Courteney Cox gave a 13-year-old Friends superfan Neftali the surprise of his life when she crashed his interview on The Late Late Show With James Corden on Monday (May 18, 2020).
The teenager from Borehamwood, England opted to have a virtual Bar Mitzvah, as the original plans were scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Explaining the planned event, he said: “I’m a big fan of the TV show Friends, which is why my invite has a big Friends theme,’ he said in a video from the event, of his invitations styled after the iconic Central Perk logo.
“I’ve come to a realization,’ he said, reading a speech during his Bar Mitzvah. “The lyrics of the Friends theme tune starts with the words ‘So no one told you life was gonna be this way,’ but the chorus of that song has the more uplifting line, ‘I’ll be there for you and you’re there for me too’.”
Neftali also planned to feature tables named after all of the characters, a red couch for photo opportunities, and a copy of Joey and Chandler’s foosball table.
After hearing about the teen’s love for the show – which ended in 2004, three years before he was born – James invited him onto his U.S. late night talk show, and thrilled him as Courteney, 55, who played Monica Gellar in the show, appeared during the virtual interview.
“Oh, my gosh, hello!” Neftali said as Courteney popped on screen, during his chat with the show’s host.
Of his dedication to the show, he said, “I’ve watched it seven times,” as Courteney exclaimed: “Seven times?! The whole series seven times?… That’s incredible!”
She also gifted him with a foosball table because she was so “touched” by his story, and delivered her famous Monica line of, “I know!” before they signed off.
