David Schwimmer recalls 'scary' Friends scene that sent costar to hospital

David Schwimmer may be a fan of horror, but one on-set moment from Friends gave him a scare unlike anything from the genre.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his role in Disney+ and Hulu's upcoming Goosebumps revival, Schwimmer, 58, shared the story of Matt LeBlanc’s shocking on-set injury during a live taping.

“[Matt] was supposed to do a pratfall, and he actually dislocated his shoulder,” he recalled of the incident, which occurred while filming season 3’s The One Where No One Is Ready.

“He went totally white… He looked like he was going to pass out.”

The scene saw Joey and Chandler (Matthew Perry) racing for a chair, with Joey diving onto it to secure his win. However, LeBlanc’s leap ended with his shoulder popping out of place.

Schwimmer remembered quickly calling for the cameras to cut, describing the moment as “genuinely frightening.” Production on the episode came to an abrupt halt, and LeBlanc was rushed to the hospital.

The cast revisited the incident during HBO Max’s 2021 Friends reunion special, even wincing while watching unseen footage of the accident.

To accommodate LeBlanc’s real-life injury, the following episode, The One With the Jam, included a scene where Joey dislocates his shoulder while jumping on a bed, seamlessly explaining the sling LeBlanc had to wear.