I admit, I had a crush on her way back. This brings back many memories of days long past.
Over a decade before Monica Geller became a familiar face on “Friends,” Courteney Cox was making her mark as a superfan of Bruce Springsteen. Cox recently participated in a TikTok trend where parents showcase how they danced in their youth, choosing to highlight her moves from the 1980s, specifically referencing her appearance in Springsteen’s iconic 1984 music video for “Dancing in the Dark.”
Courteney Cox recreates dance from Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’ 1984 music video: ‘You win’ https://t.co/yObs4MCXey pic.twitter.com/iCU6VDUai8
— New York Post (@nypost) June 10, 2024
Cox posted a video captioned “1980’s dancing…in the dark,” where she starts off dancing to the 1984 synth-pop track “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat—a popular choice for this social media challenge. Midway, she changes her outfit, revealing the same Springsteen t-shirt she wore in the original music video, and switches her dance to mimic the one she performed decades ago.
The backstory of how Cox ended up in the video is quite interesting. At 20 years old, she was chosen by director Brian De Palma from a casting call to appear in the music video, filmed during the opening night of Springsteen’s Born in the USA Tour in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The video famously featured Springsteen pulling Cox from the crowd to dance onstage with him—a moment that significantly boosted her career, despite her initial reluctance.
In a 2017 interview on “Off Camera,” Cox disclosed that she was hesitant about being chosen to dance onstage. The original plan included filming a sequence with her character and friends getting ready for the concert, though this was ultimately cut from the video. The group was informed that one of them would be selected to join Springsteen on stage, but it was unclear who it would be until the moment arrived. Cox confessed her apprehension, saying, “I don’t not want to be the one to have to go… I didn’t want to dance in front of 30,000 people. It was a full concert, and we did the song twice, back to back.”
Despite her initial reservations, the exposure from the video opened many doors for Cox, who had only a minor TV role on “As the World Turns” at that time. She later achieved stardom through her role as Monica on “Friends,” which ran from 1994 to 2004. This TikTok video serves as a fun throwback for fans and a nod to the moment that helped launch her successful acting career.
Major Points
- Courteney Cox participated in a TikTok trend showcasing how she danced in the 1980s, referencing her role in Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” music video.
- In the TikTok video, Cox begins dancing to Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” before switching to replicate her dance from the Springsteen video, revealing the same t-shirt she wore in 1984.
- Cox was originally chosen by director Brian De Palma at 20 years old to feature in the video, which was filmed during a live concert on Springsteen’s Born in the USA Tour.
- Despite its significant boost to her career, Cox admitted in an interview that she was initially reluctant to dance onstage in front of 30,000 people.
- The exposure from the Springsteen video opened many doors for Cox, leading to her eventual role as Monica Geller on the hit TV show “Friends” from 1994 to 2004.
Jimmy J Franco – Reprinted with permission of Whatfinger News
