James Michael Tyler, Gunther from ‘Friends,’ battles stage 4 cancer

James Michael Taylor, who played the sarcastic Central Perk café manager on Friends, revealed in a television interview yesterday that he has been battling prostate cancer since September 2018.

Taylor was diagnosed after a routine checkup but wishes he had known it earlier to prevent the spread of cancer which has already advanced into his bones, even before he was diagnosed.

During the pandemic, the cancer had mutated which affected his spine and later on resulted in paralysis of his lower body.

“Eventually, you know, it's gonna probably get me," he told host Craig Melvin in an interview with NBC’s Today on Monday.

Taylor's oncologist, Dr. Matthew Rettig, said prostate cancer is “almost always cured” when detected early but when diagnosed late it is “rarely, if ever, cured.”

The 59-year-old actor decided to take part in a Zoom call instead of a physical appearance for Friends: The Reunion which aired last May 27.

“I did not want to be, you know, “Oh, and by the way, Gunther has cancer,” Taylor said. He added that the cast and producers of the show are aware of the diagnosis.

Taylor also delivered a message on Monday through a YouTube video of Prostate Cancer Foundation, urging others to get tested.

“If there's one piece of advice that I could give men out there to avoid where I am today, specifically, is get tested, ask for a PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) test.”

(Images from Friends' Facebook page)