Friends reunion: Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow struggle to recall classic episodes

Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow are reminiscing about their time on Friends. 

The pair – who played Rachel Green and Phoebe Buffay on the hit show respectively – took part in Variety‘s Actors on Actors issue, filming an interview together for a special that was released on Monday. 

Jennifer, 51, and Lisa, 56, kicked off the video by laughing together as they joked about remembering which scenes they were in together in the iconic sitcom, which is now available on new streaming service HBO Max, with a special one-off reunion episode still in the pipeline. 

‘One of the questions that was suggested that I asked is, “If you can remember any episode of Friends that we did together” Lisa cackled, adding: ‘and we were in every episode together…’

Jen jokingly replied: ‘That’s a great question. I don’t know I don’t think we ever appeared in the same screenshot.’

The star then tried to recall the classic Phoebe moment when the character couldn’t get her fire alarm to shut off, which Lisa struggled to remember. 

‘If you said, ‘The One With The…’ I would go ‘Yeah, yeah, that episode,’ …The One With The Fire Alarm… sounds made up!’ she laughed. 

But Jen explained: ‘It wasn’t the title of it,’ and explained the episode further, triggering Lisa finally remember it, and she joked that the much-anticipated HBO reunion special ‘will be fine’ despite them struggling to recall specific scenes. 

Speaking in more detail about the reunion, which was put on pause due to coronavirus, Jen said: ‘I cannot wait. It’s also strange to think it would have been shot and already aired and it would be a little speck in our memory.’ 

However, the pair admitted that they still don’t know much about the details of what will happen, when they get back together with their co-stars Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc.

‘We don’t know everything about it,’ Lisa claimed. ‘Oh, we don’t know anything about it,’ Jen responded. ‘What we do know, we can’t say,’ Lisa explained. ‘I think we’re meant to be surprised by some things.’ 

Jen admitted to ‘stumbling’ over a few episodes of Friends while in quarantine, and admitted that one time she and Courteney Cox spent time re-watching old bloopers on the Internet.

‘There’s bloopers online — and we sat there at the computer like two nerds watching these bloopers laughing at ourselves,’ she said. Lisa agreed, adding: ‘I’ve done it too. I’ve done that, hours watching bloopers.’

The pair initially made a light-hearted joke about coronavirus at the beginning of their chat, as Lisa said ‘I need a test’ when she was heard talking with a quiet voice, with Jen asking her, ‘Can you smell me?’ 

‘Yes! I can’t hear you that well, but I can smell you, that’s great technology’ Lisa replied, laughing. 

Elsewhere in the interview, both actors heaped praise on one another both for Jen’s work in the Apple TV drama The Morning Show, and Lisa’s most recent comic turn in the Netflix comedy Space Force.