The show has made billions and the worth continues to climb. Warner Brothers along with the cast will continue to profit for years to come.
'Friends' changed television in more ways than one, during the final seasons, the main stars were pocketing $1 million per episode, something that was unheard of at the time.
With 236 episodes, along a decade-long run from 1994 until 2004, they were bound to run into at least a few issues. The show had several guest stars along the way, some of the more memorable include the likes of Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Reese Witherspoon, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and so many others.
Although most had a blast appearing on the show, that wasn't exactly the case for everyone. Paul Rudd has a bizarre time behind the scenes, and he would even face the wrath of Jennifer Aniston.
We can say the same about some other guests, the one we're covering in particular, was rather rude.
He appeared on the show during the early stages and according to Aniston herself, he acted like the show was beneath him... the actor would admit that he didn't bring the best attitude.
We'll cover that behind-the-scenes story, along with taking a look at other guest spots with bumpy histories.
Tension & Odd Casting
Most of the time, the guest roles came without controversy. At least on the surface. Tate Donovan had a great time on the show itself... though, in his personal relationships, things were kind of different.
Donovan and Aniston had just broken up in real life and to make matters worse, they had to shoot scenes together as a couple.
Tate recalls the experience, "I was just happy to be on the team. The only bummer was Jennifer and I were breaking up at the time,” Donovan, 54, recalls exclusively to Us Weekly. “And so that was tricky to sort of act, and act like we are just meeting each other, and falling in love, or whatever, interested in each other when we’re sort of breaking up. That was just tough.”
It wasn't a short-term relationship either, the two dated for two years, "The people that know that we dated think that we met on Friends. But in fact, we had dated for two years before then, and it was over by the time we were on Friends together.”
Emotions aside, Tate recalls the cast being amazing and loveable.
Alexandra Holden, who played Ross' younger girlfriend, had an entirely different experience altogether. For Holden, things got bizarre at the audition stage, when she was told about the pre-requisites.
"It was terrifying because the producers told me to come in looking ‘as hot as possible’. I didn’t know what to do with that information. It sent me into a tailspin.”
Holden admitted now that she's older, she wouldn't have been happy to get such a message.
Nonetheless, she acted like a pro on the set, though we can't say the same for this season one alum.
"The One With The Boobies"
This guest star played in one episode during season one, 'The One With The Boobies'. He played the role of a snobby New Yorker and let's just say, that's how he came across behind the scenes.
According to Aniston, he instantly felt beneath the role, "I remember when we were doing a network run-through, the network and the producers would just laugh. And this person would be like, 'Listen to them, just laughing at their own jokes. So stupid, not even funny."
It was later revealed that the man behind those allegations is none other than Fisher Stevens. To his credit, he owned up to his behavior and apologized for it.
The actor admitted that things got off to a rocky start when his script was completely changed from the one that he would read prior.
In addition, the territory was completely new for the actor, he had never worked a sitcom prior.
"At that moment in my career, I had never done a sitcom before. I had never heard of Friends because it was just the beginning of the show and I didn't watch TV at the time much."
Well, let's just say Stevens might've felt a little silly for his behavior as the years would progress. The show became a force in the ratings and its impact can still be felt today.
If he could do it over again, we're pretty sure Stevens would bring a different attitude.
Sources: News Week, YouTube, Huff Post & Us Magazine
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