Among sitcoms, Friends is one of the most important milestones of the genre. For the first time, story arcs were followed over several seasons and the protagonists were allowed to develop further.
The special charm of the series numerous guest stars contributedwho surprisingly got small scenes in the sitcom. One of them is action legend Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Jean-Claude Van Damme didn’t even know Friends when he starred in it
In the second season, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Monica (Courteney Cox) meet Jean-Claude Van Damme during a shoot in New York, who plays himselfThe two women want to ‘Muscles from Brussels’ but Monica is too shy to talk to him. So Rachel takes matters into her own hands and goes straight to the megastar.
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Van Damme in Friends
As he told the New York Post, Van Damme had not yet seen the sitcom at the time. He had no idea what exactly he was getting himself into. In retrospect, he felt that his acting in his scenes strange and embarrassing. Back then he would have enjoyed the part:
[Courtney Cox und Jennifer Aniston] tell me that this is currently the hottest show in the world So I was very happy.
Jean-Claude was impressed by the work on the series. Everyone worked like a well-oiled machine. The actor himself had only gained experience in filma series was new to him.
Later he realized that the series was talked about more than all of his films combined. Van Damme also recognized the Power of televisionbut he didn’t see anything wrong with it. He enjoyed the new experience. But he is still embarrassed by his behavior to this day.