These Friends Memories Are Just So Wholesome

Bless you, Today, for this wholesome gift. 

In new interviews with a whole bunch of iconic Friends guest stars, Today has given us new behind-the-scenes tidbits that we will now cherish forever, as they are adorable, like a splashing-in-puddles kind of adorable. 

To hear these guest stars, including Christina Applegate, Cole Sprouse, and Kristin Davis, tell it, the Friends set was a beautiful place to be, led by incredibly talented people who loved each other so very much, accompanied by some of the most treasured writing on TV. We pulled out a few of the best bits of the interviews, which you can see below. 

1. Three seasons into Sex and the City, Kristin Davis lost sleep over the “tiny” role of Erin, Joey’s one-time love interest. 

“I remember losing sleep,” she said. “Sex and the City was in production, but I was nervous to be the tiny character of Erin, losing sleep, partly because of the live audience, but partly because you’re in this world that has been created that is so alive and so specific and you’re trying to make sure you’re fitting yourself in there properly. And I remember, like, ‘Will I set that joke up OK? Will Matt [LeBlanc] be happy? Will I just go blank?’ Things go through your head when you’re in those situations that are heightened like that. Obviously it was the highest of the high at that point.”

2. Davis also recalled that during a guest stint on E.R., which shot right next to Friends, she and George Clooney sat and watched a rehearsal of a season one episode. 

“When I was on E.R., which was the first season, Friends was doing an episode that was one of the iconic episodes, where they played poker. And George [Clooney] and I went over to watch at lunch and we sat up in the stands and watched them rehearse and it was so funny and amazing. And James Burrows was directing, whom I love so much, and to watch that show and then see that show on the air and to see that chemistry that the cast had come together. They were so on it in terms of their voices and their characters and the beats, and they just knew what they were doing, and I remember being blown away by their confidence level and their synergy as a group.”

3. Davis also remembered watching Lisa Kudrow taking charge. 

“I remember watching Lisa Kudrow especially, because she had this very involved storyline that she wanted to work on, and the way that she worked with the writing staff … David Schwimmer was directing, which was also fascinating, and he was obviously a great director and a great actor’s director and a combination of fun and low-key but also the boss, which was amazing to see. But watching Lisa rework her character’s arc or what was happening in that episode was really something that I hadn’t really seen in that way where someone who obviously knew her own power and knew what was right and knew what was funny—because there’s no one funnier than Lisa Kudrow—really went and reworked it in a way that was amazing.”

Just to repeat: There’s no one funnier than Lisa Kudrow. 

4. Christina Applegate, who played Rachel’s sister later in the series, says her favorite line she got to say was one that was written on the spot. 

“I think my favorite line, though, is when I keep saying Lisa’s [Kudrow] name wrong. And then she goes, ‘Phoebe.’ And I say, ‘Why does she keep making that noise?’ That was written as a rewrite in front of the audience, and I thought it was hilarious.” 

5. Cole Sprouse, who played Ross’ son Ben, had a crush on Jennifer Aniston, because who the heck didn’t? 

“I’m pretty sure I fell in love with Jennifer Aniston, which the whole world had at that point. But I do remember being quite intimidated around her, because of that. I remember blanking on my lines, and having a kind of stage fright when she sat next to me on the couch in one episode. And I remember there was a camera man who was like, ‘Little boy’s got a crush,’ or I forget what they said. Of course, I turned bright red. But I do remember feeling like I fell in love.” 

And obviously he loved shooting the Holiday Armadillo episode, because who wouldn’t? 

6. Even David Schwimmer got nervous, Jane Sibbett (who played Carol) recalled about a scene in “The One With the Candy Hearts.” 

“It was the sweetest, sweetest scene and we had to kiss,” she said. “It was so emotional and he made me cry. My eyes welled with tears as we were doing the scene because he was so tender and so loving and just ‘Can we make this work again?’ You know, when you’re in it, the acting kind of dissolves away. And he kissed me and the thought that went through my mind is ‘He’s really sweaty right now,’ ’cause he was so nervous.”

7. Jane Sibbett’s favorite memory on set literally made us go “Awww!” out loud, just trying to put this picture in our heads: 

“I’d come back from the commissary at Warner Brothers and I came around the corner and I saw Courteney and Jen and Lisa splashing in a puddle. It was raining. They were splashing in the puddle like children and laughing. No one could see them. And literally, it was between sound stages in this little area. I get choked up when I think about it. I said, like, if they could capture that, that’s lightning in a bottle. If they could capture that kind of freedom and that friendship, this show is golden.”

Can you just imagine Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow splashing in a puddle in the rain?? 

8. Lauren Tom, who played Ross’ lovely girlfriend Julie, also shared a favorite memory that may just give you all the warm and fuzzy feelings. 

“The rest of the cast was so welcoming to me. It was very authentic, their friendship. They were very bonded. When I started, it was the point at which they were just taking off like a rocket ship. Sometimes I think that even a success can feel like a crisis, because it’s so huge. And so they kind of really clung onto each other. They would literally walk down the set on Warner Brothers arm-in-arm. I still remember it was my birthday on my first day of rehearsal, and so they all took me out to lunch. It was very, very fancy, and it was so, so sweet of them to welcome me in that way.”

The cast would walk down the set arm-in-arm! 

9. Tom also dealt with some not-so-nice memories, as the audience booed her for keeping Ross and Rachel apart. 

“I wasn’t prepared for the amount of venom I was about to receive in a live audience where they actually booed my character,” she said. “And, of course, I was trying very hard not to get my feelings hurt. So I had to get used to that. But I did understand intellectually that, you know, the audience was meant to be rooting for Rachel. Even I was rooting for Rachel, on some level, ’cause I was a fan of the show.”

10. Vincent Ventresca, who played Fun Bobby (who was not actually so fun), described sports team-esque huddles that the cast would have, even in front of the audience, where they figured out how to make scenes funnier. 

“I was a basketball player when I was younger, and that’s why I liked acting. They kind of made acting like sports again. It was a team. And they played it together and they worked together. And they knew what was funny and they used the audience as a way to kind of check if their instincts were right. And they knew if they could make the audience laugh they knew they’d make America laugh. Things didn’t always go perfectly when you were taping the show—and they knew it. And they didn’t just gloss over it. They were like, ‘Hey, we can do better.’ And then they literally would, like, huddle up in front of, like, a studio audience. And they’d be like, ‘What if you did this, or what if you did that? And let’s try this.’ And they’d break, and then they’d go and do it.”

Friends aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004.