The guest stars on Friends was a who’s who, and everyone wanted to be on the show.
Aisha Tyler talked about her groundbreaking role on Friends. She talked to Entertainment Tonight about her time on Friends, almost 20 years after her character Charlie Wheeler became a recurring character on blockbuster sitcom. Tyler said the cast was so kind and welcoming, even though she says she was “petrified.” Her knees were knocking, her teeth chattered the entire time she was on set.
Tyler says. “We walked out, and we did a curtain call [where] everybody [does a] bow to the audience at the end of the show. As we’re backstage, Matthew Perry just leans in and goes, ‘Get ready for your life to change.’”
Tyler noted “It was a really sweet, kind thing to say to someone who’s petrified and just trying not to pee on herself a little bit …”
The Criminal Minds actress recalled that Perry was right in saying her life was about to change, considering that Friends was the biggest show on television at the time.
Aisha Tyler made sure she went into the audition room for the sitcom after having seen every episode and being a huge fan herself. She recalled the day she walked onto the set and tried to spot a naked guy across the street, referencing, of course, to the show’s Ugly Naked Guy. “Fortunately, it’s just a hallway back there,” she quipped.
Tyler believes that being a fan of the series helped her land her role because she knew how to tell a Friends joke. “The show had a tempo,” she explained. It had a way of emphasizing words in different ways more than you would in normal conversation. She says the cast just had a way with wordplay and a way of delivering lines, that was unique to the show.”
She says, “To this day, people come up to me and go, ‘Charlie, Charlie,’ or they just go, ‘Black girl from Friends.
Tyler says, “Sometimes you don’t really know what a job is going to do, how it’s going to change your life, … if it’s going to be a hit. You don’t even know if it’s going to be good. You’re just there to do your best work. But I knew when I got Friends that it was a big deal.”
Here’s a great blooper from Aisha Tyler’s time on Friends. And here are others that appeared on the show –
Christina Applegate
Applegate played Amy Green, one of Rachel’s spoiled sisters, in two episodes on Seasons 9 and 10. In “The One Where Rachel’s Sister Babysits,” Applegate’s character takes her neice Emma (whom she calls Ella) to get her ears pierced without permissions from her parents, Ross and Rachel. Though, in her defense, she thought she was doing something nice. “Doesn’t it make her nose look smaller!” Applegate won an Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a comedy.
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Reese Witherspoon
Before she was an Oscar winner, Reese Witherspoon gave two great performances as Rachel’s other sister Jill Green in two consecutive Season 6 episodes. Witherspoon’s character attempts to date Ross – which, if you know know anything about “Friends,” you know is a major no-no and infraction of the sister code.
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Brad Pitt
In one of the most memorable “Friends” episodes, Brad Pitt plays Will,an old pal who went to high school with Ross, Monica, and Rachel. As the night, and tension goes on, he reveals he was a member of the “I Hate Rachel Green Club” in high school, where he and its only other member, Ross, spread a rumor that Rachel has both male and female reproductive parts. This was a next level Brad Pitt performance – especially at the time!
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Freddie Prinze Jr.
In the Season 9 episode “The One with the Male Nanny,” Freddie Prinze Jr. plays Sandy, the male nanny Ross and Rachel hire to care for Emma. He played flute, made his own lotions, and was very sensitive.
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Morgan Fairchild and Kathleen Turner
Morgan Fairchild and Kathleen Turner play Chandler’s parents Nora Bing and Charles Bing/Helena Handbasket (stage name). The two are divorced, and as Chandler’s shameless drag queen father, Turner’s deep voice fit perfectly. Turner was so good in the role, and she and Fairchild were so smooth in their exchanges. This is the interview I’d like to hear – about their time on Friends.
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Jennifer Coolidge
Jennifer Coolidge plays Phoebe and Monica’s old roommate, Amanda Buffamonteezi, who annoys the two with her fake British accent and attempt to be someone she’s just not. They attempt to dodge her in the Season 10 episode “The One with Ross’s Tan” – another hilarious episode.
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Julia Roberts
In a seriously epic cameo, Julia Roberts plays Susie Moss in Season 2’s “The One After the Superbowl: Part 2.” When Chandler runs into Susie, a former classmate he used to tease, the two go on a date. Chandler assumes it’s just a kink when she asks him to put on her panties, but he later finds out it’s just revenge!
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Ben Stiller
In the Season 3 episode “The One with the Screamer,” Ben Stiller plays Rachel’s date with two faces, who irrationally screams at anyone who bothers him.
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Ellen Pompeo
Yep – even Dr. Meredith Grey appeared on Friends! In Season 10, Ellen Pompeo made an appearance as Missy Goldberg, a girl that Ross and Chandler both liked in high school. At their high school reunion, Ross confesses to her that he didn’t ask her out because he and Chandler had a pact not to. Of course she tells him, “Me and Chandler used to make out…a lot.”
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Bruce Willis
He won an Emmy for the role. Bruce Willis played Paul Stevens in three Season 6 episodes. He was the father of Ross’s young girlfriend, who begins dating Rachel, creating situations that were all different levels of awkward, and really funny!
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