One cannot talk about the popular prime-time sitcom, Friends, without mentioning the guest appearances of the show. Over the years, David Crane and Marta Kauffman’s creation featured many popular celebrities. Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis and Reese Witherspoon are just some of the special cameos that elevated the show to a whole new level. Apart from the short appearances of celebrated A-listers, there were also some recurring actors in the show who featured in several episodes. 

These recurring actors included Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Jon Favreau, and many others. One such recurring actor in Friends once opened up about how she might have not been a part of this iconic show.

Guest star who regretted being on the show

Friends’ guest appearances have been a successful strategy that worked in favor of the show. However, not every guest star on the show was easy to work with. One example is Jean-Claude Van Damme, who reportedly created a lot of fuss backstage. In 2016, as per E! News, while speaking to Australia’s TV Week, Elle Macpherson, who played the role of Janine Lacroix, made a statement saying if she knew “how important it was in the US” she might not “have chosen to do it.” The now 59-year-old actress attributed the reason for her regret to the show’s popularity, which is very pressurizing for the actors involved in it. 

The Edge actress had some good things to say about her co-star, Matt LeBlanc. She shared her experience of working with the Lookin’ Italian actor and said, “Matt was a great working partner and a good kisser”. Leblanc in the past told Glamour about how the show’s writing saved some underwhelming performances of former guests. He went on to take a jab at the guests, saying “They weren’t particularly great actors, but the material was so good that they scored”. However, there were few actors on the show whom even good writing could not rescue.

The show’s director, James Burrows, talked about how he wanted to almost fire a recurring actor owing to her lack of skills and chemistry.

Why James Burrows wanted to replace this guest star in Friends

Despite being profitable for the show, sometimes guests were a mismatch who only survived on the show because of tight deadlines. One such actress was Helen Baxendale, who featured on 14 episodes as Emily Waltham. Baxendale played one of Ross Geller’s wives, or ex-wives, who had a disappointing chemistry with David Schwimmer, both on and off-screen. Burrows in his memoir, Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More, talked about his experience working with the actress.

Burrows directed the episode The One with All The Rugby and made a statement about the British actress saying “She was nice but not particularly funny”. The director also went on to say how the now 53-year-old did not have any chemistry with Schwimmer and “It was like clapping with one hand”. Nevertheless, Emily’s character did add a lot of drama to the show, generating some genuine laughs from the audience. 

What are your thoughts about Elle Macpherson’s statement about friends? Also, let us know your favorite guest star from the show in the comments below.