Surprisingly, One Of Friends' Most Famous Recurring Characters Only Appeared On Screen Twice
Throughout 10 seasons, Friends had some fun and memorable recurring characters, and, surprisingly, one of the most popular ones only made a proper appearance twice. Few sitcoms have had the impact, success, and longevity that Friends has. Two decades after its final episode aired, Friends continues to be one of the best TV shows of all time and one that made history throughout its run, and while some aspects haven’t aged well, it’s still quite popular. Streaming platforms have brought Friends to new generations, who have paid extra attention to certain details on the show.
Although the main focus of Friends is the many ups and downs in the lives of Monica (Courteney Cox), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), and Ross (David Schwimmer), the show had a generous dose of recurring characters, some of them celebrity guests. Others weren’t well-known actors, but their characters became part of not only the show’s lore but pop culture as well, as happened to one recurring and silent character who, surprisingly, only appeared on-screen two times.
Friends’ Ugly Naked Guy Only Appeared On Screen Twice (But Was Mentioned Many Times)
Ugly Naked Guy Was A Very Unique Character In Friends
Throughout Friends, and because most of them lived in the same building, the group interacted with the people in their building, but they also kept an eye on a very peculiar resident of the building across the street. This resident is an unnamed man the group nicknamed “Ugly Naked Guy”, who, according to Phoebe, used to be cute before he gained weight. As his name says, the particularity of this man was that he was a nudist, which the group found amusing.
Despite being mentioned various times throughout Friends and the group describing what he was doing, Ugly Naked Guy only appeared two times in the show’s 10 seasons. The first time was in season 3’s episode “The One With The Giant Poking Device” when the group thought Ugly Naked Guy was dead as he was unusually still. When they use a big poking device to, well, poke Ugly Naked Guy from their apartment and through his window, Ugly Naked Guy is seen sleeping on his back with a plant covering his face.
The second and final on-screen appearance of Ugly Naked Guy was in season 5’s episode “The One Where Everybody Finds Out.” In it, Ugly Naked Guy’s apartment is up for rent and Ross wants it, but there’s a lot of competition. After his basket of mini-muffins doesn’t get him attention of Ugly Naked Guy, Ross decides to bond with him by visiting him and applauding his nudity, so he gets naked too. Ugly Naked Guy is only shown with his back to the camera, and so his face is never shown.
In an extra scene from this episode, Ugly Naked Guy and Ross are shown eating mini-muffins together. Again, Ugly Naked Guy’s face isn’t shown.
The Identity Of Friends’ Ugly Naked Guy Wasn’t Revealed Until 2016
Ugly Naked Guy Was Played By An Extra
As Ugly Naked Guy’s face was never shown (and his name never revealed), the identity of the actor who played him in those two appearances on Friendswas unknown. The show never credited the man who played Ugly Naked Guy, and it wasn’t until 2016 that his identity was revealed thanks to an investigation by Todd Van Luling at Huffpost. Luling debunked the well-ingrained belief that Ugly Naked Guy was played by Mr. Treeger actor Michael Hagerty, and the actor behind the character was Jon Haugen.
Haugen also shared that he was never naked during his scenes as Ugly Naked Guy and was wearing boxer shorts all the time.
Haugen told Luling that he kept his role as Ugly Naked Guy a secret because Warner Bros. was “keeping it mellow”, but confirmed that he was this unique character in both his appearances. Haugen also shared that he was never naked during his scenes as Ugly Naked Guy and was wearing boxer shorts all the time, so it was all an illusion. Despite only appearing on screen twice, Ugly Naked Guy is, perhaps, the most famous recurring and silent character in Friends.
Source: HuffPost.
Friends is a television sitcom that debuted in 1994, revolving around six young New Yorkers navigating the complexities of adulthood. The series highlights their friendship as they support each other through personal and professional challenges, encapsulating the ups and downs of life in a comedic and relatable manner.
- Cast
- Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, James Michael Tyler, Elliott Gould, Lisa Thornhill, Steve Zahn, Michael McKean, Jana Marie Hupp, Carlo Imperato, Brittney Powell, Lea Thompson, Isabella Rossellini, Alec Baldwin, Elinor Donahue, John Allen Nelson, Anita Barone, Jill Goodacre, Jason Graae, Taylor Negron, Lilyan Chauvin, Nicky Katt
- Directors
- Kevin S. Bright, Gary Halvorson, Michael Lembeck, James Burrows, Gail Mancuso, Peter Bonerz, David Schwimmer, Robby Benson, Shelley Jensen, Terry Hughes, Dana De Vally Piazza, Alan Myerson, Pamela Fryman, Steve Zuckerman, Thomas Schlamme, Roger Christiansen, Sheldon Epps, Arlene Sanford, David Steinberg, Joe Regalbuto, Mary Kay Place, Paul Lazarus, Sam Simon, Todd Holland
