In a story shared with Men’s Health, actor Freddie Prinze Jr. talked about some of his most iconic roles, including the manny named Sandy on the hit sitcom Friends.
“This is a fun story,” Prinze Jr. said of his time on Friends.
“The sitcom Friends from the 90s that a lot of people remember, if you’re super young, then you don’t, but it was a cool show. And I got to play a character called ‘the manny,’ but it almost wasn’t me,” the 49-year-old explained.
“It was supposed to be Tom Hanks,” Prinze Jr. continued, revealing that Hanks “got stuck in Europe. His flight got canceled. He wasn’t able to make it.”
In a scramble to fill the position, Prinze Jr. got the call. “They called me and said, ‘Hey, would you want to be on Friends? I said, ‘Yeah, that would be great.’ And they said, ‘Cool. It starts tomorrow.’”
With little to no time to prepare, Prinze Jr. told Men’s Health that he had just gotten the script when he went in for his first day where he was asked if he knew how to play the recorder.
“I laughed. I was like, ‘No, who knows how to play the recorder outside of the third grade?’ And they’re like, ‘Well, you need to learn,’” Prinze Jr. revealed. And so he did.
“I actually learned how to play that song, and it’s really me playing,” he said of the scene were he plays “Greensleeves” on the recorder for baby Emma, Ross (played by David Schwimmer and Rachel’s (played by Jennifer Aniston) daughter.
“They didn’t use a soundtrack,” he continued. “So the stress was not screwing up the song. But I remember David Schwimmer came in and he was like, ‘You’re gonna love this. It’s like doing a two act play. The crowd gives you so much energy. Use it, let them be a part of the show.’ And it really helped relax me and make the whole experience just awesome and great. So so big thank you to Mr. Schwimmer.”
Fans in the comment section were thrilled to learn this story.
“Freddie Prinze Jr. was made for that role of the male nanny,” one comment read.
“I cannot imagine anyone playing this but you. One of my favorite episodes,” another fan added.
“I LOVE Tom Hanks – but FPJ was made for this role,” shared another commenter.
