Susan and Carol lived happily ever after! Jessica Hecht, who starred in Friends as Susan Bunch in 12 episodes, is completely moved by the passion behind the fanbase of the show.
“I was shooting another TV show and people were just telling me how much Friends meant to them,” the actress, 54, told Us Weekly exclusively at MCC Theater’s Celebrity Game Night, addressing the reaction fans had to the 25th anniversary of the hit series. “I have to say, it’s [when I’m] in another country when I realize how profound the scope of those stories are for people and that’s pretty amazing to be a part of history in that way.”
Hecht first appeared in episode two of Friends in 1994, playing the woman who Ross’ wife Carol (Jane Sibbett) fell in love with. Carol and Susan went on to get married during “The One with the Lesbian Wedding” in 1996, which was controversial on NBC at the time. That moment especially is one that Hecht holds close to the heart.
“It makes me very proud to be part of something that brings so much comfort because it is like comfort food for people,” she stated of the show. “No one had a same-sex couple wedding so I feel profoundly happy about that. … I think we look at everything historically that has happened and that generation was, somehow, unevolved but people will look at us in 20 years and feel [like we had] terrible gaps in our awareness.”
The Breaking Bad alum also noted that while she sees “David Schwimmer from time to time,” she “stays in touch with Jane.”
Producer Kevin Bright recently opened up to Us about the massive impact.
“I think we broke plenty of new ground,” he said at the Tribeca TV Festival: Friends 25th Anniversary Celebration in September. “You’d never seen a gay wedding on television before Friends, you’d never seen blatant sexuality on a sitcom before Friends.”
Friends aired from 1994 to 2004 on NBC. It is currently streaming on Netflix.
With reporting by Nicki Gostin
