50 Behind-the-Scenes Trivia about 'Friends' (2024)

When the show first started, all main six actors were paid the same. By the second season, however, only Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer were given a pay increase. For the rest of the series, the cast banded together to demand equal pay. By the time the show ended they were making a whopping one million per episode.

Even if you’re not familiar with the episode when Joey buys the statue of the white dog, you probably remember seeing it show up throughout the series. The statue belonged to Jennifer Aniston. She lent it to the show, and the producers kept it.

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Jennifer Aniston playing Rachel. Surprisingly, however, best bud and co-star Courteney Cox was first picked for the role of Rachel. Fortunately, Cox asked to play Monica instead.

The main love interest of the show is Ross and Rachel. Throughout the ten seasons, we saw them on and off again, married, pregnant, on a break, and so much more. The original idea was for Monica and Joey to be the main love story. I think we can all agree we’re happy that idea was dropped.

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We’re all familiar with the friends favorite hangout Central Perk. The coffee shop is seen in almost every episode. Only die-hard fans might have noticed, but did you know the artwork changed every three episodes?

In season three, Joey and Chandler adopt a baby chick and a duck. The unconventional pets stuck around for a few seasons. Castmate, Lisa Kudrow, was said to be terrified of the duck.

Initially, the show was going to be about four main characters. Phoebe and Chandler would be supporting roles. We’re happy they ditched that idea and focused on the main six instead.

Some famous guest-stars include Bruce Willis, Paul Rudd, Christina Applegate, and Gary Oldman. These stars appeared on the show after doing a movie with one of the main castmates of the show. Willis and Applegate even won Emmys for their roles.

A staple of Central Perk is the orange couch where everyone hangs out. You can also see the couch in the opening credits. Although its become kind of iconic, it wasn’t always so special. It was found in the Warner Brothers studio basem*nt.

When you hear the theme song, you can’t help but sing along. But “I’ll Be There For You” by The Rembrandts wasn’t the original theme song for the show. Originally, the theme song was going to be “Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M.

Remember the golden frame around the peephole in Monica’s apartment? It was a mirror which a crew member broke. They liked the way the frame looked on the door and decided to keep it.

Phoebe’s scientist boyfriend, David, is played by Hank Azaria. Azaria first auditioned for the role of Joey and begged to audition again after being rejected. Sorry Azaria, but Matt LeBlanc was made for the role of Joey.

The refrigerator in Monica’s apartment really worked. The fridge was kept full of water and other drinks for the cast and crew. Joey’s fridge worked also but was usually empty.

Matthew Perry plays Chandler Bing, but the role was originally offered to Jon Favreau. Although he turned down the role, he did appear on the show as Monica’s millionaire boyfriend, Pete Becker.

Phoebe is known for being something of a hippie. You may be surprised to learn that Lisa Kudrow’s inspiration for the character was Jennifer Aniston. Kudrow based her hippie character on Aniston because of Aniston’s interest in spiritual topics.

Around the time the show first aired, networks were eliminating theme songs during opening credits. That is until "I'll Be There for You" went to #1 on the "Billboard Hot 100" and constantly played on the radio. The song's popularity put a stop to eliminating theme songs.

Reese Witherspoon who played Rachel’s spoiled sister Jill was supposed to return for the Thanksgiving episode in season nine. Because Witherspoon wasn’t able to guest star, Christina Applegate was instead cast to play Rachel’s other sister Amy. Applegate’s performance was well-received, and she returned again in a later episode.

Friends ran for ten seasons, but the cast turned down the opportunity to come back for an eleventh season. They felt it would ruin the reputation of the show. As much as we would’ve loved more Friends, they were probably right.

Before Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston dated Tate Donovan for three years. They were even engaged. Unfortunately, the couple broke up in the same year he was cast as Joshua, Rachel’s boyfriend. Awkwarrrdd!

Helen Baxendale played Ross’ second wife, Emily. She became pregnant in between the fourth and fifth season and couldn’t make the trip from England. Her character was thus written off the show a lot earlier than originally planned.

Matthew Perry struggled with rx dependencyduring the show's run. He admits he barely remembers three seasons of the show (seasons three through six) due to his issues, and detailed his struggles in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir. Sadly, news broke that he passed away on October 28, 2023. TMZ reports first responders were called to the beloved actor's home for cardiac arrest.

Phoebe’s twin sister, Ursula is a waitress in the TV show Mad About You. Kudrow had been guest-starring on the show as Ursula for two years before Friends. Phoebe was made an identical twin to create a crossover between the two shows.

Over ten years, the show was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards and won six. The only two main cast members to win an Emmy are Aniston and Kudrow. All the other cast members, except Courteney Cox, received nominations.

In the first season, Ross has his first child, Ben, and later in the series, he fathers his second child, Emma. Although Ben is seen throughout the series, Ben and Emma never share a scene together.

During the series, all the friends (except Ross) lived in Monica’s apartment. Although, it’s said in the show that Ross lived in the apartment with his grandmother one summer. Everyone, except Phoebe, also lived at one point in Joey and Chandler’s apartment.

No doubt you’re familiar with Joey’s infamous catchphrase “How you doin’?” What you maybe didn’t realize, however, is that all the friends have a catchphrase. Rachel shouts the word “No!”, Monica says “I know” when excited, Phoebe says “Oh, no” when something bad happens, Chander stresses the word “be” when asking a rhetorical question, and Ross says “Hi” when something bad happens.

Janeane Garofalo was initially offered the role of Phoebe. Obviously, she turned it down, and the part went to Kudrow. Years later in 1997, Garofalo and Kudrow co-starred in Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion.

Co-creator of the show, David Crane, revealed in an audio commentary for “The Last One” that they had planned for a story arc involving Ross and Rachel. Ross was going to go to Paris and fall in love with Rachel again. However, they weren’t able to do the story because they were given only 18 episodes instead of 24.

While “We were on a break!” might have become one of the show’s most memorable one-liners, the breakup between Ross and Rachel wasn’t originally intended. While it was not the original plan, producers went with it anyway in order to give viewers “something to root for.”

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In the iconic scene where Ross is marrying Emily, he very awkwardly says “Rachel” during his vows instead of “Emily.” According to one of the show’s writers, David Schwimmer had mixed up the names during rehearsal for another episode, which inspired him to pen one of Ross’ most painful blunders.

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It turns out that it wasn’t just Ross and Rachel with a “will they/won’t they” thing going on! According to interviews with both David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, they both had crushes on one another during filming. However, nothing ever came of these crushes, as both actors were involved in other relationships.

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They might have been married on the show, but there’s more to Monica and Chandler’s relationship than that. According to the genealogy website MyHeritage, actors Matthew Perry and Courtney Cox are actually 11th cousins, twice removed, with their shared ancestor being more than 500 years old.

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The costume department for Friends went hard sometimes, and that was the case in the episode where Joey puts on every article of clothing Chandler owns. However, there was a bit of on-set trickery happening during this scene. Actor Matt Leblanc wasn’t actually wearing layer upon layer of clothing. Instead, the costume crew cut up bits of clothing and attached all of them in the back with a little velcro that remains out of sight.

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In the show, Phoebe ends up marrying Mike Hannigan (played by Paul Rudd), but the writers’ original intention was that she ended up with David the Scientist. However, they enjoyed writing for Mike so much that they decided he was the one that Phoebe should be with.

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It seems like the distant past now, but there was a point in time when the public had no idea what Friends was or who was in the cast. That quickly changed, but knowing that their days of anonymity were numbered, the main cast decided to take a trip together to Las Vegas shortly before the show began airing. The cast would later make another trip to Vegas during the filming of a season 5 episode.

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In season 4, Rachel begins a disastrous relationship with a man named Joshua Burgin, with one of the lowest points in the relationship being when his parents walked in on her scantily clad. As it turns out, the man who plays Josh’s dad is actually Matthew Perry’s real-life father.

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There is a hilariously iconic episode where Phoebe tries in vain to teach Joey how to speak French. While watching the character fumble through line after line was definitely funny, it was also a bit of a lie! In real life, Matt LeBlanc is actually fluent in French, as is Lisa Kudrow.

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David Schwimmer wasn’t just an actor on set—he was equally comfortable behind the camera as well. In fact, he actually directed a few episodes! His directorial debut was in season six’s “The One on the Last Night,” and he was also responsible for directing “The One with the Red Sweater” and “The One with the All the Candy.”

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In the episode where Ross plays the bagpipes, it appears that the other characters are struggling to hold in their laughter at what a terrible job he’s doing. However, this wasn’t acting—it was real life. The reactions of the other actors are genuine as they struggle to hold back their laughter. However, it worked for the scene and eventually made it into the final cut.

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Aside from the monkey, the fountain in the opening credits might be the most famous non-human character on Friends. However, this fountain isn’t a one-trick pony! If it looks familiar to you, it could be because it also featured in the ‘90s horror comedy Hocus Pocus.

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While Monica and Chandler’s relationship spanned much of the show, that wasn’t the way things were originally intended. In fact, the two were only planned to hook up in London and then call it quits. However, fans loved this pairing so much that writers had no choice but to make it so.

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During her time on seasons four and five, we see lots of close-up shots of Emily talking on the telephone. While it may seem strange, producers were doing this because actress Helen Baxendale was very visibly pregnant, and they wanted to disguise that fact.

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Before she signed on to Friends, Jennifer Aniston was part of a CBS show called Muddling Through. Her work on Friends wouldn’t be permitted due to the terms of her contract with CBS, so NBC allegedly attempted to tank the show. Their plan? Air Danielle Steel made-for-TV movies during Muddling Through’s time slot. Strangely enough, this plan worked, and the rest is history.

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As bizarre as it sounds, Jennifer Aniston was in the running for a spot in the cast of Saturday Night Live during the 1990s. While she ultimately declined the offer, that was enough to get her on the radar of NBC execs, and her Role as Rachel came only a few short years afterward.

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There’s an episode where we see Joey’s arm in a sling, and the explanation given is that he hurt it by jumping on the bed. While that’s a hilarious and believable excuse, the real reason is that Matt LeBlanc had injured himself during the filming of an earlier episode while attempting to jump over a coffee table.

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“The One with the Football” is probably one of the best Thanksgiving episodes any TV show has ever created. In it, we’re introduced to the Geller Cup, a terrifying Troll doll glued to a piece of wood, given to the winner of the annual touch football game. While family competition at the holidays seems like a solid starting point for an episode, the story was actually inspired by the prop team uncovering the creepy Troll trophy in storage.

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In the show, we meet Phoebe’s twin sister, Ursula. While Ursula is primarily played by Lisa Kudrow with a little camera magic, Kudrow’s real-life sister, Marla, is actually a body double in some scenes. Any time there’s a shot of Phoebe and Ursula with one of them turned away from the camera, you’re actually seeing Marla.

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It seems like a suspiciously high number of episodes (especially in the early seasons) revolved around wardrobe malfunctions. While this was done on purpose, it wasn’t just a case of the writers being lazy. Instead, the writing team wanted to help the wardrobe department feel included, so many of those early episodes focused on clothes.

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