If you’re a fan of the show, you definitely remember Mr. Heckles, the quirky downstairs neighbor who would constantly make up stories about pets or bang on the ceiling to complain about noise from the gang living upstairs.
Heckles’ grumpy antics came to an end when he was rolled out of his apartment in a body bag, marking one of the more memorable early episodes of Friends.
Hankin, who played Mr. Heckles over five episodes, was invited to make an appearance during the reunion that saw the main cast, including Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, and Matt LeBlanc, reunite. But according to Hankin, his experience during that event wasn’t as pleasant as he had hoped, as reported by Sportskeeda.
He added: “So I am really angry at the people who produced the Friends reunion,”
Hankin also shared more details about his time on Friends in a 2022 interview with Cracked.
For many actors, that would seem like great news. But Hankin soon found out things wouldn’t go the way he expected.
He recalled: “I got a call from my agent saying, ‘I have good news and bad news. First, Friends called for your fifth appearance…’ In that moment, I thought, ‘I have a house’.”
Feeling upset, Hankin admitted that he went into the shoot with a bit of an attitude, as he explained: “Going into that shoot, I had a chip on my shoulder. I was going to let the producers know that I wasn’t happy.”
But a female producer’s gentle words snapped him out of his frustration. She simply said: “Larry, can we talk about this a little later?”
Although Hankin didn’t get the recurring role on Friends that he had hoped for, he later landed notable parts in other popular shows, including a memorable appearance on Breaking Bad.
