Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer all have one thing in common: these actors won the roles of a lifetime when they were cast on the 1994 sitcom Friends, which aired on NBC. Even though there were some storylines that didn’t really work, and some guest stars that viewers hated, Friends still remains one of the most successful and influential sitcoms in history. It’s hard to believe that the six famous faces we now know as Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross were once anonymous actors looking for their big break.

Director Jim Burrows has revealed that just before the pilot aired back in 1994, he took the cast on a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas. While they were there, they ate a lavish dinner together and gambled, and Burrows made a speech that the cast would remember for the rest of their lives. Read on to find out why the Friends cast took a trip to Vegas before the pilot aired and exactly what went down.

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The Cast At The Time The Pilot Aired

At the time the Friends pilot aired, the cast weren’t the superstars they are today. In fact, the majority of them were barely famous and had only had a few minor roles on TV or in films. In the Friends Oral History published on Vanity Fair, it was revealed that Courtney Cox was perhaps the most famous of the six after appearing in Bruce Springsteen’s music video for ‘Dancing in the Dark’ in 1984.

When they signed on to Friends, the rest of the cast were mostly unknown to the general public. Matt LeBlanc had some sitcom experience, while Lisa Kudrow had a recurring role on Mad About You that was later incorporated into Friends. David Schwimmer had vowed never to work in TV again and was running his theater company in Chicago. Jennifer Aniston was on a TV show called Muddling Through and Matthew Perry was doing a show called LAX 2194.

The cast did not have fame or fortune at the time that they were offered the roles that would change their lives, but they did have anonymity.

The Successful Pilot Screening

When the pilot of the show was first screened for a test audience, director Jim Burrows knew that they had something big. “I knew how popular that show would be,” he revealed (via Vanity Fair). “The kids were all pretty and funny, so beautiful.”

After getting an inkling that the show was going to be super-successful, Burrows decided to take the cast to Las Vegas before the pilot debuted: “I said to Les Moonves, who was head of Warner Bros., ‘Give me the plane. I’ll pay for dinner.’ I took the cast to Vegas.”

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What Happened In Vegas

On the plane to Las Vegas, Jim Burrows showed the six actors the Friends pilot. He took them to Caesars Palace for dinner and asked them to look around at the busy restaurant, noticing the people who didn’t know who they were and were leaving them alone. Then he said something that they still remember to this day: “Your life is going to change. The six of you will never be able to do this again.”

Lisa Kudrow recalls the night clearly: “Jimmy took us to dinner, and he gave us each a little money to gamble with. He said, ‘I want you to be aware that this is the last time that you all can be out and not be swarmed, because that’s what’s going to happen.’ And everyone was like, ‘Really?’ I thought, Well, we’ll see. Maybe. Who knows? We don’t know how the show’s going to do. Why is he so certain?'

After dinner, Burrows gave the cast all money to gamble, since they didn’t have much of their own at the time.

The World’s Initial Reaction

Though the cast may not have believed Burrows then and there, he was right. Initially, the reaction wasn’t telling of just how huge the show would become.

The first ratings weren’t spectacular, even though the show received positive reviews. Behind the scenes, there was a lot of doubts surrounding the show and the writers were struggling with the scripts for the first few episodes. That all changed when the Ross and Rachel plotline emerged, setting the tone for a comedy that was also a bit of a soap opera. And the world was hooked.

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Global Fame And Success

After its initial lukewarm reception, Friends became a global success. It became one of the most-watched series of the time, to the point where its influence was felt all over pop culture. People even started cutting their hair to look like Rachel!

The main cast has opened about how they dealt with the fame that came with the success of the show. While they loved being on the show and are thankful for the way it changed their lives, the fame was a negative presence at times that made life difficult for them all. David Schwimmer in particular struggled to deal with the impact of fame on his life.

The 'Friends' Legacy

25 years after the debut of Friends, we can confirm that Jim Burrows’ gut feeling about the show was correct. It was a super-successful show that completely transformed the lives of the main cast members. And that trip to Vegas before the pilot aired probably was the last time that any of them could go out in public without being swarmed.

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