From the smart heart boy in ‘Clueless’ and supporting role in countless comedies to the eponymous hero of the ‘Ant-Man’ films: Paul Rudd’s career has already taken some surprising turns. A stop in his life that should not be underestimated was the sitcom ‘Friends’: in the last two seasons of the hit series, Rudd played Mike Hannigan, the life partner and later husband of Phoebe Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow.
This brought him closer to the central sextet in the series (consisting of Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry) and won many sympathy points from the worldwide TV audience.
But An accident almost meant Rudd had to leave the role shortly after filming of his first ‘Friends’ appearance began – at least he is convinced of that.
A Segway, a short mistake and a big panic
Rudd’s first “Friends” episode came about under unusual circumstances: His “Love in Every Relationship” film partner Aniston had broken a toe and was therefore traveling on a Segway. During the shooting in the fall of 2002, this device was still an unusual sight, making the actress playing Rachel the center of attention.
As Rudd recapitulated on “The Graham Norton Show” in 2019, it wasn’t long before Aniston’s co-star LeBlanc asked to briefly borrow the Segway backstage. According to Rudd, he immediately mastered it, which immediately gave Rudd the urge to try out the device.
But The later Marvel superhero was much clumsier on the Segway than LeBlanc: he swerved around uncontrollably – and accidentally drove straight over Aniston’s foot. “The producers seemed panicked,” Rudd recalled – and speculated that those responsible for the series at the time were wondering whether they could still fire him. “I felt terrible, it was a very unfortunate debutRudd complained.
As is known, he was not fired and stayed with the series until the end – which gave him the opportunity to get into trouble again. And it especially struck Aniston again: While filming the final episode, Rudd met Aniston backstage as she was going through a very emotional moment.
In Rudd’s words: ‘Jennifer Aniston was crying and I thought I had no business being there now. To break the ice, I stood up to her and said, “Wow, we did it! What a journey! ”
However, Rudd’s self-deprecating, boisterous approach to Aniston with pathos, as if he had done as much for the successful format as she had, fell on deaf ears. and only made the moment more awkward. Despite these two embarrassing anecdotes, Rudd claims he enjoyed his time on ‘Friends’.
And apparently he didn’t end up on Aniston’s blacklist either: In the comedy “Wanderlust – The Trip of a Lifetime,” eight years after the “Friends” finale, he and Aniston played a married couple who inadvertently join a hippie commune added. No Segway accidents and (as far as public) no bad blood between the two stars.