rachel and Ross have remarried.

20.



Jennifer Aniston was the only member of the main cast who didn't try the infamous Thanksgiving dish, which actually consisted of bananas and whipped cream.

21.



Rachel's yellow dress became so popular that even many years later, the show's designer regularly received requests from fans wanting to purchase the dress.

22.



The name Rachel appears in the titles of 28 episodes, much more often than the names of the rest of Friends, and the name Monica appears in the titles of 8 episodes, the least often.

23.



Auditions for the leading roles took place in New York and Los Angeles. First, the casting director selected 75 actors from about a thousand. Those who received the callback read again before Crane, Kauffman and Bright. The final three/four actors selected for each role had to read for the President of Warner Bros. Television.

24.



David Schwimmer asked James Burroughs to mentor him during the first season and was eager to learn.

25.



Winona Ryder's cameo in Friends was met with mixed reactions. The episode was one of the lowest viewership episodes of the season, with only 16.3 million viewers. This was the time when the actress got into trouble because of her kleptomania - she stole clothes from an expensive store, then underwent compulsory treatment.