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Jennifer Aniston was born in 1969, but the “Friends” star feels she really came to life the day the hit sitcom premiered in September 1994.
Aniston chatted with “Abbott Elementary” creator/star Quinta Brunson about all things TV and comedy for a conversation published Thursday as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series.
“‘Friends’ is turning 30,” Brunson noted, prompting Aniston, 55, to joke back, “And I’m turning 30.”
Aniston chatted with Quinta Brunson about all things TV and comedy for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series. Mary Ellen Matthews for Variety Brunson gushed over Aniston being “so advanced” and having “insane” fine motor skills, even though she was “a baby” on “Friends.” Mary Ellen Matthews for VarietyBrunson, 34, gushed over Aniston being “so advanced” and having “insane” fine motor skills, even though she was “a baby on that show.”
She asked her fellow actress how it feels knowing that “Friends” “continues to be one of the best shows on television.”
“It’s so strange to even think that it’s 30 years old,” Aniston admitted before reminiscing on the day it first aired.
The hit sitcom debuted on NBC on Sept. 22, 1994, a day that feels “like yesterday” to the breakout star. Everett Collection / Everett Collection “‘Friends’ is turning 30,” Brunson noted, prompting Aniston to quip back, “And I’m turning 30.”“Matthew Perry and I were having lunch somewhere, and we knew Lisa [Kudrow] was getting her hair colored,” she explained.
“So we ran into the hair salon, and I snuck up — she was in the sink — and I took the nozzle from the guy that was supposed to be doing it and just started washing her hair.”
Aniston said her “unfortunate” prank “definitely flew out of control,” but she thinks fondly about the “excitement [they all] had” at that time.
“It’s so strange to even think that it’s 30 years old,” Aniston admitted before reminiscing on the day it debuted. Jennifer Aniston/Instagram Aniston recalled the “excitement [they all] had” at that time. Instagram/@jenniferaniston“It feels like yesterday,” she marveled.
The Emmy Award winner went on, “The fact that it’s had this long, wonderful life and it still means a lot to people is one of the greatest gifts I think all five of us — all six of us — we never could imagine.”
Perry died in October 2023 of “acute effects of ketamine.” He was 54.
One of Aniston’s co-stars, Matthew Perry, died in October 2023 of “acute effects of ketamine.” He was 54. Getty Images “The fact that it’s had this long, wonderful life and it still means a lot to people is one of the greatest gifts I think all five of us — all six of us — we never could imagine,” Aniston said. Getty Images for Netflix“And we see each other,” Aniston made sure to note of the other cast members, which include Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc.
In fact, Aniston said she “talked on FaceTime with Court last night for an hour” and that she speaks regularly to “Lisa and the boys” as well.
“We just have a really — it’s a family forever,” she told Brunson.
“Friends,” which followed six 20-somethings in Manhattan, had a 10-year run on NBC from 1994 to 2004.
