The highly anticipated HBO Max event featured cast members Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Mathew Perry along with a number of cameos from notable `Friends` guest stars. However, there were two major standouts who were MIA from the reunion, Paul Rudd and Cole Sprouse.
As for why Rudd, who played Phoebe`s husband Mike, and Sprouse, who portrayed Ross` son Ben, weren`t involved in the reunion, it sounds as though there were just too many stars to fit in with so little time.
Winston, who directed the reunion special, shared with a news outlet, "Well, we couldn`t have everybody on, because it`s only an hour and 45 minutes. And you`ve got to pay attention--the main nub of the show has got to be about the six cast members. So you can`t have too many cameos because of course, there were hundreds of amazing people who were in Friends over the years. Sadly, we couldn`t get everybody in."
Winston also noted that, given the ongoing global pandemic, it`s difficult for people to travel. He told the outlet, "You know, we did invite some people who weren`t able to make it. It`s a complicated time to be making television now because, you know, some people couldn`t fly internationally, some people were on other TV or film shoots, some people are in bubbles on stuff."
"I think during a pandemic, it`s really hard to get everybody where you want to be. And the other thing, of course, is we have no flexibility. It was one night that those six [main cast members] were available. The timing of it was incredibly difficult. So, you know, if you weren`t available on the seventh of April at 8 pm., then, sadly, they weren`t able to be part of it," he added.
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