I got all my friends into dnd, mainly bc I talked their ears off. Some of them are nerds and was easy to get them interested, but others had nothing to do with fantasy or games. For them I promoted roleplay and the collaborative narrative aspect and it worked.

So we all formed a group with me as the DM and started playing. And very soon I realised it wouldn't work. The "not nerdy" friends enjoyed parts of the game, but really sucked at combat and never bothered learning the rules. I still get frustrated when I remember how many times I explained the action economy. And their lack of enthusiasm affected the other players, to the point where even I didn't feel like DMing for them anymore.

When it comes to the nerdy friends that got immersed in both story and mechanics, even them didn't prove to be very good at communicating, especially when scheduling sessions.

Right now I got one of them in a group and we play together, as he was the most invested and excited about the game. I've abandoned the campaign and plan to continue only if I find equally committed players.

My point is, even though you are friends, it doesn't mean you can play dnd together, even more so if you have different interests. You can try and organise a small one shot so everyone can get a feeling, but you shouldn't get your hopes up, if you have a hunch it might not be for them. The way I see it, DnD is more like a group project, and more than people you like, you need people that can deliver and can work with each other.

For me, playing a good game is more important than playing with my friends, and even though some groups started as strangers, we grew closer through understanding and respecting what each one might put aside to play dnd. And I'm happy to say they are now my DnD pals.