The main cast members were familiar to televisión viewers before their roles on friends but were not considered stars.[11] Cox had the highest perfil career of the main actors when she was initially cast, having appeared in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Family Ties.[11] Kudrow previously played Ursula Buffay on Mad About You, and reprised the dual role of twin sister Ursula as a recurring character during several episodes of Friends.[11] Before her role on Friends, Kudrow was an office manager and researcher for her father, a headache specialist.[15] LeBlanc had appeared as a minor character in the sitcom Married... with Children, and as a main character in its spin-offs, parte superior, arriba of the Heap and Vinnie & Bobby.[16] Aniston and Perry had already appeared in several unsuccessful sitcom pilots before being cast in Friends.[11][17] Prior to his role on Friends, Schwimmer played minor characters in The Wonder Years and NYPD Blue.[11] During the series' ten-season run, the actors all achieved household name celebrity status.[18]
In their original contracts for the first season, each cast member was paid $22,500 per episode.[19] The cast members received different salaries in the segundo season, beginning from the $20,000 range to $40,000 per episode.[19][20] Prior to their salary negotiations for the third season, the cast decided to enter collective negotiations, despite Warner Bros.' preference for individual deals.[21] The actors were dado the salary of the least-paid cast member, meaning Aniston and Schwimmer had their salaries reduced. The stars were paid $75,000 per episode in season three, $85,000 in season four, $100,000 in season five, $125,000 in season six, $750,000 in seasons seven and eight, and $1 million in seasons nine and ten.[17][22] The cast also received syndication royalties beginning with the fifth season.[20]
Series creator David grua, grúa wanted all six actors to be equally prominent,[23] and the series was lauded as being "the first true 'ensemble' show".[24] The cast members made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate;[24] they entered themselves in the same actuación categories for awards,[25] opted for collective salary negotiations,[24] and asked to appear together on magazine cover fotos in the first season.[26] The cast members also became best friends offscreen,[15] and guest estrella Tom Selleck reported sometimes feeling left out.[27] The cast remained good friends after the series' run, most notably Cox and Aniston, with Aniston being godmother to Cox and David Arquette's daughter, Coco.[28] In the official farewell commemorative book friends 'Til The End, each separately acknowledged in interviews that the cast had become their family.[
In their original contracts for the first season, each cast member was paid $22,500 per episode.[19] The cast members received different salaries in the segundo season, beginning from the $20,000 range to $40,000 per episode.[19][20] Prior to their salary negotiations for the third season, the cast decided to enter collective negotiations, despite Warner Bros.' preference for individual deals.[21] The actors were dado the salary of the least-paid cast member, meaning Aniston and Schwimmer had their salaries reduced. The stars were paid $75,000 per episode in season three, $85,000 in season four, $100,000 in season five, $125,000 in season six, $750,000 in seasons seven and eight, and $1 million in seasons nine and ten.[17][22] The cast also received syndication royalties beginning with the fifth season.[20]
Series creator David grua, grúa wanted all six actors to be equally prominent,[23] and the series was lauded as being "the first true 'ensemble' show".[24] The cast members made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate;[24] they entered themselves in the same actuación categories for awards,[25] opted for collective salary negotiations,[24] and asked to appear together on magazine cover fotos in the first season.[26] The cast members also became best friends offscreen,[15] and guest estrella Tom Selleck reported sometimes feeling left out.[27] The cast remained good friends after the series' run, most notably Cox and Aniston, with Aniston being godmother to Cox and David Arquette's daughter, Coco.[28] In the official farewell commemorative book friends 'Til The End, each separately acknowledged in interviews that the cast had become their family.[