When Mae Whitman guest-starred on a 1996 episode of Friends, she didn’t share any scenes with Jennifer Aniston, but the more experienced actress certainly left an impression. And Whitman, who’s known for her work on shows such as Arrested Development and Good Girls, was only too happy to reunite with her on Wednesday’s edition of Live With Kelly and Ryan.
Whitman shared a snapshot of the moment (above).
During her interview, Whitman explained why her job on her favorite sitcom meant so much, even then. The child star appeared on Friends the same year she was in Independence Day and One Fine Day and two years before she played Bernice, Sandra Bullock’s daughter in Hope Floats.
“Why an 8-year-old loved Friends, I can’t tell you, but I found something relatable in there,” Whitman told the hosts. “And I remember, Jen was so kind to me. She made me feel I was a part of the cast, and she took such good care of me.”
In her episode, “The One Where Rachel Quits,” which originally aired on Dec. 12, 1996, one of the side stories is about Ross (David Schwimmer) breaking the leg of Whitman’s character, Sarah Tuttle. The break wrecks Sarah’s chances of selling cookies for the Brown Birds, a Girl Scouts-like organization, which devastates her because she wanted to offload the most in her group and claim the prize: a trip to Space Camp. Ross then attempts to make the sales himself, but a grown man selling cookies just doesn’t work. Sarah misses her goal, but Ross enlists Chandler and Joey to transform their apartment into the girl’s own personal camp.
