“They all had a good time together”: Friends Director’s Unusual Bonding Session For Sitcom’s Lead Cast Ended Up With All 6 Actors in Vegas

Friends is hands down one of the best sitcoms to have ever enthralled viewers globally. The global phenomenon has taken the world by storm no matter what the era is. A testimony to this fact is its record of becoming one of the most streamed series on Netflix after its release on the platform in 2018. Its success is in no small part down to its fabulous cast. Back in 1994, when the cast first got together, none of them was really big at the time. But fast forward 10 years and they were some of the richest stars out there. 

How Friends’ director played an important role in ensuring the cast’s rise to fame

At the time, Courteney Cox was the only one who came with somewhat of a name for herself, having featured in a music video and a tampon commercial. But what started out in a small coffee house in Manhattan all those years back developed into something phenomenal. 

Little was this fact known to the cast – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer. Their rise to fame was meteoric. This rise was in no small part down to the efforts of Friends‘ director James Burrows. 

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James Burrows took the cast on a bonding trip to Vegas

James Burrows knew the importance of having a cast that would stick by itself no matter what the situation. In an interview with various side actors on the show, Christina Pickles, who played the role of Ross and Monica Geller’s mom, Judy Geller, credited him for the same. 

She said,

“Burrows was instrumental in creating the atmosphere of Friends. He took the six leads to Vegas before they started working, and they all had a good time together.” (The Guardian)

A genius move indeed. 

Also Read: FRIENDS Star Was the Biggest Inspiration For Conan O’Brien When He Was Doubting Himself Before Replacing David Letterman

A trip to remember 

James Burrows’ little initiative went a long way in cementing an unbreakable bond between them. Pickles continued,

“That (the Vegas trip) was probably very helpful in cementing a sweetness about them.” (The Guardian)

That wasn’t their only trip to Vegas though, with the cast returning to Vegas years later, albeit in the course of their shoot itself. But we can be certain that nothing topped that first trip, the one that set the tone for a healthy relationship and a successful show for years to come. 

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Source: The Guardian