Actor Fisher Stevens had a smaller guest-starring role on Friends, but his on-set behavior was so bad that it led to home apologizing to the cast and crew decades later. Friends is one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, with one of the most iconic ensembles in history. Along with Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross, there were a number of notable guest stars over the course of the show's nine seasons. However, Stevens is one actor who has a lot of regrets about his time on Friends.
Stevens was not one of the big-name guest stars to appear on Friends, but he did have an active career before his one-episode role on the sitcom. He was perhaps best known for his role as Ben Jabituya in Short Circuit, a part which has since become controversial thanks to Stevens appearing in brownface. He also appeared in Reversal of Fortune, Bob Roberts, and Super Mario Bros. While Friends could have been seen as a big moment for Stevens in his career, he admits that he did not handle the opportunity well and expressed remorse.
Related
The 15 Best Friends Characters, Ranked
Friends has entertained fans for almost three decades by now thanks to the quirky set of characters. So who did Ranker fans vote to as the very best?
When Fisher Stevens Appeared On Friends
Stevens Was One Of Phoebe's First Boyfriends On The Show
Fisher Stevens' appearance on Friends came early in the series, appearing in season 1, episode 13, "The One with the Boobies." Steven plays Roger, a new love interest for Phoebe, who happens to be a psychiatrist. However, Roger doesn't do a good job engraining himself in the group dynamic as he cannot help but analyze the friends, suggesting that Chandler uses humor as a defense mechanism and that Ross wanted his marriage to Carol to fail.
When the group tells Phoebe that they all hate Roger, she defends him and simply suggests that he is so astute and intelligent that it makes them uncomfortable. However, when Phoebe brings this up to Roger, he shows his own insecurities by childishly insulting the friend group. By the end of the episode, Phoebe has dumped him and joined the others in declaring "I hate that guy."
What Fisher Stevens Apologized For
Stevens Admitted To Being Rude On Set
While Roger was a hated character by the main Friends characters, Fisher Stevens' own opinion is that the people involved in the show might have a similar negative feeling about the actor himself. On an episode of PeopleTV’s Couch Surfing, he admitted he was "kind of an a**hole" on his first sitcom gig, and didn’t think the series' stars thought much of him. Offered the opportunity to apologize, he said:
"Yeah, I'm sorry guys. I'm sorry I was a d**k to you all. I apologize. I was bad, I was wrong."
Adding some explanation to his experience on the show, Stevens admitted that, in the early days of the sitcom, he didn't really know what Friends was. As a result, he was not patient with the filming process, especially the fact that the script was being rewritten when he showed up on set to film. Steven recalls not handling the changes well:
"'What do you mean? So I have to relearn lines that you've written that are worse than what you'd originally written?' Yeah, I was a d**k. I've rarely seen any of those people on Friends again, but I'm sure if you asked them about me, they would go, 'What a New York snob.'"
While the behavior was likely not welcomed on set, the fact that Stevens was able to own up to his mistakes and offer his apologies without being called out. Interestingly, this is not the first time the subject of bad behavior from Friends guest stars has been brought up. Friends director Michael Lembeck revealed Jean-Claude Van Damme was unprofessional during his season 2 appearance on Friends. Lisa Kudrow also revealed an unnamed guest star told her when she was in makeup, "'Now you're f**kable'" (via Yahoo).
What Fisher Stevens Has Done Since Friends
Stevens Continues To Act And Has Won An Oscar
Project | Character |
|---|---|
Hackers (1995) | The Plague |
Early Edition 1996–2000 | Chuck Fishman |
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2008) | Lyle Korman |
Lost (2008-2010) | George Minkowski |
Succession (2019-2023) | Hugo Baker |
Despite Fisher Stevens suggesting his behavior on the set of Friends didn't earn him any friends among that team, the incident didn't prevent him from building a strong and successful career in front and behind the camera. The same year that he appeared on Friends, Stevens starred alongside Angelina Jolie in Hackers as The Plague, the movie's antagonist. He then went on to star as Chuck Fishman in the fantasy adventure series Early Edition.
Stevens has worked on several Wes Anderson movies, with The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City. He has also continued to appear in guest roles on television as Lyle Korman on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, George Minkowski on Lost, and Saul in The Night Of.
However, he is likely best known for his role as Hugo Baker on Succession. Joining the show in season 2, Hugo was the Communications Executive at Waystar Royco, one of the many people who were desperately trying to hang onto some bit of power in the ever-changing world of this company.
Stevens has also made a significant career behind the camera as a filmmaker, winning an Oscar for his documentary The Cove. Stevens also moved into directing narrative movies, helming Al Pacino and Christopher Walken's crime movie Stand Up Guys, as well as Justin Timberlake's drama Palmer. Stevens recently returned to documentary filmmaking with the docuseries Beckham.
