Ever since the 90s, Jennifer Aniston’s love life has been the center of attraction to many of her fans. After all, with the star having been married to Brad Pitt for 5 years and even working with him on one episode of FRIENDS, the public interest came as no surprise. Although the Bullet Train star’s cameo on the show ended up being remembered, there was another co-star who was also a part of the 55-year-old’s romantic history.
A few years before Aniston and Pitt’s whirlwind romance took the spotlight, the actress had been dating fellow actor, Tate Donovan. With the actor attending the show’s taping and even giving ideas to the producers, he ended up sealing his own fate with a merciless cameo.
How Tate Donovan got his FRIENDS role with Jennifer Aniston
The NBC sitcom, FRIENDS, has always been known for its humor and its various star-studded cameos. From Bruce Willis to Ben Stiller, Christina Applegate, Brad Pitt, and more, fans got to see many storylines being brought into the limelight. However, there was one that hit a little too close to home. In 1998, Jennifer Aniston’s then-boyfriend, Tate Donovan appeared in 5 episodes of the 4th season as her character’s love interest. But the collaboration came only after the couple had already split up. In an interview with the Independent, the actor revealed how the storyline had been brought to life.
I’d been dating Jen for years, and I knew the cast. Every Friday night it was just like a ritual – I’d go over there and watch the taping, and it was always such a blast. Then Jen and I broke up, but we didn’t really tell anyone.
Donovan continued, “I had always mentioned to the producers that it’s always hilarious when Jen, who’s this gorgeous woman, is madly in love with somebody and the guy just doesn’t see it. It cracked me up.” Although it was just an idea at first, it soon became a reality. The actor explained, “The producers came to me and said, “Hey, we want you to do a five-episode arc where you guys are dating and you’re not really that into her.” And I was like, “Oh, so you’re gonna do that thing.”
Donovan had initially been on the fence about joining the show given his recent split from Aniston. However, he chose to jump right into the deep end anyway and it worked out for the best. After all, even the 61-year-old could look back fondly at his role as Joshua.
Tate Donovan reveals whether he watches FRIENDS
Ever since the NBC show, FRIENDS, came to an end in 2004, fans have found comfort in the sitcom and have kept rewatching it. Viewers might miss the connection between Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel, Courteney Cox’s Monica, Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe Buffay, David Schwimmer’s Ross, Matt LeBlanc’s Joey, and even Matthew Perry’s Chandler. But the actors admitted to watching the show because they missed the camaraderie. In the same interview with the Independent, Tate Donovan revealed how he felt about re-watching his episodes.
I was flipping through the channels at a hotel recently and I saw it, like, “Oh God, there’s Joshua.” I watched a bit of it and thought it was really good, and funny – for many years it was too painful for me to watch those scenes.
Donovan continued, “I liked that my performance wasn’t too broad. It was a grounded scene – and that’s exactly how I like to see comedy, where the actors are more focused on the scene rather than getting laughs.” Although the actor liked his focus, he still ended up leaving viewers in fits of laughter in just 5 episodes.
After all, with Donovan’s Joshua having an irrational fear of ducks, viewers got to watch as the character completely lost his mind when he met Joey and Chandler’s two pets, the chick and duck.
Stream Jennifer Aniston’s FRIENDS on Netflix
