While it’s been 20 years since Friends ended, the comedy still remains a favorite to this day and is arguably one of the best sitcoms of all time. There are so many memorable elements about the series, from the most ridiculous episodes to the opening credits. Despite the cast making it look like they were having the time of their lives, however, Lisa Kudrow recently revealed filming with the fountain was anything but a joy worth clapping at.
Throughout Friends’ 10-season run, the non-episodic bits from the opening sequence did not change, though the clips that were mixed in changed with the seasons. As such, the umbrellas and dancing and fountain fun have remained an iconic part of the series. But as Kudrow told Conan O'Brien on his podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, it was actually quite a rough experience for her. In her words:
Shooting that, those titles in the fountain, was a nightmare. You know, I don’t like discomfort, but at all, mild, any kind, I don’t like it. And that fountain was cold. And it was very late at night. We’d done, I think, 500 takes of dancing. Unmotivated dancing is hard, too, right? That’s just, it’s hard. It was so cold, and we had to keep doing it.
Considering they were filming at night and were covered in water, it definitely makes sense why this isn't the coziest memory. Add on the fact that they were presumably filming all this for hours. Still, even knowing the details involved, it's still surprising to know just how horrible it actually was.
It can certainly be hard to keep up one's energy for something like that, but luckily, there was at least one thing that kept them all going. Kudrow admitted that Matthew Perry had a funny response when they all found out they were going to be doing at least one more take:
They said, ‘We’re going to do one more take.’ And he said, ‘One more? Okay. Can’t remember a time I wasn’t in a fountain. Seriously, have you? Can’t remember a time I wasn’t wet. What, are we wet? What, are we wet in a fountain? What, are we dancing in a fountain?’ And they hadn’t written him like that yet. And I don’t know when I’ve laughed so hard. I’m not kidding. You see us laughing. And it’s because he had just said, ‘Alright, we’re ready? We’re going to go again. What, are we going again? Are we going to do it again? ‘And just laughing hysterically. Doubled over, and that’s in the title.
It’s not surprising to hear that Perry brought all the laughs when everyone likely just wanted to go home at that point. Knowing that their smiles are (likely) genuinely because of him in the opening sequence makes it all the more better. It also shows just how alike Perry and Chandler Bing really were, because just going off of some of Chandler’s hilarious quotes, his comedic timing couldn’t be better.
Jennifer Aniston also previously shared her take on dancing in a fountain for the opening sequence. In 2016, Aniston shared how she felt about the Friends theme song, admitting that “no one was really a big fan” of it and they felt “odd” dancing in a fountain, but went along with it because they were told to. It might have not been the best way to do the opening sequence, but at least it’s a memorable one, even if the band had to split up because of its popularity.
Those with a Max subscription can rewatch Friends, and instead of skipping the intro, they can watch it as much as they want. No matter how many times it’s played and how many times you’ve listened to it, it will never get old. Plus, now hearing the story behind the opening sequence and just what it was really like will make viewing it a different experience.
