11 things you didn't know about Friends
Friends has been a worldwide phenomenon since 1994 – the show was on air for 10 seasons, with the cast going on to more stardom and success once the show ended.
It has become one of the most popular TV shows of all time, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2002 to being ranked no.24 in the Writers Guild of America's 101 best written TV series of all time.
Here are some trivia that you may not know about the hit comedy series...
1. Friends wasn't originally called Friends
Even though the title is iconic today, the creators didn't intend to have a single-named show. It had various working titles: after NBC bought the pilot, it started off with Friends Like Us, then Six of One and Insomnia Cafe. When the first show premiered in September 1994, they shortened it to Friends.
2. Jennifer Aniston was NOT keen on 'the Rachel' hairstyle
'90s women all wanted to look like Aniston's character. Yet she revealed in an interview with Allure that she wasn't a fan, saying: "I think it was the ugliest haircut I've ever seen…Let's just say I'm not a fan of short, layered cuts on me personally, so I don't love revisiting that particular era."
The hairstyle became a viral trend, with celebs such as Selena Gomez recreating the look, but Aniston discovered that even though it was sophisticated and simple, the style was hard to maintain. In a Marie Claire interview, she said: 'The Rachel' was high maintenance, it took three brushes - it was like doing surgery!"
3. Central Perk's sofa wasn't originally orange
The sofa featured in almost all the episodes as the go-to spot in the coffee shop, but it was never meant to be a bright orange. The creators were on the lookout for a beige one, but ending up settling for the vibrancy instead.
The creators found it in the basement at Warner Bros Studios…. at least it saved them money.
4. Filming was never in New York
Even though the show is about six friends in NYC, Friends was never actually filmed there…. like, at all. The show was made at Warner Bros Studio in Los Angeles and only the exterior shots of the Friends' apartment building were shot in NY at the edge of Bedford and Grove street.
No wonder people have never been able to find the fountain on the East Coast. Because it's in Burbank.
5. Ellen Degeneres could have been in Friends
Ellen was originally offered the role of Phoebe, but turned it down. Other celebrities including comic Kathy Griffin and Glee star Jane Lynch also auditioned.
6. Ross was 29 for three years
Ross mentions he's 29 in seasons three and four. Thats technically possible, assuming the show exists in "real" time. In the fifth season, though, he says he's getting divorced twice before age 30, despite the fact there were three Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes over that period.
Another thing that's odd is Ross seemed to have two birthdays, telling Gunther he was born in December in season four, then telling Joey his birthday is October 18th in the ninth season.
7. Marcel was played by two monkeys
Katie and Monkey (clever name) were the two capuchins who played Ross's pet Marcel. Schwimmer was not a fan of working with them. Not because he didn't like the animals, but because he wasn't allowed to play with them – in 1995, he told Entertainment Weekly "The trainers won't let me bond with it. They're really, really possessive. It's like, 'Land on your marks, do your job, don't touch or bond with the monkey.' It's a bummer."
8. Phoebe was really pregnant
In the show when Phoebe was having triplets, Lisa Kudrow was actually pregnant in real life. During a special flashback episode, Lisa said that the creators were not satisfied with hiding the pregnancy as it would have proved difficult with continuity so they wrote her pregnancy into the show.
9. Jennifer Aniston intended to leave Friends during season one
When Friends started, Jennifer was also on another sitcom for CBS called Muddling Through. She thought that if Muddling Through got picked up, then she would leave Friends. Thank god she didn't.
10. Bruce Willis didn't get paid for his role
Bruce Willis was a guest star in Friends for three episodes. In 1999, Matthew Perry and Willis were making The Whole Nine Yards where Perry was optimistic about the role, but Willis wasn't. They made a bet: if the movie became number one at the box office, Willis would appear on Friends at no cost.
He won an Emmy for Best Guest Actor for playing the father of Ross's girlfriend so he must have made a good impression.
11. Gunther was a real barista
James Micheal Tyler, who played Gunther, got the part because he actually knew how to use an espresso machine and he worked in an actual coffee shop in Hollywood up until season four. Presumably he needed the tips, especially as he didn't have a line till the 33rd episode of the show. Talking to Buzzfeed in 2014, he said: 'The espresso machine wasn't plugged in because they can be kind of loud, but that was a real antique coffee machine. I never actually made one coffee!"
All seasons of Friends are now available to watch on Netflix.
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