(NBC Universal Photo)
For those who don’t know, Ugly Naked Guy was a minor character on 'Friends' who Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross have all referenced many times, during the course of the popular sitcom.
However, Ugly Naked Guy only appeared on the show twice, and his face was never revealed.
After all the questions and fan theories shrouding the actor who played this role, the mystery has finally been solved, according to a report in the Huffington Post.
(NBC Universal Photo)
The actor's on-screen debut on the show occurred in the season 3 episode 'The One With The Giant Poking Device,' when the friends stabbed him with a long pole they had fashioned out of chopsticks, but all that could be seen of Ugly Naked Guy was his protruding belly.
His second and final appearance on 'Friends' occurred in the season 5 episode 'The One Where Everybody Finds Out,' when Ugly Naked Guy moves out of his apartment, and Ross gets the place after he strips and eats muffins with Ugly Naked Guy.
And then, he was gone. The show didn’t credit the actor who played Ugly Naked Guy in either episode.
Click on to find out who played the role of Ugly Naked Guy...
(NBC Universal Photo)
Imdb, Wikipedia and the 'Friends' Wikia have all credited Michael Hagerty, who played building superintendent, Mr Treeger, with the role. Wikipedia still credited Hagerty up until at least April 2016, but the name is now absent from the page.
It’s unclear how the idea that Hagerty played Ugly Naked Guy first started, but it seems to have first popped up on Wikipedia in 2014, according to the Wayback Machine archive.
When contacted however, Hagerty completely denied the claims. "I never played the Ugly Naked Guy," he said.
"IMDb, the information is close, but a lot of times it’s very, very, very wrong. And that said, I’d rather be known as Mr. Treeger than the Ugly Naked Guy anyways.”
(Image courtesy: Friends Wikia)
Thereby began the search for the elusive actor who played this small, but significant part in the iconic series.
'Friends' show officials- casting officials, costume designers and producers were all approached with the query, "Who played Ugly Naked Guy"?
The search yielded no positive results as neither any recollection nor records of who played the character could be found.
Until a casting executive from Central Casting, Jennifer Bender, finally solved the mystery, that is. Apparently the actor who played Ugly Naked Guy had paid the company a visit, and Bender seized the opportunity to set up an interview.
"There’s only one Ugly Naked Guy, man, and that was me," Jon Haugen told the Huffington Post in the interview..
Haugen recalled actively applying for the role through Central Casting for the first appearance. Later, the show asked him to return for the character’s scene with Ross.
Why had he kept his identity a secret? "The reason I never came forward,” Haugen explained, "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."
Haugen recalled that shooting his first appearance was difficult because he had to play dead while the friends poked him with a giant pole made of chopsticks.
"It wasn’t painful. The hard part was holding my breath," he said.
"I wasn’t really expecting them to call me back for me to do it again," said Haugen, but he loved the character so much that he was hoping they would. "It was the best time in my life," he said, adding, "I was the man."
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