Friends guest star Marlo Thomas recalls a sweet story involving Matt LeBlanc. Thomas appeared in three episodes of the seminal sitcom, playing the mother of Rachel. In her role as Sandra Greene, Thomas mostly shared scenes with Jennifer Aniston that explored their loving but sometimes contentious mother-daughter relationship. Still, when she did make an appearance, Sandra also mixed it up with Monica (Courteney Cox) and Joey (LeBlanc). In fact, in the Friends season 2 installment "The One with the Two Parties", Joey memorably plants a kiss on Sandra — which leaves her stunned but very appreciative.
In comments to Variety, Thomas discusses her time as Sandra. The actor, who also memorably played Ann Marie on the sitcom That Girl, says it was a lot of fun to be a part of Friends and mentioned filming with LeBlanc. In the scene, Rachel is trying to keep her acrimonious parents from crossing paths. In a last-minute attempt to avoid their collision, Joey kisses Sandra to distract her. In the quote, included below, Thomas recalls how LeBlanc tried to make her comfortable with the big scene:
“We’re about to run into each other, and Joey grabs me and kisses me. I went limp in his arms like I hadn’t been kissed like that in 100 years. It was very funny. Matt was so cute because when we were going to shoot it, he said, ‘I’m really sorry, Marlo, but I am going to have to kiss you now for real.’ I said, ‘OK, I’ll try to live through it.’”
How The Friends Cast Shared The Spotlight With Guest Stars
As it became one of the hottest comedies on television, Friends attracted a number of huge names. Some were a part of episode-long arcs. Others portrayed themes, appearing only briefly. Although some guest actors admitted to a bit of fear at joining such an established juggernaut of a series, the Friends cast and the writers were always mindful of ceding the space to make sure that the new arrivals had their moments to shine. Because of that, several guest stars make up some of Friends' most memorable sequences. This wasn't just true of the celebrities that popped up.
Particularly in the early seasons of Friends, the NBC comedy allowed its six main characters to have rich relationships outside of the main group. For example, Tom Selleck's Richard actually seemed like he could be a viable endgame candidate for Monica, adding to the emotion when they broke up. Janice (Maggie Wheeler) was more of a full character rather than a simple inconvenience that Chandler ran into. Carol (Jane Sibbett) was an active part of Ross's life, as the mother of his child.
It's arguable whether the last half of Friends needed that outside world as much. Perhaps, as it neared its conclusion, with surprisingly little assurance whether it would be renewed due to contract negotiations with the six lead stars, the writers understandably felt that it was more important to leave the titular group in a good place. There didn't need to be as much of a focus elsewhere. Still, Friends undoubtedly sparkled for its willingness to let guests like Thomas play in the sandbox and bond with the main ensemble.
Source: Variety