«Друзья» на шоу Опры "До свиданья, «Друзья»!", 20 ноября 2003 год
Jennifer Aniston. Courteney Cox. Lisa Kudrow. Matt LeBlanc. Matthew Perry. David Schwimmer. They’ve become household names. They’ve become our «friends,» and now they’re saying goodbye. It’s their first farewell interview. Hear what this «dream team» has to say on just about...everything!
What’s it really like behind-the-scenes of the Friends set? Oprah, along with the cast and crew, spent time at Central Perk and the apartments that have been home to Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Ross for ten years.
This is a special set down to the details! It’s filled with little touches: the artwork in Central Perk changing every three episodes, the names of the shops across the street have special meaning to the cast and crew and Monica and Joey’s refrigerators actually work (a rarity on television). Come along for the tour, plus Oprah’s exclusive interview with the entire cast!
Every actor in this ensemble cast has a flair for comedy, but when Oprah asked who would be considered «class clown,» the verdict was unanimous: Matthew Perry.
«On his own, without writers or anything, [Matthew] is the funniest person from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed. I think he may be the funniest person I’ve ever met.» — Courteney Cox Arquette
If Matthew is the funniest, these «friends» say Jennifer Aniston is by far the most emotional member of this ensemble cast—which makes «saying goodbye» especially hard for her.
«Jennifer is one big throbbing heart. She’s all emotion, feeling and support. Even if you were to say that you’d accidentally killed someone, she’s reply, ’Honey, it’s not your fault.’ That’s loyalty, her unconditional support and love.» — Lisa Kudrow
The cast admitted they will all have a very emotional, difficult time leaving the show behind, and the last week of filming the finale will be particularly sad.
Courteney: I think Jennifer probably won’t be able to breathe. She started [crying] the first day we got here this year. It will probably be the most emotional week we go through ever.
Matthew: I think we will all be consoling each other. Jennifer is, you know, ’this is the last bagel I’m going to eat on the second day of rehearsal.’ There’s a lot of stuff like that!
Married to Brad Pitt in real life, Jennifer’s character Rachel has always had a love interest on the show—in particular a deep history with Ross, and a more recently romance with Joey. Who would Jennifer like to see her Rachel end up with romantically?
«I’ll start crying [thinking about the end]. That’s a tough one. If you go back to the beginning, I think everybody has a special place for Ross and Rachel.»
Oprah had a pregnancy question for Courteney, who has been married to actor David Arquette since 1999.
Oprah: When this is all done, will you go home and have babies?
Courteney: I feel like I’ve had «the itch» for quite a while, so yes...I’m looking forward to it. In the past ten years, a lot has happened to me—I’ve gotten married, lost my father and learned to accept my life for what it is. I feel like I’m an adult now.
You can certainly feel the love and friendship among all of the friends!
«There’s a running theme with all of them for me. They’re all so trustworthy and dependable, and that’s a very big deal. Matt, you embody trustworthy and dependable. You’re exactly everything you say you are, and do what you’re going to do. Your heart is huge, just decent to the core. Also, now [Joey] is one of my favorite characters,» explains Lisa.
Matt will star in a spin-off of Friends next Fall, but is reluctant to think about it too much. He’s still completely devoted to his current cast members and friends.
«I really want to enjoy the closing of this before I really go on,» says Matt. «Without having closure here, it doesn’t feel right, I feel kind of betraying, I feel afraid. It’s like, ’You guys are coming, right?’ I had a funny pitch for the title [of his sitcom]. It was called, Where the Hell is Everybody? That didn’t fly!»
There have been hundreds of memorable Friends moments and picking their personal favorites was no easy task. She might have been Ross’ sister, but when Chandler and Monica finally decided to make it official, the usual Friends hi-jinx and hilarity was put aside for one of the most tender moments on a sitcom.
Courteney: The favorite part for me to play or be a part of is when I asked Chandler to marry me.
Matthew: I agree with Courteney. That scene where we decided to get married is up there for me.
What Oprah noticed about the cast is that if you don’t ask them by name to answer a question, they all courteously wait for the other person to answer. This cast is known for being famously friendly with each other on and off the set. It’s that kind of chemistry that they believe has made them a success—they know their friendships will last beyond the season finale. We feel the love!