It’s been 15 years since the Friends finale aired and yet the show remains so ingrained in everyone’s minds that it’s like it never left. We love reminiscing about the show here at GOAT and it seems like the main cast are also in the same boat.
Courteney Cox recently shared a never-before-seen throwback photo of herself and her fellow castmates during a Las Vegas trip prior to Friends becoming the pop-culture behemoth everyone knows and loves.
Take a good long gander at this photo because it’s a piece of Friends history.
Courteney alluded to the period when the photo was taken, writing in the caption:
“The one where the six of us went to Vegas and no one knew we were F.R.I.E.N.D.S yet.”
As it turns out, there’s a pretty cool and emotional story behind this little throwback pic than just drunken Vegas shenanigans involving the Friends cast.
After the very first episode of Friends was filmed – but before it had hit TV screens – the show’s director, James Burrows, decided to treat the cast to a Las Vegas trip for a good ol’ bonding sesh.
During that trip (where the photo above was taken) Burrows told them all something that turned out to be quite prophetic:
“This is your last shot at anonymity. Once the show comes on the air, you guys will never be able to go anywhere without being hounded.”
After saying that, sent the group to the gambling tables with $200 each and the rest was history. As for why he said that, Burrows thought Friends had a real shot of being something big and he was ultimately proven right when the show aired.
Wow indeed.
That recontextualises Courteney’s photo a bit. It wasn’t just a throwback to their younger years, it was one of the last moments captured of the cast as just a group of young unknowns before they became A-listers.
It’s kind of nice that we’re still getting little Friends much-discussed Friends gems 15 years after the show ended. Here’s hoping that the revival never happens because we want to preserve our memories of the show as it is.