Getting to know each other was a bit awkward. Matthew Perry summed it up like this: “I was kind of like, ‘Hi, I don’t know who you are, but hopefully we’ll be working together for the next 12,000 years.’” It turned out to be 10, but that’s an eternity in TV years. The only trepidation of the group dynamic not working was focused on Matt LeBlanc, at least by the women in the cast. Inviting the strapping actor who had modeled for Levi’s into the group made Jennifer Aniston, for one, nervous. “I was scared of that type of guy,” she said when the cast first met each other.
She observed his machismo attitude and feared the worst. But then she got to know him. After it all, LeBlanc laughed it off. “He thinks it’s very funny,” Aniston explained to People in 1995, “And actually, he can sit down and comfort me just like Courteney or Lisa could.” It all worked out. They became close friends, on and off the set.
Friends for Real
These pals were playful on and off-camera. Perhaps that is why the friend group chemistry hits home so well. “I think it was unspoken, but we instinctively felt like we need to be friends, we need to get along, we need to connect,” Lisa Kudrow remarked. The cast spent 10 years together through some trying times, so it clearly brought them closer.
Six months into the show, Friends was an insane hit. LeBlanc even told People magazine that if even if they weren't acting together, and just met a party, they definitely would have been friends.
A Word from the Fashion Genius Behind Cast Costumes
Behind the scenes wardrobing was quite a feat. Not only did the show’s designer, Debra McGuire, have to come up with the fashion trends of the decade in each and every scene, she also had to make sure the cast was color-coordinated.
In 2019, McGuire told the Guardian how important it was for the six actors to look good together. Each character had their personal color scheme. Rachel was blues and greens and Phoebe was patterns, so McGuire had to bring each friend together as one stylistically harmonized group.
The Controversy that Never Happened
NBC was bracing for a storm of hate mail following the one where Ross’ ex, Carol, tied the knot with Susan in the second season. It was the first gay ladies’ marriage presented on TV and the show’s execs expected the worst. That anxiety has been cited as the reason for not portraying the nuptial kiss. The network was prepared. They had over 100 operators manning the phones. Expecting an onslaught of calls, perhaps a million, they were very surprised. Executive producer Marta Kauffman told The Hollywood Reporter, “They got two.” Two calls. No one cared.
To be sure, concerns were not unfounded. Two local TV networks refused to air the episode. That would be, KJAC in Fort Arthur, Texas and WLIO in Lima, Ohio. Carol and Susan’s marriage was nearly the first gay marriage on TV. Earlier that season, Roseanne featured a gay marriage between two men.
No One Wanted Joey and Rachel Together
A 2018 book about the sitcom reveals that no one on the cast wanted the Joey/Rachel thing to happen. Kelsey Miller’s book, I’ll Be There for You: The One About Friends points out that Aniston did not like the script, saying chemistry beyond physical attraction would flounder. She also said the show has always been all about Ross and Rachel. A relationship between the other two would have been unwatchable after a while, the book argues.
Aniston told Elle how she felt about the Joey-Rachel twist: “No! No, no. They tried!” Explaining, that if there was post friends afterworld, Joey and Rachel would have never made it. Aniston wasn’t the only one strongly against it. LeBlanc was the cast member who most staunchly rejected the idea. He hated it. He said it was not like Joey’s character to take his friend’s girl.