What have we done to deserve the glorious gift that is #Friends25? A quarter of a century since the iconic gang of decreasingly feckless twenty-somethings hit screens and hearts (sob), the world has come out in force to celebrate the beautiful bubble that defined a generation of television. Everyone knows whether they’re a Phoebe or a Ross, a Chandler, a Rachel or even a Gunther. While we’ll have to breathe and wait for the full anniversary experience, which will see a series of events and experiences launching in the US from October 18th, Courtney Cox stoked the flames of nostalgia to fever pitch last night when she posted a picture of a mini cast reunion to Instagram.
The snap featured Cox herself, along with co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc – captioned ‘A rare night and I love it’, we’re left to speculate about what hi-jinx the trio got up to. Personally, I’m imagining the setting as Central Perk; the soundtrack, of course, is courtesy The Rembrandts: I’ll be there for you / (When the rain starts to pour), I’ll be there for yooouuuuu / (Like I’ve BIN THERE BEFORE). I hope Ross popped by, and that Phoebe was performing Smelly Cat as part of an open mic. I hope Rachel made everyone’s coffees wrong, and that there was at least one cameo (Alec Baldwin? Winona Ryder?) to lead the gang into a gentle and hilarious problem, resolved in no less than 25 minutes.
READ MORE: The Cast of Friends, Before And After
The cast of Friends: Before and after
Chandler Bing | Matthew Perry
After his role as funny-guy Chandler Bing came to an end, Matthew Perry went on to star in a host of A-list films, including a main part alongside Zac Efron in 17 Again. Sadly for Friends fans, he shut down a friends reunion in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2017 . He said, "I have this recurring nightmare—I'm not kidding about this. When I'm asleep, I have this nightmare that we do Friends again and nobody cares. We do a whole series, we come back, and nobody cares about it. So if anybody asks me, I'm gonna say no. The thing is: we ended on such a high. We can't beat it. Why would we go and do it again?"
Phoebe Buffay | Lisa Kudrow
Following her 10 year stint on Friends, Lisa starred in a host of movies - including Easy A, alongside Emma Stone. In February 2019, fans went wild when Lisa reunited with former co-star Courtney Cox on Ellen DeGeneres' chat show.
Joey Tribbiani | Matt LeBlanc
Matt swapped acting for presenting when he replaced Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond on Top Gear in 2016. But after two years on the show, Matt was replaced by Comedian Paddy McGuinness and former cricket player Freddie Flintoff.
Rachel Green | Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston has gone on to star in multiple A-list films - and doesn't look a day older than her debut in Friends. The actress was even rumoured to have patched things up with ex Brad Pitt, when he was invited to her 50th birthday party in February 2019.
Ross Geller | David Schwimmer
Ross - or rather, David - most recently appeared on our screens in series one of American Crime Story - which presented a dramatised version of the OJ Simpson trial. David played OJ's attorney and old friend, Robert Kardashian - Kim Kardashian's late father.
Richard Burke | Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck played Monica's older boyfriend, Dr. Richard Burke in Friends, but he's best known for playing Frank Reagan in CBS's police drama, Blue Bloods.
Janice Hosenstein | Maggie Wheeler
Janice was best known for her annoying - yet strangely loveable - laugh in Friends. The actress who played Chandler's girlfriend finally revealed the inspiration behind her laugh over a decade after the sitcom ended. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, she said Woody the Woodpecker gave her inspiration. She revealed, 'There was a character called Arnold Horshack and he used to laugh and he would say [laughs]. Then I grew up watching Flipper which was a fantastic show about a dolphin, and I was in love with that dolphin and of course the dolphin sounds like a dolphin... so I sort of say she's a combination of Arnold Horshack and Flipper and Woody the Woodpecker."
Ben Geller | Cole Sprouse
YES, that is Ben. YES, we are as shocked as you are. After playing Ben as a teeny weeny tot on Friends, Cole took on a main role with his twin brother, Dylan Sprouse in Disney's children's series, The Suite Life. Now, Cole can be seen in Riverdale. The actor has clearly done well for himself - and has accumulated an impressive 24 million Instagram followers.
Gunther | James Michael Tyler
Ah, Gunther. The fictional character may have never won over his biggest crush, Rachel Green, but actor James Taylor certainly won over viewer's hearts with his acting and top notch barista skills. In an interview for Digital Spy, he revealed that he got the job in the first place because he could work a coffee machine. He said, "I honestly always thought my Masters in fine arts would get me further in the acting world than knowing how to work an espresso machine! That was a happy accident and I'm very, very grateful to have had that skill."
Emily Waltham | Helen Baxendale
Helen Baxendale recently starred in BBC three's drama, Cuckoo. But the actress isn't afraid to settle down in front of some lighter tv in her spare time. She told Radio Times, "Well, most reality TV is drivel. I'll tell you what I do really like: First Dates. It's positive TV – they treat people nicely, you come out of it actually liking them. There's hope for humanity in First Dates!"
Sigh. With the show still amongst Netflix’s most streamed material, the sit-com hasn’t lost its shine since debuting almost a generation ago. It’s cheering to think that the cast of Friends are, well, friends – here’s hoping for that much rumoured and increasingly unlikely movie reunion. A girl can dream.
READ MORE: After 25 years, Friends Is Still The One We Can’t Switch Off