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More than 20 years laterThis is how much the “Friends” stars still earn from the series today
They shaped a generation: David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox Arquette, Jennifer Aniston and Matt Leblanc.
picture alliance / abaca / Hahn Lionel/ABACA
“Friends” is a phenomenon. Even today, episodes continue to be broadcast on television and fans diligently watch old episodes on streaming services. According to a report, the main actors can therefore look forward to around 17 million euros per year.
More than 20 years after the end of “Friends,” the cult sitcom is still one of the most successful series in the world. The main actors continue to benefit significantly from this: According to “The Times”, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc each earn around 20 million US dollars – the equivalent of around 17 million euros – per year. But how does this happen? “Because Phoebe Buffay was so great?” jokes Lisa Kudrow in an interview with the British daily newspaper.
In fact, the reason lies in the ongoing exploitation of the series: the episodes are repeatedly broadcast on television worldwide and are also available on streaming services. This income is in addition to the salaries at the time. The “Friends” stars negotiated with the studio at the time. A fee per person per episode of initially around $22,500 ultimately turned into a record sum of around one million US dollars per episode.
Lisa Kudrow herself attributes the far-reaching fascination with the series primarily to the performance of her co-stars. It wasn't until she re-watched the series after Matthew Perry's death that she realized how “great” the show was. “Before, I only saw what I did wrong or what I could have done better,” says the actress. That has changed. “I thought I did a pretty good job, but Jennifer and Courteney? Just amazing. David and Matt? They made me laugh,” says Kudrow.
She was particularly impressed by Perry. He was “simply in a class of his own”. Watching the series again after his death was painful. “Because there was a genius at work,” she praises Perry. “And whatever we do in the future, we will never experience anything like this again.”
Matthew Perry died on October 28, 2023 from the effects of ketamine. After his death, the entire film and series world mourned him, including his co-stars.
Sources used: toh/spot
