Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer confirmed in the "Friends" reunion that the Crush between
Rachel and Ross was real... in real life.
And then everybody went...
- THAT'S BRAND NEW INFORMATION
...because the suspicions of millions of fans all over the world were confirmed.
There was something about Rachel and Ross in those scenes that was more than just acting.
But how do we define chemistry, what is the casting paradox, and what is the meaning of
these facial expressions when they were table reading one of the most passionate scenes
of the show?
It's great to have you here, my Body Language Baddies!
My name is Jesús Enrique Rosas and I'm the Body language guy.
Let's get down to it!
Do you remember this kiss? of course you do! it was a catharsis in that instant in which
they lock lips...
Knowing that at the moment Jennifer and David had a huge crush on each other makes you live
this scene on a whole new level.
Because I could affirm that anyone that followed their paths up to this moment on the second
season had the feeling that this was much more than acting.
It also helps that the scene was scripted to hijack our inner tension.
First they are angry and raise their voices, he goes away, she locks the door and begins
to cry, he comes back with a yearning look and she stands up to open the door with a
stare that is just passion.
And then they kiss.
If you felt this scene like an explosion, you're not alone.
And if you can't explain why it was so powerful and sincere, it's not only about their crush
on real life but also, the casting process.
Rachel and Ross' romantic storyline was a plan from the start of the series.
Those were the characters that were meant to carry the strongest sexual tension of the
bunch.
At least from the start.
So it becomes a challenge for the producers, who have to cast the appropriate actors and
actresses for the roles.
So, first, you have to pick an actor that fits the character.
That's hard enough, and that's why some actors get typecasted.
Like, when you need someone that can drive, shoot guns and throw punches all at the same
time, just call Jason Statham.
Once you think you've got the actor that fits the character, you need to confirm that there
is compatibility with the other actors and actresses.
That's why casting for Friends was so hard, because the more characters you cast, the
harder it gets for the next one to fit in the group.
Oddly enough, David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston were the first and last ones to be
cast, respectively.
And that complicates things with the chemistry factor.
Let's recognize the fact that the producers of the show had to cast Rachel and Ross so
that Jennifer and David not only fit their characters, fit the whole group at the same
time and have chemistry and romantic tension between them.
And it has to be believable.
That's how we get to the casting paradox of chemistry.
Did Jennifer and David develop a crush on each other spontaneously, or was it the casting
process, that picked two very specific acting professionals that had so much chemistry with
each other that falling in love was unavoidable?
What's fascinating about this is that the very concept of chemistry is so hard to define,
but we know that a couple has chemistry exclusively from their body language.
And it's not just about certain gestures or postures.
It's something deeper, subconscious, that we notice a synchronization between them,
the way they look at each other, the way they talk to each other, laugh, hug, touch, everything.
We could say that we know it when we see it.
Since casting the right actors and actresses for romantic roles is critical for the success
of the story, a lot of thought and guts is put on this process by the producers.
And we tend to forget that celebrities falling in love while working on a project together
is absurdly common.
Easiest example: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (sorry, Jen!), Rose Leslie and Kit Harington,
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Penelope Cruz and Javier
Bardem, among others.
Another example is Johnny Depp and Amber Heard... oh... no, wait.
I'll take that back.
That was a terrible example.
But it doesn't take away the fact that their crush began from the moment they met on set.
Again, we go back to the fact that we exactly don't know if it was the casting process or
working together, but that spontaneous chemistry that sparks even when cameras are not rolling
is undeniably powerful not only for onscreen performance but to spark a real romantic bond.
But, if this phenomenon is so common, why has everyone gone crazy with the fact that
Jennifer and David had a crush on each other while acting?
Because there's also really sad platonic romances like Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in the
set of Speed.
They had this HUGE crush on each other but never said anything until years later on the
Ellen show.
Yes.
one of those "what if?"
moments.
And these kind of reveals are shocking because they confirm what most fans suspect from the
very moment they start following a "fictional" romance.
And the fact that Friends is not a movie but a series, it lets characters develop, grow
and we become more and more invested in them.
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Friends' characters were designed to be easy to identify
with.
I mentioned that on my Friends reunion analysis, that more than ninety percent of the population
would have no problem in picking a character like their own.
That reveal of something hidden and misterious is why David and Jen's real life crush sent
waves worldwide.
As I mentioned earlier, we spot this chemistry through body language in a subconscious way.
And I have to give you a word of warning.
These are not flirting signals.
One couple can have chemistry without flirting with each other.
Now, if this is a subconscious process, if this is your intuition at work that tells
you, "wow, these two persons have so much chemistry with each other and I can't, for
the life of me, define how do I know it?"
The best tip that I can give you to refine your observation of chemistry is to pay attention
to reactions.
When you're hanging out with just one of them and the other appears, watch this persons'
face and body when it happens.
Learn to spot those reactions with the corner of your eye.
When one of them talk, how does the other listen, looks at them, reacts.
You're not gonna find and don't need a catalog of gestures and postures for this.
It's better if you just focus on spotting those reactions.
With practice, you'll start to pick up patterns in couples that have chemistry versus couples
that don't have it.
Now, if this can happen only by working together, what are the odds that it could happen to
you with a colleague at work?
And this is where we understand that close proximity, sharing the same space day in an
day out is not enough to fall in love.
Sometimes it helps a lot, that's no doubt, because you have a lot of opportunities to
get to know each other.
Also, it's not uncommon in the workplace that two people learn to watch each other's back,
so that's a first step towards a closer bond.
There's also the factor of admiration.
Showing your skills, creativity, leadership skills is a good spark for deeper feelings.
Adding fuel to the fire is overcoming stressful situations together, like impossible deadlines
and horrible bosses; just like the stress of acting, that's fertile soil for romance
just to release stress together.
But still, there is never a guarantee because the hiring process of your workplace was not
based on chemistry.
Maybe teamwork and other skills were involved, but not chemistry.
And digging deeper in that "surviving together" phenomenon, of two people falling in love
while working together, the odds of falling in love are directly proportional to the stress
plus cooperation.
The more stress, and danger and obstacles and the more they rely on cooperation to overcome
them, the higher the odds of that romantic fire to start.
By the way, that's a trope we see over and over again in movies and literature.
A man and a woman that don't like each other and maybe even she despises him, but like
the Chicago song, after all that the've been through, overcoming together dangers, obstacles,
and impossible villains, they end up making out and the romance begins.
No, it's not that far-fetched.
In fact, working in show business, with all the stress and demand to perform always top-notch
in front of the cameras, that's the perfect setting.
You have the chemistry from the casting, You've got the working together, you've got the fighting
stress together, it would be unusual to not fall in love in those circumstances.
Now, in the Friends reunion special, Jennifer and David did a table read, that it's exactly
as it sounds, rehearsing the script around the table, and, of course it was really good
to pull those nostalgia strings but at the same time it was a bit of a disappointment.
I mean, it's great that they didn't even intend to mimic or play the same scene again because
that scene would be impossible to reproduce.
It's just reading the script, and trying to do the matching facial expressions.
But there is one moment right at the end of reading that script where this happens.
David makes this expression.
And I would say that he is recalling that feeling, he is living again that experience,
and that feeling is strong enough for him to show sadness, that is very different from
the emotion that Ross showed in that scene.
But what about Jennifer... and Rachel?
she's feeling the same strong emotion, strong nostalgia going through those years, those
experiences, those feelings again and you can see that up to this point her eyebrows
have been relaxed but now they're pressing together.
That's real sadness, that's a real emotion.
Rachel and Ross' love story both onscreen and in real life is a great example of how
our intuition tells us that there is something else, hidden, that our rational mind cannot
explain.
A lot of people will say, "hey, this is all for the publicity, they're just acting, the
producers just told them to say that they had a crush so the reunion special could make
more money"
I agree that the business... of show business is about fictional characters with made up
storylines in carefully crafted productions to induce the greatest emotional reaction
possible in us.
And that's how the industry makes money.
But in the end, and until artificial intelligence and deepfakes take over acting, we will still
be looking at human beings.
And true emotions always show up, specially if they help the actors and actresses go with
the flow of their characters.
Even better is the fact that it will help you and me, practice our observational skills
while we binge watch our favorite series.
I've got more videos that explore those crossroads between body language and show business.
There's also my 100 body language tips that you can download right in the description.
And don't forget so subscribe and hit that bell so you don't miss any of my new body
language episodes and tips.
See you next time!