Jennifer Aniston surprised fans by making a rare public reference to former husband Brad Pitt while reminiscing about Friends alongside co-star Lisa Kudrow.
The actresses reunited for Variety's Actors on Actors series, where they reflected on their decade starring together in the hit sitcom and discussed some of the show's most memorable guest appearances.
Jennifer, 57, and Lisa, 62, played Rachel Green and Phoebe Buffay respectively throughout Friends' hugely successful run from 1994 to 2004.
During their conversation, the pair looked back on the many Hollywood stars who appeared on the series, including Jennifer's ex-husband Brad Pitt, whose guest role remains one of the show's most talked-about celebrity cameos.
Brad appeared in the eighth season of Friends in 2002, playing Will Colbert, a former high-school classmate of Ross and Monica Geller who harboured a deep dislike of Rachel. The appearance came while Pitt and Aniston were still married, several years before their split in 2005.
Discussing some of their favourite episodes, Jennifer asked Lisa: "Did you like the Thanksgiving episodes? Those were fun."
Lisa replied: "Yes. Those were great, the Thanksgiving episodes. When Brad was on, that was hilarious."
Jennifer then reflected on the calibre of stars who appeared on the sitcom over the years, saying: "I know. How funny. The movie stars that came on Friends. Brad, Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts. Isabella Rossellini. We had so many - Sean Penn. They were always nervous. Remember? I always found it fascinating how nervous they were."
Lisa agreed, revealing many guest stars were uncertain about how to approach the unique style of the sitcom. "Yes. Nervous. Well, because what's the tone? It's not theater; it's for TV. It's not a movie. What the hell is this?" she said. "And it's a good question. And I remember someone asked one time. I didn't know how to explain it, so I said, 'Oh, just talk louder. Same intention, just -'"
The exchange caught the attention of fans, as Jennifer rarely speaks publicly about Brad Pitt despite the pair maintaining an amicable relationship in recent years.
Their romance began in 1998 and they married in a lavish Malibu ceremony in 2000 before announcing their separation in January 2005. Shortly after, Pitt was linked to Angelina Jolie following their work together on Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The couple welcomed daughter Shiloh in 2006, followed by twins Vivienne and Knox in 2008. Pitt and Jolie married in 2014 but filed for divorce two years later.
Meanwhile, Aniston and Pitt have remained on friendly terms. The actor attended Aniston's 50th birthday celebrations in 2019, while fans famously reacted when the former couple shared a warm backstage reunion at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Today, Pitt is in a long-term relationship with jewellery executive Ines de Ramon, while Aniston is dating wellness expert Jim Curtis.
The Actors on Actors conversation also served as a reminder of the extraordinary legacy of Friends, which remains one of television's most successful sitcoms more than two decades after it ended. Alongside Jennifer and Lisa, the show's core cast included Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and the late Matthew Perry. The six stars famously negotiated their salaries together during the show's run, eventually earning $1 million per episode during the final seasons. The cast reunited again for HBO Max's Friends: The Reunion special in 2021, with reports suggesting they were paid around $2.5 million each for the one-off event.
