Fans of Friends will agree that one of the charms of the show was its one-episode appearances by major actors, from Tom Cruise to Brad Pitt to Robin Williams to Reese Witherspoon and Winona Ryder.
But what has fans reeling this week is that I Know What You Did Last Summer's Freddie Prinze Jr. was not originally supposed to be one of those fabulous guest appearances. Tom Hanks was.
In season nine of Friends, one of the primary plotlines was Ross and Rachel's on-again, off-again relationship's transition into still being friends, but now also being roommates who are coparenting a baby they accidentally had together. To prepare for Rachel returning to work in the fashion world, the pair hired a nanny for baby Emma.
After going through many options and interviews, the pair landed on Sandy, who already had full-time nanny experience and the appropriate educational background. But to Ross's old-fashioned chagrin, in walks a smiling male nanny.
And to the Friends world, Freddie Prinze Jr. became known as the emotionally in-touch, recorder-playing, and puppet-wielding male nanny who was too in touch with his "feminine side" for Ross's tastes but left Rachel feeling confident and comforted.
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Though his nanny role only lasted for one episode before an insecure Ross fired him, Prinze confided in an interview with Men's Health that his role in "The One with the Male Nanny" almost didn't happen at all.
Prinze reflected on the opportunity:
"So this is a fun story! This was for the sitcom 'Friends' from the '90s that a lot of people remember, and if you're really young and you don't, it was a cool show."
"I got to play a character called 'the manny,' but it almost wasn't me. It was supposed to be Tom Hanks."
"He got stuck in Europe, his flight got canceled, and he wasn't able to make it."
"So they called me and said, 'Hey, would you want to be on 'Friends'?"
"I said, 'Yeah, that would be great,' and they said, 'Cool, it starts tomorrow.'"
"So I literally had to go in, I had just gotten the script, and they said, 'Do you know how to play the recorder?'"
"I laughed and said, 'No, who knows how to play the recorder outside of the third grade?'"
"And they're like, 'Well, you need to learn,' so I actually learned how to play that song ("Greensleeves"), and it's really me playing it. We didn't use a soundtrack. So the stress was on not screwing up the song!"
But unlike what a lot of fans were saying about Ross, Prinze had a lot of good to say about David Schwimmer.
"I remember David Schwimmer came in, and he was like, 'You're going to love this. It's like doing a two-act play. The crowd gives you so much energy. Use it, and let them be a part of the show.'"
"It really helped relax me and make the whole experience just awesome and great, so big thanks to Mr. Schwimmer."
You can watch the video here:
Fans could not wrap their heads around the idea of Tom Hanks playing the role of Sandy.
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Others could not stop sharing their favorite quotes from the episode.
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While Tom Hanks might have been the popular choice at the time, fans could not imagine him embodying the role the way Freddie Prinze Jr. did, making him one of the few guest characters viewers hoped would become a new addition.
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