Even diehard “Friends” followers usually overlook that Jennifer Grey made a visitor look on an early episode of the beloved comedy ― however the actor says there’s a purpose why her run on the collection didn’t lengthen additional.
Grey stated in an interview revealed with information web site Media Village final week that frequent script modifications “made me so anxious” that she may “barely” full her scenes within the Season 1 episode, titled “The One with the Evil Orthodontist.”
“I was a fan of the show, and I got the call to do it,” the “Dirty Dancing” star defined. “Then when I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script. It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out.”
“They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing,” she continued. “I didn’t know at the time what was going on with me. But I had a lot of performance anxiety, and I just didn’t understand at that time that I needed help in the anxiety department.”
Watch a clip of Jennifer Grey’s look on “Friends” under.
“The One with the Evil Orthodontist,” which aired in April 1995, follows Rachel (performed by Jennifer Aniston) as she reconnects along with her ex-fiancé Barry (Mitchell Whitfield), who’s newly engaged to Mindy (Grey). Soon, Rachel and Barry take pleasure in a short fling simply as Mindy is about to ask Rachel to be the maid of honor at her forthcoming wedding ceremony.
Grey, in fact, was one among many stars to seem in a visitor position on “Friends” over its 10-season run. Other actors who made appearances embrace Christina Applegate, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.
The character of Mindy reappeared on a Season 2 episode of “Friends,” however she was portrayed by actor Jana Marie Hupp as a substitute of Grey.
In her chat with Media Village, Grey confirmed she was requested to reprise the position, however felt unable to take action.
“It makes me sad that I would say no to continuing on ‘Friends’ or doing ‘Saturday Night Live’ because of my anxiety,” she stated. “The truth is, I wished I had people to help me navigate that kind of fear. But I couldn’t be there until I was there.”
Though her “Friends” run was short-lived, Grey stated being part of the present stays an “incredible honor,” and he or she’s grateful that the expertise inspired her to hunt assist along with her psychological well being.
“Everything you do in life, especially the hard things, the really painful, difficult things, are usually the things that are the most instructive and helpful,” she defined.
These days, Grey is experiencing an expert resurgence. Earlier this 12 months, she appeared as real-life megachurch chief Gwen Shamblin within the made-for-television movie “Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation.” She’s additionally set to renew her iconic position of Frances “Baby” Houseman in a long-gestating sequel to “Dirty Dancing,” directed by Jonathan Levine.
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