6 TV casts who actually became friends in real life

The classic sitcom followed the lives of six friends living in New York City, and the on-screen camaraderie translated into real-life friendship for our favourite actors. One of the strongest bonds is seen in Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, with Courteney serving as a bridesmaid at Jennifer’s wedding, while Jennifer is the godmother of Courteney’s daughter.

Speaking about their friendship in 2014, Jennifer told Us Weekly: “There’s absolutely no judgment in Court. You’ll never feel scolded. She’s extremely fair, ridiculously loyal and fiercely loving.”

One of the more poignant parts of the actors’ friendship came with Matthew Perry’s struggles with substance abuse. In her memoir, Matthew paid tribute to his five co-stars for their support, writing: “Penguins, in nature, when one is sick, or when one is very injured, the other penguins surround it and prop it up. They walk around it until that penguin can walk on its own. That’s kind of what the cast did for me.”

Schitt’s Creek might just be the best sitcom of recent years, and while father-son duo Dan and Eugene Levy have an off-screen bond, they also formed friendships with many of their castmates.

Emily Hampshire, who played Stevie Budd, joked that her character’s friendship with David Rose mirrored her actual friendship with Dan, telling Buzzfeed that she once jokingly texted him to say he was her only friend.

In an interview with The Advocate, she praised her co-star for fostering a place where she could come to terms with her own sexual identity, saying: “Dan changed my life in so many ways. I feel that he’s changed my life in a very similar way to the way he’s changed the lives of the people who watch the show.”

Annie Murphy also developed a close bond with her on-screen mum, who was played by the late Catherine O’Hara, often travelling to support the star for future projects.

The ensemble cast of stars who starred in the Korean War-set comedy drama was able to survive thanks to the friendships developed by the cast while they filmed for the show.

One of the best examples is the friendship developed between Alan Alda and Mike Farrell, even though Mike wasn’t part of the original cast and replaced Alan’s friend, Wayne Rogers. “Farrell took his place in the tent and as someone I confided in,” Alan wrote in his memoir. “We had a physical rivalry as well, competing to see who could learn to stand on his hands first.

“He had studied judo in the Army, and as a pastime, every time I was called to set, he would walk behind me and see if he could trip me and make me fall down.”

Meanwhile, Loretta Swit, who played Nurse Houlihan once shared: “We lost so many of our family — Wayne, McLean [Stevenson], Larry [Linville], David [Ogden Stiers], Bill [Christopher], Harry [Morgan]. Every one was a body blow, but it’s still forever. We loved each other, and we still do.”

Downton Abbey has a ginormous cast, and yet despite this, the gang are incredibly close friends. Michelle Dockery even revealed last year that the cast all have a group chat to keep each other updated on one another’s lives.

Speaking to People, Michelle said: “It definitely is more active when we’re filming, then leading up to promoting it, there’s a flurry. But we all check in with one another, and it’s mainly just jokes. Just funny things.”

The actress also revealed that Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham, was instrumental in arranging cast meet-ups. “If anyone needs to talk about anything, he’ll kind of bring us all together,” she told the publication.