Even some of the very best in Hollywood struggled on Friends. Reese Witherspoon revealed she was terrified during her cameo, and refused to return because of her nerves in front of an audience.
David Schwimmer and the main cast got to work alongside some of the top names in Hollywood including Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt to name a few. However, according to David Schwimmer, working alongside a certain guest star proved to be extra stressful given the context of the scene and the outfit he was forced to wear. Schwimmer felt complete embarrassment working with a big name in Hollywood while wearing the embarrassing outfit.
We'll take a closer look at who the guest star was, and why that same guest star wasn't what the show expected, according to the director Kevin S. Bright.
Courteney Cox Compared David Schwimmer's Popularity On Friends To The Beatles
Way back in 1995 when Friends started to enjoy its viral fame, Courteney Cox discussed David Schwimmer's obvious popularity. According to the actress, it was comparable to The Beatles at the time given the reaction of fans.
"When David goes outside, it's like the Beatles just arrived," she said. "About 10 girls stood up and shouted, 'We love you, Ross!' " during a curtain call. He's just very vulnerable."
Matthew Perry agrees that early on, David Schwimmer was the one finding major success outside of the show.
"During that first year — David's year — he showed up one day at my dressing room," Perry recalled. "He had brought an original hangdog expression to his character and was just damn funny. He was also the first one of us to shoot a commercial, be on 'The Tonight Show,' buy a house, get his own movie. He was the hot guy that first year, and rightly so. He had been hilarious."
Despite Schwimmer's solo success, he made it a point to enjoy his fame and fortune as a team with the cast of Friends. He was the one that advised everyone get paid the same, when in reality, he could've been making the most out any other cast member.
In addition, Schwimmer was great to work with evidenced by all the positive stories by guest stars. However, Schwimmer admitted to feeling embarrassed about working alongside a certain major Hollywood star.
David Schwimmer Was Embarrassed By His Costume During Sean Penn's Guest Appearance
Who could forget the iconic episode that featured Ross dressing up as Spud-nik. Well, David Schwimmer didn't forget the moment given that he was completely embarrassed by what had taken place. Schwimmer was excited to be sharing the stage with iconic actor Sean Penn who was guest-starring on the show alongside Lisa Kudrow. However, Schwimmer states that the moment was lessened given his costume during the scene.
Schwimmer reveals, “I had very little if any dialogue with him,” David says. “But here I am thinking, ‘Greatest actor in the world, and I’m a potato. I’m a potato.'”
During the Friends reunion, other memorable guest-stars were brought up. Among them, included Brad Pitt. It was David Schwimmer that brought up Brad Pitt, though some state that Schwimmer did so rather awkwardly. “Your fella, Brad [Pitt], did one," he said at the reunion.
Given his very real crush on Jennifer Aniston early on, we wonder what David Schwimmer was thinking during Brad's cameo on Friends. Ironically, Brad and David's character were close friends. And in truth, Pitt's cameo resonated with the audience and was a major hit. We can't say the same for Sean Penn...
Sean Penn's Guest-Starring Role On Friends Was Viewed As A Letdown According To The Show's Director
As Jennifer Aniston admitted, appearing on Friends was a different world, even for the most established actors in all of Hollywood. Given the chemistry on the main cast, success of the show and live audience, it made for a tense environment for guest stars.
According to director Kevin S. Bright, that was especially the case for Sean Penn. His storyline alongside Lisa Kudrow was forgettable and in addition, Penn looked uncomfortable on the Friends set.
"I think the least successful one was Sean Penn on the show,’ Kevin exclusively told Metro.co.uk. ‘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 affect."
At the very least, Bright would go on to reveal that getting the guest stars on the show wasn't difficult given the show's success.
"It worked out that 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."
Clearly, there were many ups and downs with guest stars, but getting them on board wasn't a tough task.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGibmq6ZmXq0r8ewoKallad6uK3SZpymmpGnv6K%2F0p6bZqyfYsCpu86tZKyblaOytHnWoquhZaOarq95z56lp2Wfo3qnvsiepZ2rXw%3D%3D