Friends Cast Members Reveal What They Didn't Like About The Show
"Friends: The Reunion" is finally here, with 1-hour-and-43-minute-long HBO Max special bringing together all of the original cast members. Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), David Schwimmer (Ross Geller), Courteney Cox (Monica Geller), and Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani) got together 17 years after the show's final episode to talk about the hit American sitcom that graced our televisions from the '90s into the early 2000s.
The event was hosted by "The Late Late Show" icon James Corden, who sat down with the Friends in front of the iconic opening credits fountain (with a live audience watching, no less). Together, they reminisced about happy memories and emotional moments as they fell right back into their old family dynamic. The stars were blown away at the sight of the original stage, with both the girls' and the guys' apartments and the Central Perk sets placed exactly the way they were nearly 20 years ago.
Although there were plenty of funny anecdotes and memories to share, there's one thing that the cast agreed was the worst part about working on "Friends": having to share the stage with the small, furry, and not-so-lovable Marcel, the monkey.
Marcel the monkey caused issues for the Friends
In a Q&A segment during "Friends: The Reunion," James Corden took a question from a member of the audience, who asked if there was anything about the show that the cast didn't like. Without missing a beat, Matt LeBlanc spoke up immediately: "The monkey." David Schwimmer quickly echoed LeBlanc's answer, as did Lisa Kudrow. "The monkey scared me," confessed Courtney Cox. Jennifer Aniston, however, disagreed: "I loved the monkey!"
The monkey in question is a white-headed capuchin that Ross Gelller adopts early in Season 1 of "Friends." Schwimmer, who played Ross and therefore spent the most time with the primate, elaborated on his issues with his animal co-star. "First of all, I want to say I love animals. I love primates. I have nothing against animals. I am an animal lover," Schwimmer began. "The monkey ... was trained, and it had to hit its mark and do its thing right at the perfect time. But what inevitably began to happen was [this]: We would all have choreographed bits kind of timed out, and it would get messed up because the monkey didn't do its job right. So we'd have to reset, we'd have to go again because the monkey didn't get it right."
It's clear during his speech that Schwimmer still holds a grudge against his old monkey co-star — much to the amusement of his fellow cast members, who were laughing throughout his rant. Luckily for the stars, Marcel was written off the show at the end of the first season.
Although the "Friends" cast may have been glad to be rid of the capuchin, fans of the show will always remember him showing his "affection" for Rachel's Curious George doll, and how much he loved to listen to "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."