Friends on-screen and off, the core cast members negotiated as a unit and demanded equal pay. Photo / Getty Images
Friends is about to turn 25.
That's right, it's been a quarter of a century since we first met Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe and Joey, hanging out in their go-to coffee spot, Central Perk.
(Actually, the pilot opened with everyone but Rachel sitting around gossiping about Monica's dating life — but she runs in wearing a wedding dress soon after, and the rest is history.)
To celebrate the significant anniversary, here's everything you probably didn't know about Friends:
When the sitcom premiered in 1994, it was the career launch pad for all its young stars — and their salaries reflected that. For the first season, each of the six core cast members received $22,500 per episode — but each year, they negotiated more and more, eventually earning a whopping $1 million.
The best bit? No one rose above the others — instead, they negotiated as a group and demanded equal pay.
That's true Friendship.
As mentioned before, all core castmates negotiated for equal pay, knowing their worth as a group of six.
But Friends was originally supposed to have just four main characters, with Phoebe Buffay and Chandler Bing relegated to supporting roles.
I'll Be There For You by The Rembrandts is forever etched into Friends history, but the famous theme song wasn't actually first choice for the show's opening credits.
Instead, producers were planning to use REM's Shiny Happy People, but they eventually changed their mind.
After Friends premiered, the theme song shot up to number one on the US music charts.
It's hard to imagine any of the stars in any other role but their own, but Courteney Cox was originally cast as Rachel Green, and Jennifer Aniston as Monica Geller.
However, from the very first script reading it became incredibly obvious to everyone that the actresses should swap — and thank God they did.
Bruce Willis was an in-demand movie star and raking in the big bucks in 2000 when he signed on to feature in three Friends episodes as Ross' girlfriend's dad, Paul.
One would assume he took home an eye-watering pay cheque for his stint on the show, but the Die Hard lead was actually paid nothing.
He and Matthew Perry had reportedly had a friendly bet on the set of their movie The Whole Nine Yards, and when Willis lost, he made good on his promise to guest star on the sitcom for free.
A live audience really adds to the vibe of a show — but it also can cause some problems.
Take, for example, Tom Selleck's guest appearance on the show as Dr Richard Burke, Monica's much-older boyfriend.
The famous actor's first entrance onto set thrilled the audience, who gave him a standing ovation. In fact, they took so long to calm down, producers couldn't use any of the footage and had to reshoot his entrance later when everyone had gone.
Rachel's big romantic scene with Ross made up the bulk of the show's finale, but Aniston almost didn't sign on for the last season.
In an interview with former US TV host Matt Lauer back in 2004, the actress explained she wanted to leave the show on a high while people were still laughing — and she wasn't sure "how much Rachel" she had left in her.
Luckily, she changed her mind.
Friends is streaming on TVNZ On Demand.
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