As one of the six main cast members on the iconic sitcom Friends, Courteney Cox has cemented her place as one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood. Nearly three decades after the pilot episode aired, Cox is still asked about the show in nearly every interview.
In a 2022 chat with Today, Cox revealed that she actually doesn’t always like to watch herself back in old re-runs of the show. While she can’t remember filming every episode, she has noticed that one specific thing has changed since the episodes originally aired, and it bothers her too much to be able to enjoy the re-runs.
There was one sequence of the show that Cox particularly hated filming (she does remember that!) but that’s not why she has an issue re-watching the sitcom. Read on to find out the real reason!
Why Can’t Courteney Cox Watch Herself On ‘Friends’?
Friends is one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, so it’s hard to believe there’s anyone who doesn’t like to watch old re-runs of the show. While fans are still obsessed with the sitcom nearly 30 years after the show first aired, it seems there are some people who don’t like to watch it continuously: the cast themselves.
Courteney Cox, who played Monica Geller, revealed in a 2022 interview with Today that she doesn’t like watching re-runs for a very particular reason. The network often speeds the episodes up, so they can fit in more commercial breaks, which then alters the voices and actions of the cast.
Though this isn’t enough for most people to even notice, Cox revealed that she can tell when the episodes have been sped up, and when they have, she can’t stand to watch them. She especially doesn’t like the way her voice sounds when it’s sped up.
“I sound, I think, the way Minnie Mouse or Tinkerbell sound like,” Cox revealed, adding, “I hate my voice so much.”
Cox went on to say that, because of the higher pitch of her sped-up voice, it “sounds like I’ve been smoking a ton of cigarettes since then, and I haven’t.”
But does the actress enjoy watching Friends re-runs when the episodes are not sped up? Absolutely. “When my voice is not sped up, I like it.” Jennifer Aniston may not feel the same, at least when it comes to specific scenes, like that time she literally made the studio audience gasp.
Does Courteney Cox Remember Filming ‘Friends’?
From her Today interview, it’s clear that Courteney Cox can tell when something is off with the Friends re-runs. But according to Harper’s Bazaar, the actress doesn’t actually remember much about filming the iconic show.
“I should’ve watched all 10 seasons, because when I did the reunion and was asked questions, I was like, ‘I don’t remember being there.’ I don’t remember filming so many episodes,” Cox admitted in her Today interview.
“I see it on TV sometimes, and I stop and go, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t remember this at all. But it’s so funny.” In another interview cited by Harper’s Bazaar, Cox told Ellen DeGeneres that she has a bad memory, which is the main reason why she can’t remember filming all of her Friends scenes.
“Oh, God, I have the worst memory. Everything came up that I forgot about,” she said of the Friends reunion, which aired in 2021.
Cox also revealed that because they filmed the show in a very different era, where people didn’t document every part of their lives on social media, she doesn’t have many photos of her life behind the scenes:
“I’m kinda bummed that we didn’t spend more time taking pictures. Because I don’t have a lot to look back at.”
Does Courteney Cox Still Get Along With The Rest Of The ‘Friends’ Cast?
When the 2021 reunion aired, it was clear that the original cast of Friends do still get along in real life. It had been 17 years since they appeared together as a group in public, so some fans expected the cast to have drifted apart. But it was clear to viewers that there was still a lot of love between them.
There were rumors that Jennifer Aniston was no longer close to her male former co-stars when she didn’t invite them to her 2015 nuptials to Justin Theroux, only including Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow on the guest list. But Screen Rant points out that the wedding was small, and that was the reason the guys weren’t invited (as opposed to hard feelings).
The publication also reports that Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are actually best friends in real life, with Cox serving as the maid of honor at Aniston’s 2015 wedding and Aniston being the godmother of Cox’s daughter Coco.
The former cast members are also sometimes seen together having one-on-one catch-ups, which they share on social media.