Aisha Tyler on her ‘Friends’ role: ‘It was a big deal’

Aisha Tyler is looking back on her role on “Friends.”

In a recent interview, the actress opened up about her time on the popular NBC sitcom. In the show’s later seasons, Tyler played Charlie Wheeler, who went on to date Ross.

“The cast was incredibly kind, incredibly welcoming,” Tyler told Entertainment Tonight of series leads Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc.

Aisha Tyler attends the 2022 Paramount Emmy Party on Sept. 10, 2022, at Catch LA in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

She revealed that she was “petrified” about joining the show. “My knees were knocking,” she explained. “I was shocked you couldn’t hear my teeth chattering the entire time I was on set.”

She went on to recall a sweet moment with Perry backstage when the actor told her to “get ready” for her life to change following her first appearance on the sitcom.

“Sometimes you don’t really know what a job is going to do, how it’s going to change your life,” she continued. “You don’t know if it’s going to be a hit. You don’t even know if it’s going to be good. You’re just there to do your best work, but I knew when I got ‘Friends’ that it was a big deal.”

“To this day, people come up to me and go, ‘Charlie, Charlie,’ or they just go, ‘Black girl from ‘Friends,'” she added.

While one of the most successful television shows of all time, “Friends” has been criticized in the years since it aired for its glaring lack of diversity, especially considering its New York City setting. Just this week, “Abbott Elementary” creator and star Quinta Brunson made a joke about “Friends” while hosting “Saturday Night Live,” referring to its general lack of Black characters.

During her monologue, Brunson said her own show, “Abbott Elementary,” is like the former NBC megahit. “Except, instead of being about a group of friends, it’s about a group of teachers. Instead of New York, it’s in Philadelphia and instead of not having Black people, it does.”

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