In its 10 years on the air, Friends featured some unbelievable A-list guest stars who came and went out of the six lives of the central (perk) characters. Even for big names like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Christina Applegate, Bruce Willis and so many more, appearing on the beloved sitcom could be a “terrifying” experience. (Tom Selleck, for example, has admitted to being scared to death.) While Reese Witherspoon verified that she, too, was nervous about her 2000 guest appearance, she recalled the excitement of sitting on Central Perk’s orange couch, as well as having her mind blown by Joey Tribiani actor Matt LeBlanc.
Today, Reese Witherspoon stars and executive produces The Morning Show on Apple TV+ with Jennifer Aniston — with fans impatiently waiting for Season 3 to hit the 2023 TV schedule — but the two actresses first crossed paths a couple of decades ago, when Witherspoon played Rachel Green’s younger sister Jill on two episodes of Friends. The Your Place or Mine star spoke on Late Night with Seth Meyers about what that was like, and told an envy-inducing story about meeting Matt LeBlanc. Witherspoon said:
Oh my gosh, yeah [I remember walking on the set]. So, I was terrified. I was out of my body. My body was there and then my head and my brain was somewhere else. I’d just had a baby. So that’s how I know it was 23 years ago, because now my baby is 23. But walking into Central Perk — that main coffee place — and sitting on the couch. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening. Oh my God, there’s Joey, Oh my God.’ And then wait, Joey said to me, ‘How you doing?’
Is it not a bucket-list item for every Friends fan for Joey (or Matt LeBlanc, whatever) to use his signature pickup line on them? Not even Seth Meyers’ sarcastic remark that “he didn’t just say that to everybody,” while true, shouldn’t be enough to ruin that memory.
Reese Witherspoon also talked about how much fun it was to come in and play not just Rachel’s sister, but someone who actually stood in the way of Ross and Rachel when they were on a break. She told the host:
I was [Rachel’s] younger sister on Friends. Yes, and the funny storyline was I started dating Ross, because she and Ross were ‘on a break.’ And she gets really jealous and she’s like, ‘You can’t date Ross.’ And I was like, ‘I can’t? The only thing I can’t have is dairy.’ I still remember the line!
That’s not the first time Reese Witherspoon has made reference to that scene from her two-episode stint in Season 6. Jennifer Aniston actually teased her about “that line you love so much” when the two re-enacted the exchange on the Little Fires Everywhere actress’ Instagram last year. Witherspoon pointed out how much Friends is still quoted regularly nearly two decades since the series ended, saying:
Their writing was so good on that show, so it’s really memorable. I have all sorts of funny, famous Friends lines that are stuck in my head. Don’t y’all? Everybody has a favorite.
It’s so true! There are certainly enough quotable lines for die-hard Friends fans to continue to regurgitate to this day. If you weren’t convinced yet that Reese Witherspoon was a true Friends fanatic, consider that she released photographic proof of the time she asked her hairdresser for “The Rachel.” Celebrity Friends fans — they really are just like us! You can see Witherspoon’s full interview with Seth Meyers below:
In addition to rewatching old Friends episodes with your HBO Max subscription, you can catch Reese Witherspoon in a number of upcoming projects. Her most recent movie Your Place or Mine is available for streaming now with a Netflix subscription.
