Here’s why Paul Rudd and Cole Sprouse were missing from Friends: The Reunion

Friends: The Reunion released on May 27 and has been constantly in news ever since. The show brings back Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Rachel Greene (Jennifer Aniston), and Ross Geller (David Schwimmer). While they were part of the reunion, Paul Rudd, who played Phoebe’s husband Mike Hannigan, wasn’t part of the reunion. Ross’ son Ben Geller (Cole Sprouse) also couldn’t be seen in the special episode.

The director of the reunion episode, Ben Winston, shared why the two weren’t seen in the 1.45 hours episode.

Talking to The Wrap, he shared, “Well, we couldn’t have everybody on, because it’s only an hour and 45 minutes. And you’ve got to pay attention - the main nub of the show has got to be about the six cast members. So you can’t have too many cameos because of course, there were hundreds of amazing people who were in Friends over the years. Sadly, we couldn’t get everybody in.”

He also shared that the other cast members couldn’t join the episode because of COVID-19 restrictions, even when they were invited for it.

Talking about his role, Paul had told Variety, “In something like Friends, the show was about them, but it’s an interesting thing to be a part of. I was only in it for just a blip. I felt, ‘I’m like a prop on this show. It’s not about Mike Hannigan.’ But there’s a very interesting feeling to be a part of something that has that kind of profound impact on pop culture.”

Cole, on the other hand, had shared with Today, “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with Jennifer Aniston, which the whole world had at that point. But I do remember being quite intimidated around her, because of that. I remember blanking on my lines, and having a kind of stage fright when she sat next to me on the couch in one episode.”

Paul had joined Friends in the ninth season. Cole Sprouse, on the other hand, featured in the show from season 6-8.