Friendly Chat, 2-5-02

What drew you to become friends?
Zuker: "I think the easiest answer is that we're all close in age, and you tend to gravitate to people who are your age. At first, Ali and I had horses in common, and then ..."
Morris: "... Ari and I were in the same storyline. When you're in a story together, you tend to wind up in each other's dressing rooms, running lines and hanging out. We all realized that we enjoyed each other's company, so we started to hang out outside of work. We were also at similar stages in our lives. We all had boyfriends [Sweeney is now married; Zuker is engaged] and a lot in common, so we would go out to dinner."
Sweeney: "We joked with Ken [Corday, executive producer] at the Christmas lunch that we were all going to walk into his office on the same day and tell him we're pregnant, just to make his life difficult. To add to what they said, we all have a similar sense of humor. We're down-to-earth, normal and not into the Hollywood scene, so we made a world outside of that scene and have a great with each other."

So, you weren't a trio right away?
Zuker: "I think she [Sweeney] was busy with her wedding."
Sweeney: "I have to admit that when I started the show, I was young and didn't consider the people I worked with personal friends; they were work friends. Not to sound like a loser, but I would sit in my room by myself and then do my job. It took me awhile to realize what was right in front of my face, which was that Julianne and Ari were my age, and we had a good time together."

What do you like to do together off-set?
Sweeney: "Girls' night out."
Morris: "Bottom line, we all love Cynthia's [an L.A. eatery that serves down-home fare]."
Sweeney: "We all like to eat."
Morris: "We love fried chicken, mashed potatoes and cobbler."
Sweeney: "And Ari and I like wine"
Zuker: I have to wait for Ali to get to the restaurant before I can have my glass of wine."

Have you had any fun fan encounters when you're all together?
Zuker (laughs): "Yeah, nobody knows who I am, and everybody knows Julianne and Ali are."
Sweeney: "They say to Ari, 'Excuse me, will you take our picture with them?' It's so uncomfortable for us [laughs]."