Since it first aired on NBC back in 1994, Friends quickly became one of the most popular television series of all time. It’s no wonder that during its ten-year run, the series was nominated for more than 60 Primetime Emmy Awards, finally winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award for its eighth season in 2002. Even today, the show remains a fan favorite.
Through the course of its ten seasons, a lot of actors made small appearances on Friends. While some of these cameos were not great, others were downright memorable. For instance, Maggie Wheeler left a strong impression on the fans as one of Chandler’s most memorable love interests. In fact, the actress revealed that, originally, her character was only meant to appear in one or two episodes but fans loved her so much that the production had to bring her back on several occasions.
The Director of Friends Thinks This Actor Made The Worst Cameo
Over the years, there were many celebrity cameos on Friends, some good and some not so much. Being one of the hottest shows on TV, finding stars who wanted to appear in Friends was actually pretty simple. “It was easy because we didn’t have to come up for parts to suit the cast; we had actors coming to us saying they wanted to be on the show so there were really parts written for them knowing they wanted to do the show,” Friends director Kevin S. Bright told Metro.co.uk.
According to the director, Sean Penn’s cameo was the worst guest appearance on the show. “I think the least successful one was Sean Penn on the show,” Bright revealed. “Just the style of the production wasn’t what he was used to, doing a show like that, so there was a little deer in the headlight effect.” Fans couldn’t agree more.
Fans hated Penn’s cameo on Friends because it repeated a weird trend in Phoebe’s storyline, which was having her date one of her sister’s ex-boyfriends for a second time. The reception for his character was so bad that they had to catch his appearance short. Ultimately, the writers made Eric mistake Ursula for Phoebe and sleep with her. So, Phoebe has no other choice but to dump him. After that, his character was never mentioned again.
Janice Was Only Meant To Appear Once On Friends
During Friends' 10-year run, Matthew Perry’s character, Chandler, had nine love interests. While everyone was rooting for him to get together with Monica, fans couldn’t help but love one of Chandler’s earliest girlfriends, Janice.
As it turns out, Janice was only meant to be a one-episode character, but fans loved her so much that she kept on coming back throughout the show’s 10 seasons. “It was just supposed to be this one scene and one episode, so fortunately for me, the writers fell in love with Janice and they continued to bring me back and write her into episodes and seasons,” Wheeler explained. “It was just the best continuing unfolding surprise.
The actress never thought that her character would go on to become a fan favorite. But, she was glad about that because Friends was one of the best experiences on her career. “It was just a really well-knit family, both creatively and in terms of real bonded friendships - so the environment was really special in that way.”
One of the reasons fans love Janice so much has to be her iconic laugh. Well, Maggie Wheeler finally revealed that she came up with Janice’s signature cackle on Friends as a cover-up for whenever Matthew Perry would make her break character while filming.
"So the laugh happened organically in the first rehearsal, because I needed to find a way to laugh, because Matthew Perry is so funny," she revealed on ITV's This Morning. "And working with him, I knew right away, I thought, 'This guy's gonna make me laugh on set, I've gotta be prepared. What am I going to do?' So I created Janice's laugh just as a safety measure for when Matthew made me laugh."
Maggie Wheeler Thinks Chandler Should Have Ended With Her Character Instead Of Monica
Everyone was rooting for Chandler and Monica to get together, except for Maggie Wheeler. The Parent Trap actress made a cameo on a TikTok video from performer Jax, which showed a musical number of Janice’s thoughts on Monica and Chandler’s wedding.
"So no one talks about the one mistake on Friends," the singer-songwriter sings over a piano rendition of the sitcom's iconic theme song. "The best couple on the show never made it to the end," she continues. "Chandler [Bing] and Monica [Geller] went together well, but I think Chandler should have ended up with someone else." Then, Wheeler pops into frame.
"Oh my GAWD," says Wheeler in her signature Janice's voice. "Chandler, I'll wait for you when you and Monica get divorced," Wheeler sings. "I will wait for you, you know you always loved me more. You love me, Chandler Bing!"
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