Did you know that Ellen DeGeneres was first offered Phoebe’s role or that the Central Perk is actually a coffee shop called The Little Owl in Greenwich village? As Friends aired its last episode on this day in 2004, take a trip down memory lane and relive some fun-filled, fascinating trivia from the iconic sitcom
Casting capers
Now synonymous with their distinctive characters, it’s tough to imagine the show without the cast of David Schwimmer (Ross Geller), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing), Courteney Cox (Monica Geller), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay) and Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani).
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A photograph of the 'Friends’ cast (from left) Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, taken in 1999. Pic/Getty Images
Apparently, NBC, on which the show was broadcast from 1994 to 2004, originally felt that the cast was too young and had asked its writers, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, to include an older character who would offer advice to the twenty-somethings; this was scrapped later.
The cast of 'Friends'. Pic/Getty Images
This show witnessed guests like Brad Pitt (who married Aniston later), Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis, among others.
Video: 'Friends' reunion turns into accident
Tales from the shoot
>> With each episode lasting five hours of shoot, the show was filmed in front of a live audience comprising 300-odd people.
The Friends’ cast with talk show host, Conan O’Brien (extreme right) at Central Perk. Pic/getty images, Warner Bros. television
>> Apparently, the yellow frame around the peephole in Monica’s apartment was originally a mirror but the glass was broken by a crew-member during the initial stages of filming and it later became a prop.
>> If you ever visit Greenwich Village in New York City to check out the Friends Apartment building at the corner of Grove and Bedford Streets, you will likely be staring at a restaurant called The Little Owl on the ground floor instead of the sitcom’s fictional coffee-house, Central Perk.
>> Remember that comfy orange couch in the coffee shop? That prop was found in the basement of Warner Bros. Studio.
Video: 'Friends' cast reunion on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'
Style statement
In 2010, ‘The Rachel’ was named the most requested hairstyle of all time. However, the actress wasn’t a fan of it, reportedly calling it, “the ugliest haircut I’ve ever seen”. Pic/Getty Images
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