In " The One in Vegas," the season 5 finale, Joey is seen playing a gladiator at the Vegas hotel. Caesar's Palace played an important role on Friends later on.Ĭaesar's Palace played a key role in the fictional world of Friends as well. “Once the show comes on the air, you guys will never be able to go anywhere without being hounded.” 7. “This is your last shot at anonymity,” Burrows told them. The cast took a trip to Las Vegas together before the show aired.ĭirector James Burrows, who went on to direct a handful of episodes for the show between 19, brought the six cast members to Vegas because he “had a feeling about the show.” While they were at Caesar’s Palace, he encouraged the group to enjoy themselves. Although the fountain looks a lot like Central Park's Pulitzer Fountain, the actual shoot occurred on a Warner Bros. The opening credits were not shot in New York.ĭon’t let your New York City tour guide trick you into thinking that you’re looking at the fountain from the iconic opening credits of Friends-unless you’ve brought your tour guide with you to Burbank for some reason. And indeed, Schwimmer was the first person cast on the show. But, executive producer Kevin Bright had worked with Schwimmer before, so the writers were already developing Ross’s character in Schwimmer’s voice. This may come as a surprise because Eric McCormack (best known as Will of Will & Grace) made news when he said that he auditioned “two or three times” for Ross. The role of Ross Geller was written for David Schwimmer. The Friends producers originally asked her to play Rachel, but she requested the role of Monica because she liked the “strong” character.
She was known for many commercials plus Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” music video. The producers wanted Courteney Cox to play Rachel, but cox resisted.īefore the show premiered, Courteney Cox was probably the most famous cast member. Thankfully, it wasn’t picked up, and Perry was able to take the Friends gig. The show would have been about baggage handlers at LAX who sorted aliens’ luggage.
During the 1994 pilot season, he filmed the pilot for a show called LAX 2194 in addition to Friends.
For example, Kathy Griffin and Jane Lynch actually became friends after meeting while both were auditioning for the part of Phoebe.īoth Jon Favreau and Jon Cryer were considered for the role of Chandler before it went to Matthew Perry, but Perry almost didn’t get the gig either. With a cast of six people, it’s not a surprise that many different actors were considered for each role.