Last Saturday, the American actor Matthew Perry, the character of Chandler Bing, inseparable from the legendary sitcom Friends, died at the age of 54. For French audiences, it was actor Emmanuel Courtil, also known for dubbing Jim Carrey in most of his films or Simba in The Lion King, who gave him his instantly recognizable voice.
“I feel like a little part of me is gone.”This week, the latter also entrusted us with a microphone, as a reaction to the disappearance of the late actor, who he played in the first 8 seasons of Friends. However, as French-speaking fans of the famous series surely did not notice, this is another dubbing actor who took over the role of Chandler in the last two seasons (9 and 10).
This sudden vocal shift, which can sometimes irritate the ears of some regulars, also affects the characters of Joey and Rachel (played by Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston, respectively). But what is it due to?
As Marc Lesser (Joy’s first French voice, eventually replaced by Olivier Jankovic) told us when we invited him to our Voix Ouf podcast dedicated to dubbing actors, the change happened when season 9 (which was originally supposed to be the last) was announced. The six actors who voiced Friends then tried to negotiate with the producer to increase their fees.
A request they felt was entirely justified by the growing success of the series, their efforts to make it shine in France, and the place it occupied in their careers. Indeed, even if it only took them 12 days a year to dub 24 episodes a season, they were extremely identified with their characters, and therefore they were offered fewer new roles at a time.
Faced with production inflexibility on salaries, only three of the six dubbing actors made it through the fight without giving up and were therefore replaced for seasons 9 and 10: Emmanuel Curtil (Chandler), who is fired. Antoine Nouel, Dorothe Gemma (Rachel) replaced by Monika Loinska and Mark Lesser (Joy) replaced Olivier Jankovic.
In the documentary Friends: Reunion, published on Salto in 2021 and recently transferred to W9 as a tribute to Matthew Perry, six actors were able to find their original French voice.
(Re)discover “Friends” Credits…
Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
