NBC’s iconic sitcom Friends is considered by many to be one of the best comedy shows ever, with a legacy that has stood the test of time, even 12 years after the show went off the air. The cast made headlines earlier this year when they reunited for an NBC special honoring longtime TV director James Burrows. While the show continues to enjoy a huge fan base, there is one mystery that fans have been seeking the answer to, which has finally been revealed.
The Huffington Post conducted a year-long investigation into the identity of the character known as “Ugly Naked Guy.” The character was often referred to on the show, but he only appeared in two episodes, and his face was never shown. The show never credited the role to any actor, and no one came forward. A popular Friends TV Show Wikia site credited actor Mike Hagerty, who also played Mr. Treeger on the show, although the site reached out to the actor who insisted that he didn’t play Ugly Naked Guy.
The show’s own casting director, Leslie Litt, was even stumped, unable to produce any records of who played Ugly Naked Guy, and queries to Central Casting and the show’s co-creator, David Crane, didn’t provide an answer either about this important part of the show’s trivia. However, supervising producer Todd Stevens did remember that they had cast an extra for the role, but he couldn’t remember that person’s name. Here’s what the producer had to say below.
“It was an extra and we wanted it to fly under the radar because we didn’t want somebody, like, being Ugly Naked Guy. We just had Central send a few people over. It was not somebody with a history on the show or anything. (The casting was) done very last minute, both times [they filmed] Ugly Naked Guy. I wish I did remember (his name). I’m sure if I was with a guy who [does] police drawings, I could come up with it. But he was a big dude. Slightly rounder nose, big cheeks and jowl. It was, you know, Ugly Naked Guy!”
Nearly a year after this investigation started, Central Casting reached out by saying the actor who played Ugly Naked Guy actually visited Central Casting, and his name is Jon Haugen. His first appearance was in Season 3, and the actor admitted that he was surprised to be brought back in his second appearance in Season 5. Here’s what he had to say below.
“You want to let the world know who the real Ugly Naked Guy is, huh? There’s only one Ugly Naked Guy, man, and that was me. The reason I never came forward was because I was just keeping it mellow because Warner Brothers was keeping it mellow. They wanted everybody to have a guess who I was. I wasn’t really expecting them to call me back for me to do it again. It was the best time in my life. I was the man.”
There are two different Jon Haugen’s listed on IMDB, but strangely, neither listing features any acting credits. The report doesn’t reveal what Jon Haugen has been up to since appearing on Friends, or if he’s still acting, but now that this mystery has finally been solved, maybe we’ll be hearing more from Jon Haugen in the future. Regardless, Friends fans now know exactly who plays Ugly Naked Guy after all these years.