Cole Sprouse has opened up about the reason why he struggled to work with Jennifer Aniston on Friends.
The former Disney Channel star revealed that filming the beloved NBC sitcom - which aired from 1994 to 2004 and starred Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, and Matt LeBlanc - wasn’t all smooth sailing, thanks to one very distracting co-star.
The 32-year-old actor was just seven years old when he landed the role of Ben Geller, Ross and Carol's son. He joined the hit show in season six and stuck around for about two years, acting alongside some of the biggest stars on TV.
It was the dream gig that every young actor wanted, but it came with one unexpected challenge: Aniston, who played Rachel Green.
"I had a really, really hard time working with Aniston because I was so in love with her," Cole told The New York Post. “I was infatuated. I was speechless - I'd get all bubbly and forget my lines and completely blank. It was so difficult.”
Despite being starstruck, he managed to power through and sometimes even helped his older castmates remember their lines when they forgot them.
Sprouse wasn’t alone in catching feelings for Jennifer Aniston.
The late Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing, also revealed before his passing at age 54 that he had a crush on the We’re the Millers star.
"I was immediately taken by her (how could I not be?) and liked her, and I got the sense she was intrigued, too – maybe it was going to be something," Perry wrote, per Digital Spy.
And during the 2021 Friends reunion special, David Schwimmer admitted he and Aniston had mutual feelings while filming Ross and Rachel’s on-screen romance throughout the show’s 10 seasons, though the two never actually dated.
As for Aniston, she’s opened up about her own connection to the show and explained she wouldn’t return to sitcoms unless it could measure up to the magic she experienced working alongside her iconic Friends castmates.
Speaking on the SmartLess podcast, the 56-year-old said the beloved series was a “no-brainer” when asked to name her favorite job. “Every single day I miss the schedule of filming... it’s the best schedule ever on the planet,” she added.
Still, she made it clear she wouldn’t jump into another sitcom unless it could truly compare.
The Just Go With It star said: “If I knew it would be the same experience as I had with those guys, yes, but I doubt that will ever happen.”