News

Friends guest star Jennifer Grey reveals why her role had to be recast. As the seminal sitcom was starting its run on NBC, the show landed a major actor to play a pivotal part near the end of season 1. Grey, best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in Dirty Dancing, joined the cast as Mindy. Though the character would make another appearance in the Friends season 2 finale, she was portrayed by Jana Marie Hupp instead.

While speaking with MediaVillage, Grey detailed why she didn't return as Mindy. The actor says that she was a Friends fan, but she explains her involvement with the series caused "such bad anxiety" because the script kept changing, with the writers altering scenes and trying to figure out the character of Mindy. Grey mentions that she didn't know, at the time, that she needed help with anxiety. Read her full comments below:

“I was a fan of the show,...

Jennifer Grey appeared in the first season of “Friends” as Mindy, former best friend of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) who wound up marrying Rachel’s ex-fiancé, who she jilted at the altar in the series pilot.

Speaking with MediaVillage, Grey recalled that she was initially thrilled with being cast in the role, given that she’d become a big fan of the show.

Once she arrived on set, however, everything changed.

Read More: Jennifer Grey Teases What To Expect In The ‘Exciting’ Sequel To ‘Dirty Dancing’

“When I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script,” explained the “Dirty Dancing” star.

Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

“It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out,” she added. “They were trying to...

Jennifer Grey has divulged why she did not reprise her role on Friends.

The Dirty Dancing star played Mindy in the hit sitcom. Mindy is Rachel’s (Jennifer Aniston) former best friend and maid of honour, who ended up marrying her fiancé Barry (Mitchell Whitfield).

Grey starred in only one episode of Friends in 1995, titled “The One With The Evil Orthodontist”.

During an interview with MediaVillage, Grey disclosed why she did not play the character again despite having been excited about the role initially.

“When I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script,” she explained.

“It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out.”

The actor continued: “They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing,...

Los Angeles, April 23 (Ians) Actress Jennifer Grey made an appearance during the first season of ‘Friends’ but her time on the show was surrounded by anxiety.

“I was a fan of the show, and I got the call to do it,” she told Media Village in an interview, reports Deadline.

“Then when I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script. It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out. They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing. It all made me so anxious that I could barely do it.”

Grey played Mindy, Rachel’s (Jennifer Aniston) former bestie and maid of honour who was having a secret affair with her fiance Barry.

Jennifer Grey is opening up about the anxiety she faced during her appearance on the first season of Friends and how it hindered her from reprising the role later on.

During an interview with MediaVillage, published online Friday, the Dirty Dancing star recalled initially being excited when she got the call for the show because she was such a fan.

But once she got on set, that’s when things changed. “When I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script,” she explained. “It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out. They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing. It all made me so anxious that I could barely do it.”

Grey...

Jennifer Grey made an appearance during the first season of Friends but her time on the show was surrounded by anxiety.

“I was a fan of the show, and I got the call to do it,” she told Media Village in an interview. “Then when I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script. It’s very hard to be a guest star because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out. They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing. It all made me so anxious that I could barely do it.”

Grey played Mindy, Rachel’s (Jennifer Aniston) former bestie and maid of honor who was having a secret affair with her fiancé Barry. When Rachel escapes her wedding in the pilot episode,...

Patrick Swayze famously declared, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!" in Dirty Dancing, but actress Jennifer Grey's unusually low profile since the 1987 film left many fans wondering where she did go.

On the 28th anniversary of that legendary dance lift, the actress has since dated some of Hollywood's biggest A-listers, won a Us reality TV show and starred in no fewer than 11 TV movies. But it was a dramatic "nose job from hell" that meant that her star faded and her burgeoning career took a very different path.

What she did first

8 celebrity couples who tried to nail Dirty Dancing's iconic lift scene

Jennifer's early career saw her bag roles in some stone-cold '80s classics. She made a fleeting appearance in Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club before teaming up with Patrick Swayze on Red Dawn. You'll also remember her from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, playing...

Jana Marie Hupp has been tapped to co-star in Fox's untitled Victor Fresco comedy pilot, while Sarah Wright has joined CBS' untitled Scott Silveri comedy pilot.

The untitled Victor Fresco project, from 20th Century Fox TV, centers on a 10-year-old boy who tries to navigate life in his high-achieving, overstressed family with the help of his eccentric grandfather (Tom Conti).

Hupp will play the boy's mother. She replaces Andrea Parker, who originally was tapped for the role. Parker, who was the first actor cast in the pilot, has been suffering from laryngitis.

Hupp, who co-starred on NBC's Ed, is repped by APA.

The untitled Scott Silveri project, from Warner Bros. TV, revolves around a group of people who hang out at an all-night diner from midnight-6 a.m. Wright will play a waitress at the diner who works night shifts to be able to spend the days with her young son. Wright's (Ellen Meyer Management) recent series credits include CW's 7th Heaven and Fox's The Loop.

NBC has picked up the drama pilot Kidnapped to series, sources said. Meanwhile, HBO has given the green light to The Unsuccessful Thug, a single-camera comedy pilot starring Mike Epps. On the pilot-casting front, Diedrich Bader will be ABC's Mr. Nice Guy; Leslie Hope has signed on to star in the CW's drama Runaway; Barry Bostwick has been cast in Fox's comedy pilot The 12th Man; Jere Burns have joined ABC's comedy pilot Help Me Help You; Jessy Schram has landed the lead in the CW's drama pilot Split Decision, with Vanessa Lengies also cast in the project; Jana Marie Hupp and Virginia Williams have been cast as the female leads in NBC's untitled Chris Sheridan comedy; and Rick Peters has come on board the CW's untitled Aquaman pilot.