Melora Hardin Is Forever a Friend of "Friends"

amp8220We both grew up in Los Angeles and although we attended different high schools we were introduced through a mutual friend and we went on a dateamp8221 she revealed amp8220I think he was he was a senior in high school and I was in the 11th grade The date was fine but we ultimately ended up being just friends It was the first pilot season that he started going in and testing for things I tested for five pilots the year that he got Friends And it was the first pilot he tested foramp8221Hardin didnamp8217t land a single pilot that year which left her schedule open for her role on Friends amp8220I went in and auditioned and they hired meamp8221 she said amp8220Afterwards I told the producers when I was on the set 39You know David and I are friends39 They were so impressed that I didn39t use that card in the audition room However really would it have mattered if I did I think it would have been fineamp8221In the episode Chandler Matthew Perry is dealing with a job he doesnamp8217t want and Monica Courteney Cox is trying to impress a stoned restauranteur Jon Lovitz while Ross is excited about an upcoming date with Celia the Curator of Insects at the museum What makes Hardinamp8217s appearance so memorable is that when viewers first encounter Celia sheamp8217s being attacked by Marcel Rossamp8217 mischievous pet monkey amp8220That was in the scriptamp8221 she shared amp8220Iamp8217d worked with tons of animals as a kid so Iamp8217d had lots of experience with animal actors and I wasn39t fearful of that monkey But that monkey was not the mostfriendly monkeyamp8220Actually I worked with Sarah Jessica Parker on a show called Equal Justice 1991 and worked with a monkey on that who bit meamp8221 she continued amp8220It was a similar kind of a monkey to the one on Friends They can be very wild I also worked with a chimpanzee when I was nine or ten which was amazing I fell in love with him and he with me which apparently is kind of dangerous according to the trainer when they do fall for a person But he was so sweet I think the bigger the monkey the more intelligent they are whereas the other ones are just more highstrung Yeah getting bitten by a monkey wasn39t funamp8221Thankfully Hardin left the Friends set somewhat unscathed but the role also called for some serious acting chops as Celia had a proclivity to hearing dirty talk when getting intimate That meant her costar Schwimmer had to deliver She laughed when she recalled doing those scenes with her friend amp8220You know I39m a professional actor He39s a professional actor Itamp8217s what we doamp8221 she said The onscreen couple never did consummate the relationship after being too tired from all the dirty talkFor many of the showamp8217s guest stars appearing on Friends is a career highlight when it comes their own kids many of whom have helped cement the show39s place in popculture history But for Hardinamp8217s family that highlight is The Office amp8220My daughters do watch Friends and they were like 39Oh my God39quot she laughed quotPeople mention it sometimes but not very much When they do itamp8217s like 39I can39t believe that you were on Friends39 I love thatamp8221Even though her appearance was some 27 years ago Hardin is still happy to call most of the Friends cast friends amp8220I39m still friends with Davidamp8221 she revealed amp8220We39ve all known each other since we were in our 20s you know Matthew Perry and I did 17 Again together Courteney and I had our kids in preschool together Jennifer and I have a mutual friend so we see each other sometimes I bumped into her last year and it was so nice to see herquotI last saw Lisa Kudrow around the time that The Office was doing its second or third season but I haven39t seen her sinceamp8221 she added in closing amp8220The one I haven39t seen in a super super long time is Matt LeBlanc I don39t think I39ve seen him since we did that episodeamp8221Read more of Steve Gidlow39s interviews with notable guest stars from the iconic sitcom quotFriendsquot All ten seasons of Friends are available to stream on HBO MaxClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Melora Hardin Is Forever a Friend of "Friends"

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