Cole Sprouse explained why he found it so difficult working on Friends with Jennifer Aniston

Friends is arguably the biggest sitcom to have ever been created, and the cast has shared some extraordinary stories from the set over the years.

Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer infamously starred in the series, and many known faces joined at a later date.

Cole Sprouse, for example, joined the Friends cast in season six as he played Ross Geller's son, Ben. It was the role that really propelled Sprouse into the limelight as a child actor at just seven years old.

As you can probably imagine, joining the set of the biggest sitcom on the planet at that age could be a pretty daunting prospect, and Sprouse has previously opened up on the difficulties he's faced. Well, I say difficulties, it was more the fact Sprouse was distracted after quickly finding a soft spot for Anniston.

Sprouse played Ben Geller in the sitcom (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

"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 that distraction, others have heaped praise on Sprouse's performance, and he's even said to have helped other actors with lines after they'd forgotten them.

Meanwhile, Aniston previously opened up about why she would never star in another sitcom. That's right; speaking on the SmartLess podcast, the actress was asked what had been her favorite job in her career and Friends fans will be happy to learn that the popular show was a ‘no brainer’.

She added: “I would have to say that is number one.

“Every single day I miss the schedule of filming... it’s the best schedule ever on the planet.”

Cole Sprouse has previously spoken in the past about his time on Friends (Sela Shiloni/WWD via Getty Images)

This tied into her reason for being reluctant to star in a sitcom again, simply because it is unlikely to compare to the award-winning show.

She continued: “If I knew it would be the same experience as I had with those guys, yes, but I doubt that will ever happen.”

In December last year, the Friends crew reunited two years on from Matthew Perry's death.

The actor died in October 2023 after he was found unresponsive in his hot tub at his home in California.

His cause of death was ultimately ruled as happening due to 'acute effects of ketamine', with subsequent drowning, coronary artery disease, and effects of buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder, listed amongst other contributing factors.