20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Friends
7. The Actors Weren't All Paid The Same (At First)
It is often reported that the six principal cast members were paid equally throughout the show's duration and all received $22,500 for each episode in the early days. In fact, this wasn't the case, as David Schwimmer has spoken of the different contracts signed by each cast member and how he felt this was unfair given that Friends was an ensemble piece in which every actor was equally important.
Schwimmer's agents had originally negotiated an extra $2,500 a week for the actor when it became clear how much NBC wanted their client to play Ross, and when the show became a huge success he was advised to ask for a raise. Schwimmer's mother was a prominent divorce attorney and suggested that the cast renegotiate their contracts as a group, which chimed with her sons own feelings and experiences in ensemble theatre.
Despite being in a stronger position than some of his cast mates due to the central focus of the relationship between Ross and Rachel, Schwimmer floated the idea of negotiating as a group a tactic that would see them become the highest-paid actors in TV history.