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, he is on reasonably good terms with the rest of the gang despite occasionally being annoyed by wacky antics or comments from them. His motivation for disliking Ross is jealousy (as he is aware of Ross's relationship with Rachel), which is made clear numerous times, most notably in "The One with the Morning After" when he reveals to Rachel that Ross slept with another woman while Rachel was on a break from their relationship. 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. 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.

In Their Own Story

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." Aside from the main cast, he appears in the most episodes.

Reader's Guide

Gunther is the manager of Central Perk, first appearing as a background character in the second episode. He is a former actor who once played Bryce on All My Children before that character was "killed in an avalanche." His defining trait is his unrequited crush on Rachel, which begins in the third season and remains private until the series finale. He dislikes Ross out of jealousy over Ross's relationship with Rachel, and in "The One with the Morning After" he reveals to Rachel that Ross slept with another woman while they were on a break. In "The One with The Stain," Gunther demonstrates fluency in Dutch (with a strong American accent), calling Ross an "ezel." He appears in a majority of episodes but rarely has a large role in the plot.

Did You Know?

• 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.
• Gunther is a former actor who once played Bryce on All My Children before that character was 'killed in an avalanche.'
• The Seattle Times ranked Gunther as the eighth best guest character of the series in 2004.
• Aside from the main cast, Gunther appears in the most episodes of Friends.
• In 'The One with The Stain,' Gunther is shown to be fluent in Dutch, calling Ross an 'ezel.'