Before FRIENDS Courtney Cox Starred in MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and Here's How That Happened

Today, it's almost impossible to think of Courtney Cox without immediately picturing her in Friends.

For an entire generation, she'll forever be Monica Geller. For horror fans, she's Gale Weathers from the Scream franchise. She's spent decades as one of the most recognizable faces in television and film, becoming a pop culture fixture whose career has stretched across multiple generations.

But in 1987, none of that existed yet. There was only a young actress trying to land roles in Hollywood and a fantasy movie called Masters of the Universe that would become one of her first major film projects.

Looking back now, what makes Courtney Cox's involvement in Masters of the Universe so fascinating isn't simply that she appears in the movie. It's that the oral history surrounding the production captures a moment in time before anyone knew who she would become.

Reading the recollections from the cast and crew feels almost like opening a time capsule. The future superstar is standing right there in front of them, but nobody can see the next chapter yet. Well, almost nobody.

Director Gary Goddard remembers first considering Cox for the role of Julie Winston shortly after she had gained attention for appearing in Bruce Springsteen's iconic "Dancing in the Dark" music video.

At the time, however, he wasn't completely convinced. He said: “I wanted a very fresh new face with a, you know, pretty but in a wholesome kind of suburban way.

“And the funny story on that one was that when she came in she was all made-up, as actresses tend to do, and the casting director Vicky Thomas brought her in and said, ‘I think you're really gonna like her.’

“At the time, she was quote ‘the girl from the Bruce Springsteen video.’ Okay, good. So she comes in, I met her and she was very nice. But when she left, because with the makeup on, she looked like she was 25, I was like ‘Vicky, I don't think so. She's really nice and she read well, but I don't think she's it.’

Vicky said, ‘let me have her come in tomorrow and I'll have her come in without any makeup.’ Cause Vicky was pretty sure that she was the right one. And that next day, she was fantastic. And afterwards I said to Vicky, ‘you're right. That was her.’ So Vicky gets the accolades for the smarts on that one.”

It's one of those classic Hollywood audition stories that sounds almost unbelievable in hindsight. The future star of Friends nearly missed out on one of her earliest major movie roles because she wore too much makeup to her audition.

Thankfully, casting director Vicky Thomas trusted her instincts. The next day changed everything.

That decision wound up becoming one of several impressive casting choices that emerged from Masters of the Universe. While the movie has often been discussed because of Dolph Lundgren and Frank Langella, it's easy to forget that it also featured a young Courtney Cox years before the role that would make her famous around the world.

According to production manager John Weems, Goddard deserves a lot of credit for seeing something special in her early on.

“I think Gary was the one who wanted Courtney Cox, which turned out to be a pretty prescient decision. Give Gary credit for that. She had just done the Springsteen video and he liked her look and all of that.”

Of course, nobody on the production could have predicted just how successful Cox's career would become. At the time, she was simply another young performer trying to build momentum in a notoriously difficult industry.

What makes the story even more interesting is that another young actress on the film, Chelsea Field, was going through a very similar experience. Both women were still early in their careers, both were trying to establish themselves as leading actresses, and both would form a friendship during production that lasted well beyond the movie itself.

The cast members have often described Masters of the Universe as feeling more like summer camp than a typical movie set. Despite the financial chaos that Cannon Films was dealing with behind the scenes, the actors developed strong friendships that extended beyond filming.

Field remembers those relationships fondly. “We used to have dinner parties. Jon, James Tolkein, Robbie and Courtney. Billy Barty of course, he was so sweet. And Gary. And Anne Coates, who was the editor. Either at my house, or Courtney's house and we'd all cook. It was really fun. Oh, and Frank Langella too, but he was going back and forth to New York.”

Those stories paint a picture that feels very different from the movie's troubled production history. While executives were trying to figure out budgets and production schedules, the cast was building friendships that would last for years.

In fact, Field and Cox remained close after filming wrapped. Field recalled visits to Cox's home shortly before Friends changed everything.

“Luck always plays a big role in everything. Being in the right place at the right time. Getting the right script for the right show. [laughing at a memory] I'll tell you something funny. This must have been a little bit after Masters.

“And Courtney, she and I stayed in touch, she lived in Hollywood and I lived over in Burbank. So sometimes if I had an interview over in Hollywood or Beverly Hills, I'd stop by her place and we'd read lines together. I'd go by her house and have a cup of tea before I hit my audition.

“And if it was a scene where I had to muster up tears or something she'd just be looking at me like, ‘Oh my god, how do you do that? How do you do that, Chelsea?’ And I'd look at her and I'd be like, ‘you go to class. You're welcome to come to mine. Would you like to go with me?’

“And literally this was her answer: ‘Oh no, I just have to get lucky once.’ And I'd be like, ‘what? No, come to class.’ And she'd be like ‘No, really, I just need to get lucky once.’

“That was her philosophy. And that's not to take anything away from her, because I think she's a very talented actor. I was just so happy when she got Friends because it was the perfect show for her...and it meant that her philosophy had worked!”

At the time, Cox was still trying to break through. She wasn't a household name. She wasn't starring in one of the most successful sitcoms in television history. She was simply another actress waiting for her opportunity.

And somehow she seemed completely convinced that it would eventually happen. “I just need to get lucky once.”

It's hard not to laugh at that now because, technically, she was right. Of course, luck wasn't the entire story. Talent played a huge role, along with timing, and hard work. But there is something undeniably charming about the confidence she apparently carried during those years.

Looking back from a modern perspective, Masters of the Universe occupies a fascinating place in Courtney Cox's career. The movie arrived seven years before Friends debuted.

It arrived nearly a decade before Scream reinvented the horror genre. It came before she became one of the most recognizable television stars on the planet. Yet the seeds were already there.

The filmmakers saw a performer who stood out from the crowd. The cast remembered someone who was fun, warm, and easy to connect with. Friends remembered a young actress who genuinely believed her opportunity was coming. And eventually it did.

Masters of the Universe is a fascinating snapshot of several careers before they exploded. For Courtney Cox, it captured one of the final chapters before everything changed for her.