Friends guest star Brooke Shields has spoken about her appearance on the classic sitcom Friends, saying that her scene with Matt LeBlanc as Joey made her boyfriend (tennis legend Andre Agassi) storm out of the recording.
Shields guest starred in the comedy series episode The One After The Super Bowl, which appears in season 2. Shields took on the role of Erika, a women who is stalking Joey because she believes he’s someone else entirely, and a genius.
Joey and Erika go on a date, in a scene where Shields is required to lick LeBlanc’s fingers. Sat in the audience watching the scene take place live was Sheilds’ then boyfriend, Andre Agassi, who apparently had a “petulant” reaction to witnessing his partner act romantically interested in LeBlanc.
Speaking with the The New Yorker, Shields explained, “It was petulant behaviour… In the scene, I’m supposed to lick Joey’s fingers, because they’re the hands of a genius, and I want to devour them, and I’m a nut. He was cute — he was, like, ‘I’ve washed my hands, and they’re all clean’. I was like, ‘I had a mint’.”
She continued, “Andre was in the audience supporting me, and he stormed out. He said, ‘Everybody’s making fun of me. You made a fool of me by that behaviour’. I’m like, ‘It’s comedy! What is the matter with you?'”
Shields’ and LeBlanc’s performances on the TV series were clearly convincing then, and The One After The Super Bowl remains a memorable episode thanks to Shields’ turn as Erika.
For more on Friends, check out our picks for the best Friends episodes.