Throughout 10 seasons comprised of 236 episodes, “Friends” dominated television as one of the most popular sitcoms in history. The everyday lives of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Monica (Courteney Cox), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler (Matthew Perry), and Ross (David Schwimmer) have been a fixture of viewers’ lives, whether it was originally on the air, syndicated reruns, on DVD and Blu-ray, or through numerous streaming services, jumping from Netflix to HBO Max, serving as comfort watching for young adults going through the similar trials and tribulations of the characters. The success of “Friends,” particularly on streaming, has led to all competing services chasing just a taste of that success, despite the medium not being built to find the next “Friends,” but rather to kill it.
Without a doubt, much of the success of “Friends” can be attributed to its main cast. Admittedly, while the New York City-set series remains a product of its time and, by today’s standards, falls short in not featuring any characters of color in its main cast, millions still hold the six friends close to their hearts. Their collective chemistry remains some of the most palpable ever televised, and according to Antenna, “Friends: The Reunion” drove more new subscriptions to HBO Max on its opening weekend than any of Warner Bros. Pictures’ new releases that year. It is hard to imagine any other actors who could have brought these beloved friends to life, but an actor who played a significant recurring guest role nearly played Ross Geller before David Schwimmer was cast — Mitchell Whitfield.
Mitchell Whitfield played Rachel’s ex-fiancé Dr. Barry Farber
In an alternate reality, Mitchell Whitfield would have played Ross Geller, the geeky older brother to Monica, and Rachel’s decade-long on-again, off-again significant other. In an interview with The Guardian, Whitfield reflected on auditioning for “Friends” during the three-month pilot season, in which many actors hailing from Chicago and New York would relocate to Los Angeles to audition for television pilots. Whitfield got the “Friends” script halfway through pilot season, immediately calling his agent to actively pursue the role:
“I was brought in to audition for Ross and Chandler. I went back multiple times, and then they realised Ross was the role for me. I got down to the very end, and was testing for the show. At the last minute, they said: ‘We’re bringing in one more guy to read.” That guy turned out to be David Schwimmer.'”
Ultimately, David Schwimmer would be cast as Ross, a recently divorced paleontologist who reconnects with his high school crush, Rachel Green, after she returns to his life at Central Perk coffee shop, donning a wedding dress after leaving her fiancé, Dr. Barry Farber, at the altar. This would end up being the role that Mitchell Whitfield was cast as, appearing as the orthodontist character in five episodes: three of which were in season 1, and the last two in seasons 2 and 6, respectively. Whitfield shared his realization that the series was going to be a success following his initial appearances:
“Towards the end of the first season, I started getting people saying: ‘Oh, you’re that jerk on “Friends.”‘ That’s when I thought: ‘This thing is definitely starting to take off.'”
What Mitchell Whitfield hopes Dr. Barry Farber is up to today
Mitchell Whitfield shared his thoughts on where Dr. Barry Farber’s life would be over a decade after the series’ conclusion. In a 2019 interview with “The Today Show,” Whitfield shared that he holds an optimistic view for Barry, who, according to Rachel, ended up divorced in his final appearance after his wife, Mindy (Jana Marie Hupp), learned of his infidelity. Whitfield remains hopeful that his character has learned from his mistakes:
“I’d like to think he still has his dental practice just as a consistency point of view. I think he’s probably whittling away in his life, no longer with Mindy, and just sort of trying to find the right person that fits his awkward, awkward style.”
Besides his recurring guest role on “Friends,” Mitchell Whitfield has led an impressive career as a working actor. His numerous television roles include appearances on “Murder, She Wrote,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” As for film credits, his most notable role was as Stan Rothenstein in “My Cousin Vinny.” Whitfield has also lent his voice to numerous animated projects, including the 2007 film “TMNT” as Donatello, and Cartoon Network’s “Transformers: Robots in Disguise” as Fixit.
The complete series of “Friends,” as well as “Friends: The Reunion,” is available to stream exclusively on HBO Max.
