‘Friends’ Reunion Reveals Ross And Rachel Stars’ Crush
Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer almost hooked up on the set of “Friends,” but their characters Rachel and Ross nearly did not.
Those were among the revelations die-hard “Friends” fans were treated to Thursday as a one-off reunion special of the beloved 1990s sitcom streamed on the HBO Max platform.
Asked by host James Corden if any of the six stars had real-life chemistry, both Aniston and Schwimmer confessed to “crushing hard on each other” early in the smash hit show’s run.
“I remember saying, one time, to David, ‘It’s going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television,’” recalled Aniston.
“Sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop,” she said, referring to the New York-based show’s famous “Central Perk” set. o we just channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel.”
The two characters’ on-off relationship was a cornerstone of “Friends” throughout its 10-year, 236-episode run, which ended with a romantic reconciliation.
Co-creator David Crane said in an interview that the writers had asked themselves if the pair really should end up together.
Elsewhere in the reunion episode, Matthew Perry surprised his co-stars by admitting to having suffered severe anxiety “every night” during filming.
The creators said Monica and Chandler’s romance was intended to be a one-night stand before positive audience reactions changed their minds, and that Matt LeBlanc nearly lost out on the role of Joey to the actor who would play his fake twin in a later episode.
Cara Delevingne, Cindy Crawford, and Justin Bieber modeled famous comedy outfits from the show on a catwalk, while Lady Gaga sang a duet of “Smelly Cat” with Lisa Kudrow.