The long-awaited Friends Reunion included many guest performers, including an actor who played a small but very memorable role in his beloved series. However, fans have noticed that iconic guests such as Paul Rudd or Cole Sprouse were absent from the reunion talk show.

Director of the reunion special episode Ben Winston spoke to The Wrap and explained why they were not able to have all the desired cameos. He shared, “Well, we couldn’t have everybody on, because it’s only an hour and 45 minutes. And you’ve got to pay attention — the main nub of the show has got to be about the six cast members. So you can’t have too many cameos because of course, there were hundreds of amazing people who were in Friends over the years. Sadly, we couldn’t get everybody in.”

Winston added that they invited other cast members as well but due to the Covid-19 restrictions, it wasn’t possible for everyone to make it. “You know, we did invite some people who weren’t able to make it. It’s a complicated time to be making television now because, you know, some people couldn’t fly internationally, some people were on other TV or film shoots, some people are in bubbles on stuff,” he shared.

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Rudd played the role of Phoebe’s husband Mike Hannigan on the sitcom, where he joined the series in the ninth season. In an earlier interview to The Variety, Rudd said, “In something like Friends, the show was about them, but it’s an interesting thing to be a part of. I was only in it for just a blip. I felt, ‘I’m like a prop on this show. It’s not about Mike Hannigan.’ But there’s a very interesting feeling to be a part of something that has that kind of profound impact on pop culture.”

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