The painful cast injury that ‘Friends’ kept secret for decades
In a harrowing incident that was kept hush-hush for decades, a 1996 episode of “Friends” took a turn when star Matt LeBlanc took a “cringe-worthy” fall while filming — and paramedics had to rush him to the hospital in excruciating pain.
During the much-hyped “Friends: The Reunion” special — which hit HBO Max Thursday — series creator David Crane revealed that production ground to a halt on the Sept. 26, 1996, episode “The One Where Nobody’s Ready” when LeBlanc — as lovable lunkhead Joey Tribbiani — suffered his show-stopping injury.
In one scene, roommates Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Joey fight over a chair, and, during their war of (nit)wits, Joey runs and jumps onto it to claim it for himself. That’s when things went painfully awry.
“I somehow tripped — and my shoulder came out of the socket,” LeBlanc, 53, explained in the special.
To make matters worse, they were shooting a “bottle episode,” meaning one that is set entirely in one location — in this case, Monica and Rachel’s apartment — and required all of the main stars at all times.
“It happened to be the one episode where it was just the six of them, all in it — so we couldn’t film other scenes,” said Crane of the episode, which chronicles Ross’ increasing anxiety as the gang takes too long to get ready for an important function at his museum later that evening. It was supposed to be an “easy,” budget-saving one since it all took place in one location and required no guest stars.
