David Schwimmer is taking us back to one of the scariest and oddly slapstick moments from Friends. Apparently, the “pivot” wasn’t the most dramatic thing to happen on set.
While promoting his new Goosebumps project (because, of course, he’d star in a show that sounds like an episode of ‘Friends’ gone spooky), Schwimmer, now 58, spilled the tea about the time Matt LeBlanc’s shoulder decided to moonwalk right out of its socket during a live taping.
“Yeah, Matt was supposed to do this pratfall,” Schwimmer explained to Entertainment Weekly, his voice probably carrying the same level of gravitas he had when he said, “We were on a break.” “But instead of landing like a lovable doofus, he went full ‘ouch’ mode. One second he’s Joey Tribbiani, the next he’s Casper the Friendly Ghost because he went so pale.”
Picture it: LeBlanc stands up, his arm dangling like a rejected action figure part. Schwimmer, the unofficial director of disaster, sprang into action. “I turned to the camera like, ‘CUT! CUT!’ I was basically Ross during an emotional breakdown, but for real,” he admitted.
Of course, production came to a screeching halt because nobody wanted to film Joey Tribbiani passing out for real (though, let’s be honest, that could have been a classic subplot). Matt was rushed to the hospital, presumably cracking a joke about how his health insurance better cover “bed-related injuries.”
The story doesn’t end there! In true sitcom style, the writers, geniuses of chaos that they are, turned Matt’s real-life mishap into TV gold. Remember Season 3’s “The One with the Jam”? Yeah, the one where Joey jumps on his bed off-screen and lands himself in a sling? That wasn’t just comedy—it was method acting by accident.
A genuinely scary moment turned into sitcom lore. And if that’s not the Friends way, what is?
