It’s been an unbelievable 13 years since Friends ended – but, for die-hard fans, the spirit of the 90s sitcom will live on forever.
And now, in a new interview for Off Camera with Sam Jones, Courteney Cox has revealed that stepping into the shoes of neat-freak Monica Geller permanently affected her life, too.
Recalling a trip to Las Vegas with her castmates, long before the show became a global phenomenon, she explained that they were warned that “this is the last time that you’re going to go to Vegas just being yourself”.
She added: “If the six of us were to walk into a casino right now, I’d probably be shocked,” she admitted, as Jones interrupted to insist that people would “lose their minds”.
Despite the overwhelming pressures of life in the spotlight, however (which Cox previously admitted has caused her to do things that she regrets), the actor had only the most positive things to say about her time on the show.
“I just felt so fortunate, it was the greatest thing,” the 52-year-old told Jones. “All these opportunities opened up and we were so lucky. I was able to buy a house, it was just a perfect time I think.”
Cox went on to recall how the Friends cast and crew helped her through the death of her father, Richard.
“I was on the way to work, and my dad phoned me up and he told me he had cancer,” she said. “Doctors gave him three months to live.
“And I thought, I have to go to work and fake it, I have to be, like, happy, and Monica, and [be up and raring to] go.”
Cox finished driving to work, but immediately went and spoke with producers about her father.
“I went in and said to them that I don’t know if I can make it [the episode]. And that was a huge deal – you can’t just walk away [because there’s a live studio audience].”
She continued: “They were so great to me. We went through the show, I was in a terrible frame of mind, I couldn’t remember my lines, and I wasn’t there.
“Warner Bros put me on a plane right afterwards to go see my dad.”
Cox, who worked on the show for over a decade with Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt le Blanc, added: “Life was happening, people were getting married and having kids… we went through ten years together, and it was such an intense time.
“That’s why we’re [all] so close… that was a big chunk of our life, and everything changed, but we were just so fortunate.”
She added that she still makes time to see her old co-stars whenever she can – and even revealed that she had plans to meet up with “Lisa and Jen” later that night.
Watch the clip for yourself below:
Cox isn’t the only person who’s spoken out about the lasting impact the show has had on her life: Elle MacPherson, who starred in a handful of episodes as Joey’s girlfriend, Janine, has also addressed it.
However, unlike Cox, MacPherson is sick of being recognised as “that woman from Friends”.
If I’d known how important it was in the US, or how long it would be on TV, I may not have chosen to do it,’ she told TV Week.
“It was a lot of pressure if you look at it in the way that it will be around for 20 or 30 years.”
MacPherson added: “Friends is still very popular where we live in America and re-runs are on constantly," she said.
“[My son and his friends] know me as Janine LaCroix and they are always like, 'Oh you know, Cy's [mom] she is on Friends.’
“They haven't figured out it was nearly 20 years ago, they still think I am on Friends.”
Images: Rex Pictures
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