Courteney Cox Recalls the Cast's Pre-Show 'Huddle' on “Friends” Before Performing for the Live Audience
- - - Courteney Cox Recalls the Cast's Pre-Show 'Huddle' on "Friends" Before Performing for the Live Audience
Laney CrawleyJuly 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty
Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller in 'Friends'
Courtney Cox, who played Monica Geller in Friends, says the cast used to huddle up and wish each other 'good luck' before heading on stage
The tight-knit cast included stars like Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow
NBC's Must-See-TV series was filmed in front of a live audience
Although the finale of Friends aired more than 20 years ago, Courtney Cox still remembers how she and the cast would prepare to film each episode in front of the live audience.
The actress and Homecourt founder, 61, said that while she doesn't usually 'pump herself up' for public appearances and shows, she and her costars used to get together in a huddle to wish each other good luck.
"We'd get in a huddle and we would say, 'Alright everybody! Good luck!' And we'd give each other a hug and a high five," Cox recalled at the Inc. 5000, the annual conference and gala celebrating the fastest-growing private companies in America.
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Courteney Cox attends the 2024 US Open
Friends' iconic ensemble cast included Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Matthew Perry — the latter who died of acute effects of ketamine on Oct. 28, 2023.. They famously remain close to this day.
Cox went on to say that the live audience loved watching the taping of the show so much, and that sometimes producers had to cut the laugh track early so the actors could continue on. Everyone "just knew" what would get big laughs from the audience, Cox said, so the cast would just roll with it.
The experience is different than what the Scream 7 star is used to these days, when making other scripted projects. "Friends was shot in front of a live audience, and that was a whole different thing." she noted. "Now, I do things that are filmed."
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The cast of 'Friends' recreate their infamous pre-show huddle for the reunion special
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In 2021, the stars of Friends met on stage again for the Friends: The Reunion show which premiered on HBO Max on May 27 of that year. LeBlanc previously told PEOPLE that it was 'almost like no time had passed' when the cast got together again.
"We pick up right where we left off," he said. Whether or not they gathered together in a huddle for a hug and high five before the camera started rolling, is left to the imagination.
Aniston and Cox have a particularly close relationship. Cox previously told PEOPLE that 'there could be no better godmother' to her daughter Coco than Aniston.
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