James Michael Tyler died on Sunday after a three-year battle with cancer. Because he knew how to handle an espresso machine, the actor was cast as Gunther on Friends.

Friends actor James Michael Tyler died on Sunday at the age of 59 at his Los Angeles home after a three-year battle with prostate cancer. James already discussed how he got the part of Gunther on the show.

James claimed in an earlier interview with Insider that he got the part merely because he knew how to run a coffee machine.

The actor, who had a Masters in Fine Arts, had opened up about his character in the show and said, “You know, I honestly always thought my Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) would get me further in the acting world than knowing how to work an espresso machine! That was a happy accident and I’m very, very grateful to have had that skill.”

James also said that his hair color, which Rachel Greene (played by Jennifer Aniston) described as “brighter than the sun,” was a happy accident in the same interview.

The actor had it dyed the day before he joined Friends. “I have a friend who wanted to practise on my head because they wanted to be a stylist. So I offered what hair I had left to turn white. That was a happy coincidence!” he had said.

On Monday, James’ family said in a statement: ‘The world knew him as Gunther (the seventh Friend), from the hit series Friends, but Michael’s loved ones knew him as an actor, musician, cancer-awareness advocate, and loving husband.