27 Years Ago Today, This Friends Episode Said Goodbye as a Character Was Recast for the 2nd Time

While Friends wasn’t as fond of recasting characters as some other sitcoms of its era, the classic comedy did once recast a pivotal character three times, with four different actors. Throughout the ‘60s and into the ‘80s, sitcoms were infamous for recasting characters and never acknowledging their changing faces. Dick Sargent famously replaced Dick York midway through the run of Bewitched due to York’s health struggles, while Happy Days replaced Gavan O’Herlihy’s original Chuck Cunningham with Randolph Roberts, only to then drop the character entirely.

However, sitcoms of the ‘90s weren’t as fond of this trope. That’s why it is noteworthy that Friends season 5, episode 18, “The One Where Rachel Smokes,” marked the last appearance by child actors Charles Thomas Allen and John Christopher Allen in the shared role of Ross and Carol’s son, Ben Geller. The Allen twins replaced Ben’s infant actor, Michael Gunderson, only to be replaced themselves by Cole Sprouse for the remaining seasons of Friends. Interestingly, although child characters are often played by twins to work around labour laws, Sprouse’s twin and fellow former child actor, Dylan, didn’t appear as Ben.

The One Where Rachel Smokes Featured The Allen Twins’ Final Appearance As Ben

Michael Gunderson only played Ben during his sporadic appearances in season 2, whereas the Allen twins played the character consistently throughout seasons 3, 4, and 5. Sprouse’s time in the role signalled more screen time for Ben, with the future Riverdale star appearing in the iconic holiday special that featured Ross as the Hannukkah Armadillo. However, Ben’s role in the series waned as the show went on, with Ross’s son barely appearing in season 8 and not appearing at all after that point.

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27 Years Ago Today, This 10/10 Friends Episode Wrote Out 1 Iconic Character (in Their Second Ever Appearance)

While the sitcom generally avoided recasting characters where possible, maintaining one child actor in the same role for a decade is a rare achievement for any series. Funnily enough, another Friends actor appeared twice as two different characters, but their unrelated roles were easier for the show to cover up. Upon a re-watch, the switch between the Allen twins and Sprouse’s time as Ben is pretty hard to miss, since the twins don’t look all that much like the older child actor.

Friends Recast Ross and Carol’s Son Three Times Throughout Its Ten Seasons

Recasting Ben allowed Friends to give Ross’s son a bigger role in season 6, even though, as noted above, this expanded part was short-lived. This is perhaps unsurprising, as Ben was something of a roadblock to Ross and Rachel’s romantic story. While both characters parented their children during the run of the series, their primary storylines didn’t focus on Ben or Emma, so these kids soon became a plot problem to write around by the time the final seasons of Friends rolled around.

While the show’s ending was nowhere near as divisive as the later sitcom How I Met Your Mother’s infamous finale, Friends did catch some flak for dragging out Ross and Rachel’s inevitable romantic reunion until the very last second. After all, this approach meant that Ben was all but cut from the show’s final seasons so the series could return to the pair’s will they, won’t they dynamic, and even the most forgiving Friends fan would likely concede that this routine had worn thin after a full decade.