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Jennifer Aniston can’t imagine returning to the role of Rachel Green, which she played on Friends for 10 seasons, from 1994 to 2004, after the loss of costar Matthew Perry.
“It would be literally, physically impossible,” Aniston said, speaking about the potential of a remake of or sequel to the NBC hit, in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar U.K. published Thursday.
Perry died in 2023 from the “acute effects of ketamine,” with drowning, coronary artery disease, and effects of buprenorphine, a prescription medication used to treat opioid use disorder, as contributing factors. He was 54.
“It’s heartbreaking that he had so many demons,” Aniston said. “But boy, for someone who had that much inner turmoil, he sure got to laugh a lot, and that was everything to him.”
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The entire cast, which also included Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc, was famously close. Professionally, they stood together to negotiate equal, high-figure salaries.
The Horrible Bosses star said she looks back fondly on her time with the gang.
“It completely formed who I was. It was pure joy,” she said. “I looked forward to it every day. I couldn’t wait to get to work. I couldn’t wait to see those people. I couldn’t wait to read the scripts — we’d shoot the show every Friday night, and right after we wrapped, we’d find the new script for Monday morning in our dressing room. I was just as excited to find out what was going to happen as I’m sure the audience was.”
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The actors have reunited dozens of times in the 20-plus years since the show signed off, often in twos or threes.
But the network now known as HBO Max brought the entire group together for an official event, Friends: The Reunionin 2021. And Perry was part of that.
That event is actually where Aniston and all her costars gathered for the last time, she revealed in an August interview with Vanity Fair.
“We did everything we could when we could,” Aniston said. “But it almost felt like we’d been mourning Matthew for a long time because his battle with that disease was a really hard one for him to fight. As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there’s a part of me that thinks this is better. I’m glad he’s out of that pain.”
