Friends Season 1's Paul The Wine Guy: Everything we know about John Allen Nelson's character in the classic comedy

Fans of Friends would never forget Paul the Wine Guy even though he appeared only in the pilot episode of the show. Paul was seen in the first episode, titled The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate, which marked his last appearance on the show, too.

John Allen Nelson played Paul the Wine Guy and was introduced as the love interest of Monica (Courteney Cox). All the friends seemed to like Paul. However, their date ended rather unfortunately, and Monica and Paul were never seen together again on the show.

Let us explore Paul the Wine Guy’s role in Friends, and how his arc ended in the pilot.

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Who was Paul the Wine Guy in Friends Season 1?

Paul the Wine Guy worked in the same restaurant as Monica, and the group of friends including Chandler (Matthew Perry), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), and Ross (David Schwimmer) seemed to be already familiar with him even before he makes an appearance, which suggests Monica talked about him to them.

Paul is shown to be Monica’s date in the first episode of Friends, though she refused to define it as a date, because it is only about

"two people going to dinner, and not having s*x."

To this, Chandler responded with signature, self-deprecating wit:

"Sounds like a date to me."

However, Monica’s claim that there would be no sex gets a twist as, during the date, Paul tells her how, ever since his wife left him, he hasn't "been able to perform s*xually". This softened Monica and they end up spending the night together.

Monica seemed to genuinely enjoy Paul’s company till she found out from her colleague Franny that Paul used the same sob story to trick her into a one night stand.

This angered Monica and, back in her apartment, she broke Paul’s watch with her foot as Rachel and Ross looked on. The scene marked the end of Paul’s arc in Friends. He has never been seen again on the show, although he was mentioned in an episode of the second season.

An interesting thing about Paul is there has been no explanation for his nickname. No one knows why he is called the Wine Guy. Phoebe even asks Chandler about the same but the latter says he has no idea.

Some fans also deduced that the casting John Allen Nelson as Paul was probably linked to the fact that the actor played the character of John D. Cort on Baywatch, a show Joey and Chandler love.

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What does John Allen Nelson say about Paul the Wine Guy in Friends Season 1?

In an interview with BuzzFeed News, John Allen Nelson mentioned that, on his first reading of the script, his reaction to the character of Paul the Wine Guy was something like,

“I thought, What a lark. What a cad, to bed a beautiful woman that way. That’s pretty sneaky.”

Paul’s behavior with Monica marked him as one of the worst guys she ever dated, and Nelson, agreeing with this, said the watch that Monica broke was probably a fake one, too.

“I’m sure that it was a cheapo imitation. I’m sure it was a $10 Rolex.”

Paul the Wine Guy in Friends actually happened to Nelson accidentally. He did not get the lead in another Warner Bros. show for which he originally auditioned, following which the studio offered him the role of Paul.

Despite his short appearance on Friends, fans remember Paul the Wine Guy, which reiterates how successful the casting and the character were.

Friends can be streamed on Netflix

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