The Untold Truth Of Friends

Given that "Friends" had attracted millions of viewers in its prime (and attracts newcomers and rewatchers to this day), it's safe to say that any die-hard fan could rattle off every trivia fact about the show and its characters. Having had a phenomenal 10-year run, "Friends" followed six twentysomethings -– Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Monica (Courteney Cox), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), and Chandler (Matthew Perry) –- as they navigate through the misadventures of their careers and love lives in '90s Manhattan.

There are plenty of trivia factoids well-known to any big fan – Courteney Cox had initially auditioned for Rachel (per Vanity Fair), David Schwimmer directed 10 episodes of the show, the series was filmed in Los Angeles even though it is set in New York City (via The Hollywood Reporter). But there are some behind-the-scenes tidbits that even hardcore "Friends" die-hards might have no idea about. For instance, did you know that one of the stars hated (and still hates) their now-iconic hairstyle? Or that the muse for "Smelly Cat" wasn't a cat at all? As Monica would say, "I know!" Now that you're intrigued, here are some more untold truths about "Friends."

Joey's white ceramic canine statue that was cleverly named "Pat the Dog" was first seen in Season 2, Episode 17 ("The One Where Eddie Moves In"). It arrives in Joey's new apartment amidst all the other animal statues that he splurges on as part of his "ceramic zoo" collection after his big acting break.

One of the most unforgettable running gags of "Friends" in the form of a prop, the statue becomes a central focus two episodes later in "The One Where Eddie Won't Leave," when Joey can no longer afford to keep his apartment and has to sell all of his ceramic animals. In an attempt to cheer Joey up, Ross buys the dog back for him — it isn't Joey's preference, but it's the one Ross can afford.

Humorously, the real-life origin of the prop isn't too different from its story on the show. The prop was owned by Jennifer Aniston, who had been gifted the statue by a personal friend in anticipation of the sitcom's premiere, much as Joey had gifted himself the statue after landing a big role on "Days of Our Lives."

Out of all the possible actors who could hate their character's hairdo, you'd expect one of them to be Courteney Cox. After all, there's the episode in which Monica is accidentally given a "Dudley Moore" haircut by Phoebe, or the time she gets poofy, frizzy hair from the humidity during her stay in Barbados. But believe it or not, it was Jennifer Aniston who hated the famous "Rachel" haircut -– a hairstyle that was continuously imitated by millions of women worldwide and has remained in vogue for more than 20 years after its introduction.

Both Aniston and her character Rachel rose to the status of fashion idols during the '90s (per Elle), having influenced and inspired an entire generation of women's clothing and lifestyle. A prominent aspect of her recognizable fashion choices was "The Rachel," a flicky, shoulder-length, deeply layered hairstyle that the character sported for the first three seasons of the show.

Despite the haircut's simple appearance, critics and fans who had tried to replicate the haircut found that it was challenging to maintain without the help of an experienced, professional hairstylist. "I was not a fan of 'The Rachel,'" Aniston revealed to Glamour. "That was kind of cringe-y for me." Adding to her distaste was the fact that she couldn't do the hairstyle on her own, needing her hairstylist Chris McMillan (who had also designed the hairstyle) "attached to her hip."

At the risk of upsetting devoted fans of "Mondler" (Monica + Chandler), some could argue that Ross and Rachel were the central romantic focus of "Friends." Their romance had been set up from the very first scene of the series premiere. When the recently-divorced Ross says he just wants to be married, Rachel steps into the café at that very instance wearing a bridal gown –- a moment that establishes how their relationship would be core to the show's narrative. After that, every single season in the show's 10-year run plays with Ross and Rachel's will-they-won't-they arc, culminating in the series finale with Rachel deciding to stay with Ross instead of leaving for Paris for her new job.

However, the creators revealed (via Emmys) that the decision to have the two as the central couple came after they had tried coupling other characters, especially Joey and Monica, while they were pitching the show. When they had finally cast the characters, they found that Matt LeBlanc brought his "great big brother vibe" to Joey, prompting them to immediately throw out the idea.

On paper, Monica and Joey seem like the ideal couple since, among other things, she enjoys cooking and he enjoys eating. But not everything that sounds good on paper translates to on-screen chemistry between actors, and the creators' ability to make that judgement is what made the sibling-like bond between Monica and Joey so charming.

Every single character in the ensemble cast of "Friends" stands out as distinctly memorable and loveable in their own unique ways. This can be credited to the writers, who prioritized giving each of the friends equal importance and making sure that no character felt underused or sidelined in comparison to the others. This has also been mathematically demonstrated by a scientific study that calculated the distribution of jokes and screen time among each character and compared them (via Let the Machines Learn).

As with most of the creative decisions behind the show, even the idea that all six characters would be primary characters wasn't always a given. As per series co-creator Marta Kaufman on the special "Friends: Final Thoughts," Phoebe and Chandler were initially thought of as "a little more secondary." Only after Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry were cast did the creators realize how much the actors could contribute, elevating their roles to the level of the show's primary characters as they built their chemistry with their castmates.

The sense of unity among the characters wasn't just an effort on the creators' part — the core cast had gotten along so well that they actually became friends in real life and worked as a unit to negotiate their salaries (per Business Insider).

Despite the several instances when Joey had casually flirted with Rachel over the course of "Friends" (beginning within the pilot episode), their friendship often felt more like a sibling bond. At times, Rachel would act like an elder sister to the childlike Joey, most notably when she tries to teach him sailing in "The One With Phoebe's Cookie" and scolds him for not taking the lesson seriously.

The show, however, took an unexpected turn in Season 8 when Joey developed feelings for Rachel, who was at the time pregnant with Ross' child. This resulted in a complicated love triangle plot among Joey, Rachel, and Ross that carried over into the show's ninth and tenth seasons. Fans and critics argued that the actors lacked romantic chemistry with one another, and that the coupling was logical neither on paper nor on-screen.

In the book "Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show that Defined a TV Era" (via InStyle), "Friends" co-creator David Crane recalled that the cast had vehemently expressed their distaste for the Rachel/Joey pairing, reasoning that "That's like having a crush on your sister!" Crane admitted in an interview with Radio Times that he knew the idea was controversial and "wrong," which is exactly why he wanted to have the characters try it. "There is the relationship that shouldn't be," he explained. "Even though you love someone, that's not who you're going to be with."

Despite all the potential casting options for "Friends," the show's creators were always pretty clear about who they thought would be the best fit for Ross: David Schwimmer. In fact, the actor was the first among the six "Friends" to have been cast. In an interview with "The One Show" (via Digital Spy), series co-creator David Crane revealed that Schwimmer had been approached first, as the character of Ross had been written with Schwimmer's voice in mind. However, Schwimmer had initially turned down the part due to a negative experience he had while working on another sitcom prior to "Friends."

Appearing on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," Schwimmer explained why he had declined the role of Ross. "I had a miserable experience on my first job as a series regular ... a year and a half before 'Friends,'" he recalled. Commenting on the collaborative process on that show, he added, "I felt like I was not invited to play ... my ideas were not listened to. Basically, I felt like a prop." Schwimmer had only decided to give it a shot after director James Burrows (who had previously directed episodes of "Cheers" and "Frasier" and was set to direct the pilot episode of "Friends") personally invited him to meet creators David Crane and Marta Kaufman.