Central Perk
The coffee house managed by Gunther, where the six friends spend much of their time.
Central Perk is the coffee house where the six friends from the sitcom Friends frequently gather. It is managed by Gunther, a fictional character played by James Michael Tyler. Gunther first appears as a background character in "The One with the Sonogram at the End," the second episode of the series. He is a former actor who once played Bryce on All My Children before that character was "killed in an avalanche."
Quick Facts
- Manager
- Gunther
Lore & Background
Gunther develops an unrequited crush on Rachel in the third season, which he keeps to himself until "The Last One." Apart from Ross, whom he dislikes out of jealousy (as he is aware of Ross's relationship with Rachel), he is on reasonably good terms with the rest of the gang despite occasionally being annoyed by their wacky antics or comments. In "The One with The Stain," Gunther is shown to be fluent in Dutch (although with a strong American accent), calling Ross an "ezel" as he converses with him. Gunther appears in a majority of the episodes, but only occasionally calls attention to himself and almost never has a large role in the plot of an episode.
Reader's Guide
James Michael Tyler was cast as Gunther because he was the only extra who could competently work the cappuccino machine on the Central Perk set. Tyler appears as Gunther in a co-host voice-over in the Friends trivia game for PS2, PC and Xbox, and in the board game Friends: Scene It?. The Seattle Times ranked Gunther as the eighth best guest character of the series in 2004. When asked in 2009 by Heatworld.com what Gunther would be doing "now," Tyler joked, "He'd probably have a very traditional marriage, with lots of white-haired babies running around with hair brighter than the sun." The BBC praised the character of Gunther.
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