The end of Friends – unearthed, unfiltered interviews with sitcom's greatest 3 leading men

On 6th May 2004, one of the greatest sitcoms ever aired its final ever episode: The Last One. The world's best friends – Monica, Chandler, Joey, Phoebe, Ross and Rachel – headed for coffee at Central Perk one last time and we bid goodbye to the group for good.

Despite much hype and speculation over the years, the Friends never did reunite for further episodes, coming together only for a reflective, funny and often heart-wrenching reunion special in 2021.

But over the years Radio Times had the honour of interviewing the show's leads. Here, we take a trip down memory lane with three archive interviews with the men: David Schwimmer, Matt Le Blanc and Matthew Perry.

Conducted in the years immediately after Friends ended, between 2005 and 2007, they bared their souls in three incredibly candid interviews, opening up on the emotional journey of going from being the three leading men of the sitcom to what came next.

Their respective paths were strikingly different and their experiences wide-ranging – with shared feelings of loss and heartbreak at saying goodbye, but contrasting emotions when it came to shedding the characters they'd become synonymous with.

These were the kinds of interviews you wouldn't expect from such stratospherically famous global stars.

David Schwimmer

Originally published in June 2005. Interview by Mark Aston.

Can you explain the perennial popularity of Friends?

It’s popular because of its great writing. I hope when I have kids it’ll still be funny on DVD, or whatever the new format will be in 15 years. Maybe it’ll just be a pill. Here’s episode one, just swallow!

You were reputedly the “Friend” who had the biggest problem staying the course over the show’s 10 years. Is that true?

Sometimes I felt imprisoned by the character and the routine because I’m naturally restless. I think all the cast hit walls; I probably hit them the most. I like new experiences and challenges, like learning new skill. The challenge of Friends was finding the challenge!

Sometimes I felt imprisoned by the character of Ross

Friends existed in a Manhattan where 9/11 never happened, so are you seeking edgier material?

I’ve always been drawn to dark material. At university, I spent a year studying just comedy, from Neil Simon to Shakespeare, but my favourite was Joe Orton – he was so dark! In that light, doing Friends was an illogical move. I auditioned for the show when I was doing theatre in Chicago, hardly mainstream TV.

Did the others typecast you as “Serious Theatre Guy”?

Yeah, though they were quick to remind me that I probably took myself too seriously!

You’ve just made your West End debut playing a deeply flawed womaniser in Some Girls. That’s far away from Ross.

But that’s not why I took this role. It’s just a great character and a great play that says something about relationships today, and about men. You can’t watch it without having a strong response because you’re bringing along your history of relationships.

You’ve voiced the character of Melman the hypochondriac giraffe in the animation Madagascar [released July 2005]. Besides being tall, why did they cast you?

I guess it’s because I’m familiar with physical comedy and neuroses. And I have an angst ridden voice!

Might one call your voice whiny?

Some have called it whiny! Melman isn’t whiny as much as he’s scared. He’s afraid of everything, especially heights.

Sacha Baron-Cohen plays the king of the lemurs. Are you a fan of his Ali G?

Hell, yes! What I like is how his characters reveal our culture to ourselves – be it racism or homophobia or fear.

What’s your favourite kind of comedy?

Social satire, like Ali G, or South Park. Though I grew up on Monty Python.

I’m told that you’re a history buff.

Yes I am.

OK, when was the Battle of Hastings?

Oh come on! That’s not fair! I haven’t a clue.

There was a book written in its honour, titled 1066 and All That.

Then I’ll guess it was 1066. You should check out A Short History of Almost Everything [by Bill Bryson]. It’s a fantastic book for history buffs.

There’s much we don’t know about you. That you founded the Chicago theatre company Lookingglass, or your desire to teach, for instance.

Teaching’s something I’ve considered. I may wait until I’m settled with a family, but I’m very drawn to the idea of working with kids.

Would you ever consider another sitcom?

As in acting? That’s not exciting to me. That’s why I’m doing more stage acting. And I’ve just directed a pilot for a new sitcom called New Car Smell, which is about salesmen in a car dealership in Vegas.

You also directed a couple of episodes of Joey [with ex-Friends co-star Matt Le Blanc]. What was that like?

Like coming home. It was the same soundstage where we made Friends, even the same crew. The weird thing was that it felt natural.

One final question: you may want professionally to bury Ross, but might we ever see him again?

There was talk of an episode of Joey where one or two of us from Friends came to visit, but I never heard more about it. But I don’t rule anything out when it comes to that cast because we all like each other so much.

Matt Le Blanc (May 2005)

Originally published in June 2005. Interview by Benji Wilson.

Before we talk about Joey, tell us how you felt about the end of Friends.

For me it it was like getting a divorce from someone you're still in love with. It sucked. I feel like I grew up there, those were the people that... well, I could go on for an hour. It’s sad.

You didn’t want it to end?

I think it should have ended because enough people felt like it should; it was always majority rule. It was the group consensus that it was about time to end it. It was a good ten years.

So did you all vote on it?

I don’t want to go into exactly how we came to a decision, but... pretty much.

Did you get emotional when you finished the final episode?

Yes, I was crying.

It was like getting a divorce from someone you’re still in love with

But Friends must have put you in a position where you didn’t need to work any more?

Absolutely, I could have just retired.

So what gets you out of bed?

You’ve got to do something.

Why choose to do a spin-off starring Joey Tribbiani rather than something new?

I knew this was a sure thing – and there weren’t tons of other possibilities. There’s a long list of stars out there and it’s not like I’ve proved myself in movies.

Is he a different Joey from the one we know and love?

He’s the same guy, just more evolved.

Well he couldn’t have been much less evolved.

You’re not saying Joey’s dumb, are you?

Not dumb exactly – maybe one cappuccino short of a coffee shop.

There are certain things about the character that the audience loves. I didn’t want them [the writers] to tweak him too much.

What was it like saying, “How you doin’?” to a whole new group of workmates?

It’s not like new people coming together. The whole crew worked on Friends, 50 per cent of the writing staff were on Friends, we’re in the same studio and there’s a shorthand. It’s just a case of plugging in the new cast.

As the star, how did you go about setting the tone?

Our motto on Friends was: check your ego at the door, then let’s work together and try to make the funniest little show we can. I’ve tried to adopt that philosophy here. I try to remind them that if we have fun, the audience will have fun. In a way it’s nostalgic watching them grow into new characters like the six of us did on Friends.

You’ve been commissioned for a second series, and Five’s bought it over here, but if we’re honest the show’s had teething troubles, hasn’t it?

The initial fantastic viewing figures have dropped. Yeah. You know, it’s hard because you have a character that everyone knows mixed in with new characters, so all the relationships feel a little stilted. But I think it just takes time for the audience to welcome new characters. I know everyone’s out there gunning for me and waiting for me to fail. There’s always room for improvement, no matter what you’re doing, and we’re still finding our legs.

So what things can we expect to see in the next series?

I think we’ll meet more of Joey’s nine sisters. I thought Christina Ricci did a great job in the episode with Joey’s second sister. She’s very inventive.

You’re married with two stepchildren and a baby of your own. How difficult is it to be a normal dad?

I live a normal life, but all behind a big wall. There aren’t too many places I can go that I’m not recognised. People want to grab you like they know you and watch you eat.

Did your stepkids think you were cool because you were in Friends?

I don’t know if it helped that I was in Friends, but I doubt it. I think they could see their mum was smiling a lot more. They probably thought that was cool.

Do you change nappies?

I am up at night changing diapers. I don’t have breast milk, but Melissa can bottle it so I can feed it to Marina – but I don’t mind holding the boob for the baby.

One final question: the nappy stuff sounds very ordinary and boring, but you’re a big star – tell us about the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.

There’s no dirt to dig on me. There’s recently been this big thing in a tabloid about some gay sex scandal I was involved in, there was one time I’d overdosed on drugs and died, another time it said I was really into cocaine. I shrug it off now, but after the one when I was supposed to have died I called my mother. Can you imagine if my mother saw that?

Matthew Perry

Originally published in July 2007. Interview by Jenny Eden.

After the phenomenal success of Friends, you don’t need to work again, so why do another show?

Pure desperation and fear of being... No, the truthful answer is, I was a huge fan of The West Wing and A Few Good Men, so when I heard that Aaron Sorkin had written a new show and that it took place in a world that I knew something about, I wanted to read it. And by the time I’d finished reading it, I knew that I was going to try as hard as I could to be a part of it. If this were a play or a movie or an elaborate ice show, I’d have shown up in it because the writing was so good.

You play Matt Albie, the chief writer on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a struggling late-night comedy sketch show. Did you by any chance ever appear on Saturday Night Live?

Yes, in 1997, and it was one of the scariest weeks of my life. You never get to rehearse, and it’s just all so fast-paced. I still don’t know what floor I was working on. It’s an exciting place but I don’t know if I’d ever do it again.

Isn’t making a TV show about making a TV show when television starts to eat itself?

This is a very bizarre industry we exist in, where no-one expects the truth. You are being lied to all day long, and it’s somehow just all right. This is a show about the kind of people who aspire to beat that, who aspire to be better than that. And I like a world where people are taking very seriously whether it’s funnier to fall down in front of the couch or behind the couch.

How hard was it to say goodbye to Chandler Bing in Friends?

It was a nice feeling of accomplishment of a job well done. But afterwards, I did want to change things a bit. This guy is a comedy writer but he’s not the kind of neurotic, over-the-top-character Chandler was. I have said to directors, “If you see any Chandler, tell me to stop.”

Is it a relief not to have to be the funny guy any more?

It’s a relief to escape the rhythm of a sitcom like Friends, with three jokes to each page. I was never comfortable with that. If we said a joke that didn’t work, the writers would get together and fix it, but I would always start sweating and be nervous, like we’re never going to make it funny.

Are you ever tempted to throw in a gag in the new show?

On every other job I’ve ever done, for better for worse, I’ve rolled up my sleeves and gone, “OK, how can we make this funnier?” But with Aaron’s writing, you have to be word-perfect. If the line is “He has not” and I say, “He hasn’t”, that’s not OK. It’s all about the rhythm of the words. That’s why you work 14- or 15-hour days, then go home and, by the time you unbutton your shirt, it’s time to go back to work.

Quite different to life on a sitcom then?

Friends was the closest an actor can come to having a normal life; it was basically a nine-to-five job. This is night-and-day different. I have to stock in Red Bull: my character drinks it all the time; I drink it all the time. I think I’m like most actors: given any kind of situation, I’m going to complain. If I’ve got too much time off, I’m going to be complaining that I’m not working. And if I’m working too much, I’m going to long for time off. There is no happiness. The reward is death. That's what it says on the bumper sticked of my car."

There is no happiness. The reward is death. That’s what it says on the bumper sticker on my car.

Do you still see the other Friends stars?

As much as I can, but it’s hard. We’re shooting this show about five feet from where I worked for ten years. It’s very bizarre. I think they should all move in here, too.

One final question: having been one of the world’s six best-loved comedy actors, how hard is it to keep your ego in check?

I’ve also been on the least-watched television show in the history of television and the most watched, and neither really did what I thought it would do to my life. You can’t identify yourself with the big accolades or the big, over-the-top successes. I was on a Fox show called Second Chance, which ranked 92nd out of 93 shows, and I was walking around with attitude. I was nicer when I was on the number-one show.

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