Various characters appeared in the sitcom ''
Friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
'' and its
spin-off series ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members:
Rachel Green-Geller (
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
),
Monica Geller-Bing (
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom '' Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...
),
Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan
Phoebe Buffay is one of the six main characters from the American sitcom, ''Friends''. She is created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and portrayed by actress Lisa Kudrow.
In the series' universe, Phoebe was born on February 16 and is the d ...
(
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She rose to fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), which has since been named one of the greatest television cha ...
),
Joey Tribbiani
Joseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani Jr. is a fictional character, serving as one of the primary characters of the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and the protagonist of its spin-off ''Joey''. He is portrayed by Matt LeBlanc in both series.
He is an Italian-A ...
(
Matt LeBlanc
Matthew Steven LeBlanc (; born July 25, 1967) is an American actor. He garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and in its spin-off series, ''Joey''. For his work on ''Friends'', LeBlanc re ...
),
Chandler Bing
Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character from the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', portrayed by actor Matthew Perry. Chandler was born to Nora Tyler Bing, an erotic romance novelist, and Charles Bing, a gay female impersonator and star of a Las Vegas ...
(
Matthew Perry
Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004).
As well as starring in the short-lived television series ''Stud ...
), and
Ross Geller
Ross Geller, portrayed by David Schwimmer, is one of the six main characters of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Ross is considered by many to be the most intelligent member of the group and is noted for his goofy but lovable demeanor. His relations ...
(
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Prime ...
), while ''Joey'' featured LeBlanc in the title role reprising his role as Tribbiani alongside
Gina Tribbiani (
Drea de Matteo
Andrea Donna de Matteo is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Adriana La Cerva on the HBO television drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2006), for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a ...
),
Alex Garrett (
Andrea Anders
Andrea Anders (born May 10, 1975) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on television, notably through her main roles on five anticipated but short-lived sitcoms, ''Joey'', '' The Class'', ''Better Off Ted'', '' Mr. Sunshine'' and ...
),
Michael Tribbiani (
Paulo Costanzo
Paulo Costanzo (born September 21, 1978) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill (Ax) in the TV series ''Animorphs'', the roles of Rubin Carver in the comedy film ''Road Trip'', Alexander Cabot in ''Josie and ...
),
Bobbie Morganstern
Bobby or Bobbie may refer to:
People
* Bobby (given name), a list of names
* Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh
* Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea
* Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter
* Bobby, old slang for a consta ...
(
Jennifer Coolidge
Jennifer Audrey Coolidge (born August 28, 1961) is an American actress known for her roles in comedic film and television particularly in American Pie (series), ''American Pie'' film series (1999–2012), Legally Blonde (franchise), ''Legally Bl ...
),
Zach Miller Zach Miller may refer to:
*Zach Miller (tight end, born 1984), NFL tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Chicago Bears
*Zach Miller (tight end, born 1985)
Zachary Joseph Miller (born December 11, 1985) is a former ...
(
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.
Miguel A. Núñez Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in ''The Return of the Living Dead'' and ''Life''. He played leading roles in ''Juwanna Mann'' and ''Tour of Duty'' and appears on the hit BET drama ''The Family Busines ...
), and
Howard
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
(
Ben Falcone
Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he co-starred in '' God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', ''Iden ...
).
Many well-known actors guest-starred on both series throughout their combined twelve-year run.
Ensemble cast
The main cast members of ''Friends'' were familiar to US television viewers before their roles on the series, but were not considered to be stars.
Series creator
David Crane wanted all six characters to be equally prominent,
and the series was lauded as being "the first true 'ensemble' show".
The cast members made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate;
they entered themselves in the same acting categories for awards,
opted for collective instead of individual salary negotiations,
and asked to appear together on magazine cover photos in the first season.
The cast members became best friends off screen,
and one
guest star
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
,
Tom Selleck
Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...
, reported sometimes feeling left out. The cast remained good friends after the series' run, notably Cox and Aniston, with Aniston being godmother to Cox and
David Arquette
David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster Enter ...
's daughter, Coco. In the official farewell commemorative book ''
Friends 'Til the End
''Friends 'Til the End'' is a 1997 television film directed by Jack Bender. It was originally broadcast January 20, 1997, on NBC.
Plot
Heather Romley (Shannen Doherty) and Suzanne Boxer (Jennifer Blanc) are both singers who have been competing a ...
'', each separately acknowledged in their respective interview that the cast had become their family.
Salaries
In their original contracts for the first season, the main cast were paid $22,500 per episode.
The cast members received different salaries in the second season, ranging from $25,000 to $40,000 per episode, with
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
and
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Prime ...
being the highest paid.
Prior to their salary negotiations for the third season, the cast decided to enter collective negotiations, despite Warner Bros.' preference for individual deals. The main cast were paid $75,000 per episode for the third season, $85,000 for the fourth, $100,000 for the fifth, and $125,000 for the sixth. They received $750,000 per episode for the seventh and eighth seasons, and $1 million per episode for the ninth and tenth seasons.
The cast also receive syndication royalties beginning with the fifth season.
Overview
Family trees
Main characters
''Friends''
All six main actors in ''Friends'' had prior experience in
situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
, and, in some cases,
improvisational comedy
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...
as well. All six actors appear in every episode.
Rachel Green
Rachel Karen Green (
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
) is the spoiled but warm-hearted and likable daughter of Dr. Leonard Green (
Ron Leibman
Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Amer ...
), a rich, Long Island vascular surgeon, and Sandra Green (
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her children's franchise '' Free to Be... You and ...
). She has two sisters, Jill (
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...
) and Amy (
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film an ...
). Rachel is introduced into the series in the first episode after she leaves her fiancé, Barry Farber, at the altar, and attempts to live independently without financial support from her parents.
She flees from her almost-wedding to New York City to find
Monica Geller
Monica E. Geller is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appears on the American sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and portrayed by actress Courteney Cox, Monica appears in all of ...
, her friend from high school. Rachel moves into Monica's apartment and meets
Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe Buffay is one of the six main characters from the American sitcom, ''Friends''. She is created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and portrayed by actress Lisa Kudrow.
In the series' universe, Phoebe was born on February 16 and is the d ...
and
Joey Tribbiani
Joseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani Jr. is a fictional character, serving as one of the primary characters of the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and the protagonist of its spin-off ''Joey''. He is portrayed by Matt LeBlanc in both series.
He is an Italian-A ...
. Rachel already knows
Ross Geller
Ross Geller, portrayed by David Schwimmer, is one of the six main characters of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Ross is considered by many to be the most intelligent member of the group and is noted for his goofy but lovable demeanor. His relations ...
, Monica's brother, as all three attended Lincoln High School. In the first episode, she is also reacquainted with
Chandler Bing
Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character from the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', portrayed by actor Matthew Perry. Chandler was born to Nora Tyler Bing, an erotic romance novelist, and Charles Bing, a gay female impersonator and star of a Las Vegas ...
, Ross's college buddy; however, later episodes
retcon
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...
this, and she is shown to have met Chandler on Thanksgiving, whilst Ross was at college. Rachel's first job is as a waitress at Central Perk coffee house. She later begins to work in fashion, becoming an assistant buyer, and later a personal shopper, at
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...
. She eventually becomes a buyer at
Polo Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American publicly traded fashion company that was founded in 1967 by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. The company is headquartered in New York City, producing products ranging from the mid-range to the luxur ...
.
A great deal of Rachel's life throughout the series revolves around her relationship with Ross Geller. At the end of season seven, during Monica's and Chandler's wedding, it is revealed that Rachel is pregnant from a one-night stand with Ross. Initially, Rachel is determined to raise the baby on her own, but later she realizes she needs Ross's help. She decides to move in with Ross, even though the two are not involved in an intimate relationship. Their daughter is born during the eighth-season finale. Her aunt Monica, 'gives' an indecisive Rachel the name Emma, which she had chosen for her own daughter, at age 14.
During the tenth season, Rachel is offered a job with
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...
in Paris. She accepts and prepares to move herself and Emma to France. However, in
the series finale
"The Series Finale" is the ninth episode and series finale of the American television miniseries ''WandaVision'', based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It follows Wanda as she tries to p ...
, she declines the job offer and famously "gets off the plane". Rachel and Ross get back together in the final episode of the series.
Monica Geller
Monica E. Geller (
Courteney Cox
Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom '' Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...
) is the younger sister of Ross and best friend of Rachel, the latter of whom she allows to live with her after Rachel forsakes her own wedding. She works primarily as a chef at a variety of restaurants. She is described as the mother hen of the group, and is known for her
obsessive-compulsive and competitive nature. Monica is often jokingly teased by the others, especially Ross, for having been overweight as a teen.
In the second season, Monica falls for her father Jack's (
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s.
Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...
) friend, Richard Burke (
Tom Selleck
Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...
). Despite the twenty-one year age difference, Monica and Richard are happy, and her parents accept their relationship. However, as a result of Monica yearning for a family but Richard having already had one, they break up at the end of the second season. Monica then pursues a chain of various men until she unexpectedly begins a relationship with her longtime friend,
Chandler Bing
Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character from the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', portrayed by actor Matthew Perry. Chandler was born to Nora Tyler Bing, an erotic romance novelist, and Charles Bing, a gay female impersonator and star of a Las Vegas ...
, at the end of the fourth season, during her brother Ross' wedding to Emily Waltham in London. Monica and Chandler try to hide their relationship from the rest of the group for much of the fifth season, but eventually
everyone finds out. After celebrating their first anniversary in Las Vegas, they move in together and get engaged by the sixth-season finale. After their marriage, Monica and Chandler try to conceive children, only to discover that they are unable to do so. In the final season of the series, they adopt new-born twins, whom they name Erica and Jack.
Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan (
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She rose to fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), which has since been named one of the greatest television cha ...
) is an odd, ditzy albeit sweet-natured masseuse who grew up homeless, sometimes telling her friends outlandish tales of life on the street. She is an aspiring musician who plays the guitar and sings songs with somewhat unusual lyrics at the coffee shop. She has an identical twin sister, Ursula Pamela Buffay (also played by Kudrow), who is just as odd as Phoebe and appeared as a recurring character on ''
Mad About You
''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...
''. After a series of dates and relationships with a number of men, Phoebe meets Mike Hannigan (
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
) in season nine, whom she eventually marries in season ten. She also became a surrogate mother for her half-brother Frank Jr. (
Giovanni Ribisi
Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), ''Ted'' (2012) and its sequel ''Ted 2'' (201 ...
), giving birth to his triplets in the fifth season.
Joey Tribbiani
Joseph Francis "Joey" Tribbiani Jr. (
Matt LeBlanc
Matthew Steven LeBlanc (; born July 25, 1967) is an American actor. He garnered global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' and in its spin-off series, ''Joey''. For his work on ''Friends'', LeBlanc re ...
) is a good-natured but not-so-bright struggling actor and food lover, who becomes mildly famous for his role as Dr. Drake Ramoray on a fictionalized version of ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
''. Joey is a womanizer, with many girlfriends throughout the series, often using his catchphrase pick-up line "How ''you'' doin'?" He develops a crush on Rachel in season eight.
Prior to his role on ''Friends'', LeBlanc appeared as a regular on the short-lived ''
TV 101
''TV 101'' is an American drama television series that aired on CBS from November 29, 1988 until March 25, 1989. The series stars Sam Robards, Brynn Thayer, Leon Russom and Andrew Cassese. Other notable cast members include Stacey Dash, Teri Polo ...
'', a minor character in the sitcom ''
Married... with Children'', and as a main character in its spin-offs, ''
Top of the Heap
''Top of the Heap'' is an American sitcom that ran for seven episodes on Fox from April 7 until May 19, 1991, the most successful of three attempted spin-offs of '' Married... with Children'' (the other two being '' Radio Free Trumaine'' and '' ...
'' and ''
Vinnie & Bobby
''Vinnie & Bobby'' is an American television sitcom that aired on Fox from May 30 to September 5, 1992. The series is a spin-off of the 1991 sitcom '' Top of the Heap'', which was itself a spin-off of '' Married... with Children''. Series star ...
''. After ''Friends'' ended, LeBlanc portrayed Joey in a short-lived spin-off, ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
''.
Chandler Bing
Chandler Muriel Bing (
Matthew Perry
Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004).
As well as starring in the short-lived television series ''Stud ...
) is an executive in
statistical analysis
Statistical inference is the process of using data analysis to infer properties of an underlying distribution of probability.Upton, G., Cook, I. (2008) ''Oxford Dictionary of Statistics'', OUP. . Inferential statistical analysis infers propertie ...
and data reconfiguration for a large multi-national corporation. He later quits his job and becomes a junior
copywriter
Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...
at an advertising agency.
Chandler is known for his sarcastic sense of humor. He often teases his best friend Joey for the latter's stupidity. Chandler is often depicted as being somewhat of a hapless individual, suffering a lot of bad luck while struggling through life and occasionally struggling with an on-and-off smoking addiction. However, he eventually falls in deep mutual love with Monica and proposes to her at the close of season six, with the two of them marrying at the close of season seven. At the end of series, he and Monica adopt twins, whom they name Jack and Erica.
Like Aniston and LeBlanc, Perry had already appeared in several unsuccessful sitcom pilots before being cast. He had also starred in the TV series ''
Second Chance'' and ''
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
''.
Ross Geller
Ross Geller (
David Schwimmer
David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Prime ...
) is a
paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
at a museum of prehistory, and later a professor of paleontology at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. Considered by some to be the most intelligent of the six main characters, but at the same time a clumsy, quirky man, Ross is known for being a smart, know-it-all who prides himself on his rationality, despite his clear hopeless romanticism. He is shown to be the most caring of all six members in various instances on the show, but also shown to be the most neurotic and his insecurities often get him into trouble.
Ross is Monica's older brother, Chandler's college roommate, and Rachel's on-again, off-again boyfriend. His first marriage has already failed by the time the show begins, with his second lasting mere weeks. The second divorce seemed to greatly depress him and make him quick-tempered near the start of season five, such as when he screams at his colleague for taking his sandwich and throwing it away. After he gets
Ugly Naked Guy
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
's apartment, he is offered to return to work, but he loses his temper again when he sees Chandler and Monica having sex through his window, becoming the last one to find out about their relationship. He also drunkenly married Rachel in Las Vegas, after which they unsuccessfully tried to annul it and had to settle for a divorce, which became Ross' third one. Ross's relationship with Rachel is a major storyline throughout the series. He is also the father of his ex-wife Carol's son, Ben, and Rachel's daughter, Emma. In the series finale, Ross and Rachel finally reconcile, deciding to be together once and for all.
The character of Ross was developed with David Schwimmer in the minds of writers and Schwimmer was also the first actor to be cast on the show.
Before being cast in ''Friends'', Schwimmer played minor characters in ''
The Wonder Years
''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age story, coming-of-age situation comedy, comedy/Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol L. Black, Carol Black. It ran on American Broadcasting Company ...
'' and ''
NYPD Blue
''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...
'';
his first regular series role was in the sitcom ''
Monty
Monty is a masculine given name, often a short form of Montgomery, Montague and other similar names. It is also a surname.
Notable people with the name or nickname include:
First name Nickname
* Bernard Montgomery (1887–1976), British Secon ...
''. Schwimmer is the only cast member native to New York City.
Ross Geller was also voted as the best character on ''Friends'' in a poll conducted by Comedy Central UK.
''Joey''
Gina Tribbiani
Gina Tribbiani (
Drea de Matteo
Andrea Donna de Matteo is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Adriana La Cerva on the HBO television drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2006), for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a ...
) is Joey's attractive older sister, whom Joey comes to live with in Los Angeles during ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
''. Temperamental, promiscuous and not particularly bright but very street-wise, Gina is a caring but over-protective and domineering mother. For years she convinced her genius son Michael that he was born when she was 22 instead of 16 years old, and always says he is the one thing she has done well. She and Joey are friends in addition to being siblings, both having the gift of being extremely appealing to the opposite sex, with numerous lovers. Initially working as a hairdresser, by season two she works as a secretary for Joey's agent Bobbie, having impressed Bobbie with her brash manner. In season two she starts dating Michael's father Jimmy once again. In the season 2 episode "Joey and the Holding Hands", it is implied that Gina may be bisexual.
Alex Garrett
Alexis "Alex" Garrett (
Andrea Anders
Andrea Anders (born May 10, 1975) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on television, notably through her main roles on five anticipated but short-lived sitcoms, ''Joey'', '' The Class'', ''Better Off Ted'', '' Mr. Sunshine'' and ...
) is Joey's next-door neighbor, landlady and friend in ''Joey''. She is an educated, but slightly ditzy, blonde lawyer who graduated from
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
and
Pepperdine University School of Law
The Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law (formerly Pepperdine University School of Law) is the law school of Pepperdine University, a private research university in Los Angeles County, California. The school offers the Juris Doc ...
. Initially intimidated, but also intrigued by Joey's tough street-wise older sister Gina, the two women eventually become friends and she becomes more bold in the way she dresses and acts, thanks to Gina's influence. She is puzzled but impressed by Joey's intuitive gift at being able to know when she is wearing thong panties and spends most of her time hanging out at Joey and Michael's apartment. She and Joey bond and become close friends. Her husband is a professional orchestra musician and is away from home most of the time and she confides her problems with her marriage in Joey. At the end of season one, she and Joey become romantically involved during her separation from her husband.
In season two, Alex becomes romantically interested in Joey and has a crush on him for a long period. Gina tries to help her to get over Joey, but once Alex starts dating Joey's friend Dean, Joey soon realizes that he is also in love with Alex. Alex and Joey start dating in season 2 and shortly before the final episode they become engaged.
Matt LeBlanc and Andrea Anders dated in real life for several years after the cancellation of ''Joey''.
Michael Tribbiani
Michael Tribbiani (
Paulo Costanzo
Paulo Costanzo (born September 21, 1978) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill (Ax) in the TV series ''Animorphs'', the roles of Rubin Carver in the comedy film ''Road Trip'', Alexander Cabot in ''Josie and ...
) is Joey's nephew who idolises his Uncle Joey's ability to date many women, and who himself is sheltered and nervous around girls. He is self-conscious that he has been so sheltered and that his mother Gina breast fed him until he was seven. Early in the second season of ''Joey'' it is revealed that Michael has
Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in Interpersonal relationship, social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and re ...
. He is a huge ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' fan. He is extremely intelligent, an
aerospace engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
, attends
Caltech
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...
and specialises in applied
thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of the ...
, works with his rival Seth frequently on
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
projects, and is an obvious direct opposite from his more street-wise mother and uncle. He turns to Joey as a big brother and substitute father figure, even after his biological father Jimmy re-enters mother Gina's love life.
Bobbie Morganstern
Roberta "Bobbie" Morganstern (
Jennifer Coolidge
Jennifer Audrey Coolidge (born August 28, 1961) is an American actress known for her roles in comedic film and television particularly in American Pie (series), ''American Pie'' film series (1999–2012), Legally Blonde (franchise), ''Legally Bl ...
) is Joey's oversexed agent whom he hires after Estelle Leonard's death, and reportedly the twelfth most powerful woman in Hollywood. She has an enormous crush on Joey's nephew Michael. She often entertains herself by making her office assistant do funny tricks, or shocking herself with a stun-gun. She is brash, forward, aggressive, highly entertaining and slightly ditzy, laughing at everything and at anyone's expense, including her client Joey's. She was once sued by
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
.
Howard
Howard (
Ben Falcone
Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he co-starred in '' God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', ''Iden ...
) is Joey's friend and neighbor in ''Joey''.
Zach Miller
Zach Miller (
Miguel A. Núñez Jr.
Miguel A. Núñez Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in ''The Return of the Living Dead'' and ''Life''. He played leading roles in ''Juwanna Mann'' and ''Tour of Duty'' and appears on the hit BET drama ''The Family Busines ...
) is an actor who joins the cast and becomes one of Joey's best friends in the second season of ''Joey''. Zach has an interesting career, going from playing extras on TV, to directing amateur plays. Zach does not appear to have a home; he was seen at one time living in Joey's trailer while working on a major blockbuster movie. In one episode, Zach and Joey, both drunk, get married in Tijuana, in a parody of Ross and Rachel marrying each other in the season-five finale of ''Friends''. Zach's final appearance was in "
Joey and the Big Move
''Joey'' is an American sitcom created by Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan. It is a spin-off/sequel to '' Friends'', with Matt LeBlanc reprising his role as Joey Tribbiani. It premiered on NBC on September 9, 2004. Midway through the sec ...
". Núñez was absent from the last five episodes, including the finale of the series, because he found another job. Zach's absence within the show was not mentioned, nor was the character at all.
Characters recurring throughout series
Each of the following characters of ''Friends'' may or may not be particularly significant to the story of the series; each was introduced in one season and would usually appear in subsequent seasons.
Introduced in season 1
Gunther
Gunther (
James Michael Tyler
James Michael Tyler (May 28, 1962 – October 24, 2021) was an American actor best known for his portrayal of Gunther on the NBC sitcom '' Friends''. Prior to acting, he was an assistant film editor and production assistant. His early works in ...
): The manager of the Central Perk coffee house, who first appears as a background character in "The One with the Sonogram at the End". He is a former actor who once played Bryce on ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'' before that character was "killed in an avalanche."
Gunther develops an
unrequited crush on Rachel in the third season, which he keeps to himself until "
The Last One".
Apart from Ross, whom he dislikes, he is on reasonably good terms with the rest of the gang despite occasionally being annoyed by wacky antics or comments from them. His motivation for disliking Ross is jealousy (as he is aware of Ross's relationship with Rachel), which is made clear numerous times, most notably in "The One with the Morning After" when he reveals to Rachel that Ross slept with another woman while Rachel was on a break from their relationship.
Gunther appears in a majority of the episodes, but only occasionally calls attention to himself and almost never has a large role in the plot of an episode. In "The One With The Stain",
Gunther is shown to be fluent in
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
(although with a strong American accent), calling Ross an "
ezel" as he converses with him.
James Michael Tyler was cast as Gunther because he was the only extra who could competently work the cappuccino machine on the Central Perk set. Tyler appears as Gunther in a co-host voice-over in the ''Friends'' trivia game for
PS2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia o ...
, PC and
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
, and in the board game ''Friends: Scene It?''. ''The Seattle Times'' ranked Gunther as the eighth best guest character of the series in 2004.
When asked in 2009 by
Heatworld.com
''Heat'' is an English entertainment magazine published by Bauer Media Group. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip, beauty advice and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in other women's magazines. It also features m ...
what Gunther would be doing "now", Tyler joked, "He'd probably have a very traditional marriage, with lots of white-haired babies running around with hair brighter than the sun." Aside from the main cast, he appears in the most episodes.
Jack and Judy Geller
![Elliott Gould - 1986](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Elliott_Gould_-_1986.jpg)
Jack (
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s.
Elliott's breakthrough role was in the ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination f ...
) and Judy Geller (
Christina Pickles
Christina Pickles (born 17 February 1935) is a British-American actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Helen Rosenthal in the NBC medical drama '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988), for which she received five nominations for the Primetime Em ...
): Ross and Monica's parents. In early appearances, Jack frequently makes inappropriate comments, which he punctuates by exclaiming "I'm just ''saying''...!", while Judy makes condescending remarks about Monica's lack of a love life and sometimes forgets her daughter even exists, while overtly favoring Ross. Jack is more balanced in his attention and care towards both Ross and Monica, though after the Gellers sell their house in season 7, it is revealed that Jack used boxes of Monica's old stuff to block rainwater from getting to his
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
. As penance, Jack decides to gift Monica the Porsche.
Despite each of them having their own quirks, they are occasionally dumbfounded by the crazy antics of their son and daughter, such as Ross' disastrous wedding to Emily and Monica's ridiculous speech at their 35th anniversary party. They are also sometimes bemused by the antics of the other four friends, such as idiotic or crazy comments from Phoebe and Joey, a revolting trifle cooked by Rachel, and Chandler entering a coed whirlpool alongside Jack without wearing anything underneath the towel wrapped around his waist. In the season 10 episode The One With The Cake, the couple record a message for their granddaughter's 18th birthday in which they state they might not be around by then.
Pickles was nominated for the
for her appearance in "The One Where Nana Dies Twice" in 1995.
In 2004, ''
The Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...
'' ranked Jack and Judy jointly as the second best guest characters of the series.
Barry Farber
Barry Farber (
Mitchell Whitfield
Mitchell Whitfield (born September 8, 1964) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Barry Farber in ''Friends'' (1994-2000), Dr. Bruce Hampton in ''Minor Adjustments'' (1995-1996), and Stan Rothenstein in ''My Cousin Vinny'' (1992 ...
): Rachel's jilted fiancé. Barry, an
orthodontist
Orthodontics is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, and misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modification of facial growth, known as dentofacial ...
, decides to go on his and Rachel's honeymoon with her maid of honor Mindy, and soon begins a relationship with her. Their relationship hits a rough patch when he and Rachel consider getting back together.
He decides to stay with Mindy, and the two are later married. Rachel is invited to the wedding, but receives a cold reception for jilting Barry while she is there, and a ridiculous speech from Ross which bemuses everyone in the room does not exactly improve the situation for her, until she, in a desperate attempt to salvage some pride, walks onto the stage where the microphone is and starts singing the
Copacabana.
In the episode "The One That Could Have Been Part 1" Rachel mentions that Barry and Mindy have divorced after five years, when Mindy found out he was cheating on her.
Barry's last name is given as "Finkle" in the pilot
and "Farber" in every other appearance except in "The One with the Flashback",
where he is referred to as "Barry Barber". He has also been called "
Barry White
Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
", and is possibly named as an homage to long-time NY talk show host
Barry Farber
Barry Morton Farber (May 5, 1930 – May 6, 2020) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative radio talk show host, author, commentator and language-learning enthusiast. In 2002, industry publication ''Talkers magazine'' rank ...
.
Carol Willick and Susan Bunch
Carol Willick (
Anita Barone
Anita Louise Barone (born September 25, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for co-starring roles in sitcoms ''The Jeff Foxworthy Show'', ''Daddio'', ''Shake It Up'', '' The War at Home'' and ''Friends''.
Life and career
Barone was born i ...
for the character's debut episode,
Jane Sibbett
Jane Moore Sibbett is an American actress. Her most notable roles include Heddy Newman on the Fox television series ''Herman's Head'' and Carol Willick on the television series ''Friends''.
Early life
Sibbett was born in Berkeley, California, th ...
thereafter) and Susan Bunch (
Jessica Hecht
Jessica Hecht is an American actress and singer who played Gretchen Schwartz on '' Breaking Bad'', Susan Bunch on ''Friends'', and Carol on '' The Boys''. She has also made numerous Broadway appearances.
Early life and education
Hecht was born ...
): Carol is Ross'
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
ex-wife, who came out before the pilot, and Susan is her partner. Carol divorced Ross to be with Susan. In the second episode of the series, Carol tells Ross that she is pregnant with his child,
and is having the baby with her partner Susan, though she wishes Ross to be part of the baby's life. Carol and Susan are often bemused by Ross' behavior throughout his onscreen appearances with them. Though Ross and Carol are on good terms after their divorce, Ross resents Susan for losing Carol to her.
Although Susan and Ross are initially, naturally enough, often at odds, they briefly put aside their differences when Carol gives birth to a boy, whom they all agree, after weeks of argument, to name Ben.
Carol and Susan announce their plans to get married in "
The One with the Lesbian Wedding", but Carol's parents refuse to attend the wedding, leading Carol to doubt her decision. Ross initially hesitant to see his ex-wife remarry, finds himself in the position of being the one to encourage her to go ahead with the ceremony despite her parents' opposition. At the reception, Susan thanks Ross for his part in saving the wedding, and offers to dance with him; he agrees, apparently resolving their strained relationship.
Carol and Susan make irregular appearances until "The One That Could Have Been" (Susan),
and "The One with the Truth About London" (Carol).
Carol and Susan were based on creators
Marta Kauffman
Marta Fran Kauffman (born September 21, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the co-creator of the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' with her longtime friend, David Crane. Both Kauffman and Crane were also executive pr ...
and
David Crane's best friends in New York: "We didn't create them for any particular political reason or because of lesbian chic. It was just an opportunity to tell a really interesting story." The characters were called a positive example of a gay couple on television by
GLAAD
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
. Jessica Hecht originally auditioned to play Monica.
Marcel
Marcel (
live animal actor): A
Capuchin monkey
The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the " organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some tropical fores ...
that Ross initially keeps as a pet,
and who provides
comic relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
for his geeky master. One time Rachel loses him in the city,
and calls Animal Control—only to learn from Ross that Marcel is an illegal
exotic animal
An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a wild species rather than as a domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as animals become firmly enough esta ...
that cannot be kept in the city. After unsuccessfully trying to prevent
animal control officer
An animal control service or animal control agency is an entity charged with responding to requests for help with animals ranging from wild animals, dangerous animals, or animals in distress. An individual who works for such an entity was once kno ...
Luisa (
Megan Cavanagh
Megan Cavanagh (born November 8, 1960) is an American actress, who is best known for portraying Marla Hooch in ''A League of Their Own'' and the voice of Judy Neutron in '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' and ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Ge ...
) from discovering that they are harboring an illegal exotic animal and bemusing her with their wacky behavior throughout these unsuccessful attempts, Rachel, Monica, Ross and Phoebe learn that Luisa is a former classmate of Rachel's and Monica's who upon recognizing Rachel attempts to spite her for snubbing her in high school by attempting to confiscate Marcel. To prevent this, Rachel threatens to tell Luisa's boss about how she shot Phoebe "in the ass with a dart" that had been meant for Marcel. Later, as Marcel sexually matures and begins to hump everything, Ross has to give him away to a zoo
—"where he can have access to regular monkey-lovin'." Ultimately, Ross finds out that Marcel then got stolen from the zoo and taken into a life of
show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...
, and—after starring in a liquor commercial—is starring in a movie in New York,
where they are reunited one last time. In a later season Ross questions why he had a monkey as a pet, and in another episode is mentioned during an argument with Joey. Despite Marcel being male, in reality the monkey was a female called Katie.
Janice Litman-Goralnik
Janice Litman-Goralnik (née Hosenstein) (
Maggie Wheeler
Margaret Emily Wheeler (née Jakobson) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Janice on the television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), and Anita on ''Ellen'' (1994–1996).
Early life
Wheeler was born Margaret Emily Jakobson ...
): Chandler's on-again, off-again girlfriend for the first four seasons. Janice is one of the few supporting characters who appears in all of the ''Friends'' seasons (along with Gunther and Ross and Monica's parents). She has a distinctive nasal voice, a machine gun laugh, and a thick New York accent, all of which annoy the friends, especially Joey. She first appears in "The One with the East German Laundry Detergent",
when Chandler breaks up with her (through Phoebe); he then invites her to New Year's in a moment of weakness, only to dump her again before midnight.
She then shows up as Chandler's blind date the night before Valentine's Day where they sleep together; Chandler breaks up with her the next day but she is fine with it, telling him she knows they will meet again.
In season two, in the wake of Mr. Heckles' death, Chandler resolves not to die alone and calls Janice, but is disappointed to discover that she is married and pregnant.
In "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding", Chandler arranges a meeting with a mystery woman over the Internet, who turns out to be Janice, who reveals that her husband is having an affair with his secretary.
To the surprise of the others, and to Joey's indignance, Chandler stays with Janice through the beginning of the third season, having fallen in love with her and no longer finding her annoying. Joey later sees Janice kissing her husband while in the midst of their divorce,
which leads to the end of their relationship in "The One with the Giant Poking Device", as Chandler urges Janice to go back to her husband, not wanting to destroy her family.
Following this, Janice becomes a
running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
on the show, appearing in some form in one episode per season (two in season 8 when counting "
The One Where Rachel Has a Baby
"The One Where Rachel Has a Baby" is the double-length finale of the eighth season of '' Friends''. It first aired on NBC on May 16, 2002. In the episode, Rachel spends 21 hours in labor, and watches many of her roommates, including Janice giving ...
" as two separate episodes) from season 4 onwards. When Janice returns to Chandler's life, having finally gotten divorced, Chandler finds her insufferable again, and pretends to move to
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
to get away from her.
In season five, Janice has a brief fling with Ross shortly after he has broken up with Emily, where he spends the entire date complaining about everything, causing her to find him insufferable and leave him, with the irony of the situation quickly dawning on him and persuading him to get his act together; she then implies to Joey that she will date him next.
She later makes a voice cameo on a mix tape that Chandler plays for Monica, having passed it off as his own and not knowing Janice had made it for him.
When Chandler and Monica become engaged, Janice re-enters their lives and, now mostly over Chandler, attempts to forcibly invite herself to the wedding; she only leaves when Monica states that Chandler still has feelings for her.
When Ross and Rachel await the birth of their daughter Emma in season 8, Janice and her new, partially-deaf husband Stu are placed in the same labor room as Rachel; she gives birth to a son, Aaron, who she jokes will be Emma's future husband. She also strongly advises Rachel that Ross will not stay around to raise the baby if they are not married.
In season 9, as Monica and Chandler make plans to have children, they go to a fertility clinic where Janice and Stu are coincidentally visiting; when Chandler worries about his sperm, she offers Chandler advice and support.
In season 10, Janice comes close to buying a house next door to the one Monica and Chandler are buying; to get rid of her, Chandler once again pretends he still loves her, causing her to become fearful that they will end up ruining their marriages if she lives next door to him, so she decides not to buy the house after all. She leaves, seemingly for good, but does kiss him one last time before she goes.
Throughout the series, Janice enjoys spending time with the six friends, which is ironic and very inconvenient for them, since none of them can stand to be around her. She utters her catchphrase, "''Ohhh—myyy—Gawd!''", almost every time she re-enters the show, and Chandler sometimes imitates her with it. Janice's distinctive laugh was born out of a slip-up Wheeler made during the rehearsal of "The One with the East German Laundry Detergent";
after Chandler and Janice's "More latte?"/"No, I'm still working on mine" lines, Wheeler laughed. ''The Seattle Times'' ranked Janice as the best guest character of the series in 2004.
Mr. Heckles
Mr. Heckles (
Larry Hankin
Larry Hankin (born ) is an American character actor, performer, director, comedian and producer. He is known for his major film roles as Charley Butts in '' Escape from Alcatraz'' (1979), Ace in '' Running Scared'' (1986), and Carl Alphonse in ...
): Monica and Rachel's downstairs neighbor, a domineering, highly unusual elderly man who constantly complains about the noise, even though the six friends are being perfectly decent in volume whenever he claims that they are disturbing him. His reason for this is never revealed, until "The One Where Mr Heckles Dies", in which the group discover that the noises being made in their apartment are apparently amplified in his, and when Chandler hears banging coming from the above room while in Heckles' apartment (although it is never revealed exactly what the people upstairs were doing to cause the banging) it annoys him so much that he inadvertently imitates Heckles by banging on the roof with his broom.
He appears in "The One with Two Parts, Part 1"
and "The One Where the Monkey Gets Away"
before dying in "The One Where Mr. Heckles Dies".
As a last spiteful act, he leaves all of his junk to "the noisy girls in the apartment above mine". He makes a final cameo appearance in "The One with the Flashback",
set in 1993, where he complains that Phoebe's noise is disturbing his oboe practice (even though he does not actually play the oboe), and inadvertently (and cruelly) causes Joey to be Chandler's roommate. He usually states that items are his, and when the other person states that he does not have one, Mr. Heckles says that he could have one. For instance, when Rachel and Phoebe are searching for the owner of a lost cat, Mr. Heckles said "Yes, that's my cat." They told him he did not have a cat, to which he responded "I could have a cat."
He also likes to bang on the ceiling with a broom when he feels people are being too loud. This appears to be how he dies when, according to Mr. Treeger, Mr. Heckles died of a heart attack, while 'sweeping'.
His first appearance in the series was in season 1, "The One With the Blackout", where he is credited simply "as the Weird Man".
Paolo
Paolo (
Cosimo Fusco
Cosimo Massimo Fusco (born 23 September 1962) is an Italian actor.
Biography
Born in Matera, Italy, Fusco was educated in Los Angeles, Rome, and Paris. He is best known for his role as Paolo, one of Rachel's boyfriends in the American sitcom ...
): an Italian neighbor in Rachel's building, who Rachel meets and hooks up with in "The One with the Blackout".
They start dating, making Ross jealous. She dumps him after he gropes Phoebe
but has a last one-night stand with him in "The One with Ross's New Girlfriend".
In the Italian version of the show, Paolo's name is changed to Pablo and his nationality is Spanish.
Terry
Terry (
Max Wright
George Edward Maxwell Wright (August 2, 1943 – June 26, 2019) was an American actor, known for his role as Willie Tanner on the sitcom '' ALF'' (1986–1990).
Early life
Wright was born August 2, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan.
He moved to th ...
): the original manager at Central Perk before Gunther takes the title, who does not hide the fact that he thinks Rachel is a terrible waitress and Phoebe is "''so'' bad" as a musician. He denies Rachel an advance on her wages in "The One Where Underdog Gets Away"
and hires a professional musician, Stephanie Schiffer (played by
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...
of
The Pretenders
Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...
), to replace Phoebe in "The One with the Baby on the Bus".
He is last mentioned in "The One Where Rachel Quits", where he asks Rachel to retake the waitress training through Gunther, and when Rachel quits midway through the training, he promptly hires a new and more experienced waitress. He presumably retires in season 4 and from this point onwards Gunther becomes the sole manager at Central Perk. The role of Terry was intended by the NBC producers to be much bigger. They saw him as an older character who would provide advice to the six friends but NBC were talked out of it by the show's creators.
Fun Bobby
"Fun Bobby" (Robert) (
Vincent Ventresca
Vincent Paul Gerard Ventresca (born April 29, 1966) is an American actor, perhaps best known for portraying Darien Fawkes on Sci-Fi's ''The Invisible Man'', and Professor Jack Reed on NBC's ''Boston Common''. Ventresca is also known for his guest ...
): Monica's alcoholic boyfriend. In his first appearance in "The One with the Monkey",
his "fun" is sapped at Monica's New Year's party after his grandfather died, but his depression does not stop Monica, annoyed that he's "bringing her party down" from putting a party horn in his mouth and forcing him to blow on it, to his bemusement. In "The One with Russ",
the gang discovers that alcohol puts the "fun" into Fun Bobby. Monica tries to wean him off drinking but regrets it when he becomes extremely boring. Monica then begins drinking on their dates, so that she could sit through his mind-numbingly dull stories. Bobby then breaks up with Monica, stating that he is not strong enough for a co-dependent relationship. It is revealed in the episode "The One with Phoebe's Husband" that the underwear on the telephone pole was Monica's when she was having sex with Fun Bobby on the terrace.
David
![Hankazaria05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Hankazaria05.jpg)
David, "the Scientist Guy" (
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Sna ...
): a physicist with whom Phoebe falls in love in "The One with the Monkey", when he receives an academic grant for a three-year research trip to
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
(incorrectly—and consistently—described in the scripts as being in Russia, rather than Belarus).
After a quarrel with his research partner Max (Wayne Pére), Phoebe urges him to take the trip, even though it breaks her heart. Seven years later, he returns to New York for a brief visit and shares an evening with Phoebe, at the end of which he wants to say he loves her, but chooses not to as it will make it harder for him to leave.
Two years later, he returns for another visit in "The One with the Male Nanny", where he kisses Phoebe before she admits she is seeing
Mike Hannigan
Various characters appeared in the sitcom '' Friends'' and its spin-off series ''Joey'', which respectively aired for ten seasons and two seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2006. ''Friends'' featured six main cast members: Rachel Green-Geller (Jennifer ...
, who catches them together.
He returns permanently in "The One with the Donor", having failed in his research, and when he finds out that Phoebe and Mike have broken up, he and Phoebe begin dating again.
In "
The One in Barbados—Part 1", David proposes to Phoebe but is turned down in favor of Mike.
In 2003, Azaria was nominated for the
for his performance. Azaria originally auditioned for the role of Joey.
Nora Tyler Bing
Nora Tyler Bing (
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since.
Fairchild began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Search for T ...
): Chandler's mother, a best-selling erotic novelist whose works include ''Euphoria Unbound'', ''Euphoria At Midnight'' and ''Mistress Bitch''. She first appears in "The One with Mrs. Bing",
where she meets the gang while on a book tour in New York. After dinner, she kisses Ross. She makes a cameo appearance in the flashback scenes of "
The One with All the Thanksgivings
"The One with All the Thanksgivings" (also known as "The One with the Thanksgiving Flashbacks") is the eighth episode of the Friends (season 5), fifth season of ''Friends''. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on November 19, 1 ...
"
and later appears in "
The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding
"The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding" is a double length episode of the television sitcom ''Friends''. It first aired on May 17, 2001 as the finale of season seven. It is usually broadcast in a one-hour slot and presented on DVD as one compl ...
" (with
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards.
Turner became widely k ...
as Chandler's dad)
and "The One After 'I Do.
''The Seattle Times'' ranked Nora and her ex-husband jointly as the fifth best guest characters in 2004.
Ursula Buffay
Ursula Pamela Buffay (
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She rose to fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), which has since been named one of the greatest television cha ...
): Phoebe's identical twin sister who lives in
SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
. Kudrow originated the role of Ursula in the sitcom ''
Mad About You
''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...
'', playing her as an inept waitress at Riff's who frequently forgets orders.
Ursula is every bit as odd as Phoebe is, but, unlike her sister, Ursula is a selfish, amoral, abrasive, brazen and hedonistic individual who is so self-absorbed and self-centered that she often forgets things, usually treats Phoebe with disdain and is not liked by anyone who truly knows her. Phoebe refers to Ursula as her "
evil twin". She first appears in ''Friends'' in "The One with Two Parts":
Chandler and Joey are eating at Riff's and mistake Ursula for Phoebe. Joey becomes attracted to Ursula and they start dating. Ursula tells Phoebe that she is bored with Joey and claims that he is smart enough to figure this out on his own without her having to actually tell him, so Phoebe pretends to be her sister to let Joey down gently. In the same episode,
Helen Hunt
Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Hunt rose to fame portraying Jam ...
and
Leila Kenzle
Leila Kenzle (born July 16, 1960) is an American therapist and former actress best known for her role as Fran Devanow on ''Mad About You''.
Leila Kenzle was born in Patchogue, Long Island, New York, the daughter of Lee, an antiques dealer, an ...
cameo as their ''
Mad About You
''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...
'' characters
Jamie Buchman and
Fran Devanow, in a scene where they mistake Phoebe for Ursula in Central Perk. Ursula next appears briefly in "The One with the Jam",
where she is being stalked by Malcolm (
David Arquette
David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster Enter ...
) who mistakes Phoebe for her. Phoebe naively begins a relationship with the man in question, but ends it with him when he cannot get over his obsession with Ursula. In "The One with the Jellyfish"
Phoebe tells Ursula that she has met their birth mother (
Teri Garr
Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...
), but Ursula already knows about her. In "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry",
Phoebe starts getting unwanted attention from men, and discovers that Ursula is starring in pornographic films using Phoebe's name, including a film called ''Buffay The Vampire Layer''. Phoebe gets revenge by claiming Ursula's paychecks and embarrassing her many male fans. Flashbacks in "The One Where They All Turn Thirty"
reveal that Ursula sold Phoebe's birth certificate to a Swedish runaway, and that both sisters are thirty-one, not thirty. In "The One with the Halloween Party",
Ursula introduces Phoebe to Eric (
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
), her fiancé. Phoebe is horrified that Ursula has lied to Eric that she is a teacher, a member of the
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
, a non-smoker, and attends a church group; so she tells Eric the truth, upon which he breaks up with Ursula. The series finale of ''
Mad About You
''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...
'', set 22 years into the future, reveals that Ursula becomes
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
.
Mindy Hunter-Farber
Mindy Hunter-Farber (
Jennifer Grey
Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film ''Reckless'' (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986). She subsequently earned worldwide ...
in "The One with the Evil Orthodontist",
Jana Marie Hupp
Jana Marie Hupp (born April 2, 1964) is an American actress.
Born in Spokane, Washington, she studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts and the Western Washington University and worked on stage in theatre productions in Seattle. She later ...
in "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding"
): Rachel's maid of honor at her abortive wedding to Barry. Mindy and Rachel were best friends while growing up and their friendship is tested after Rachel discovers Mindy and Barry are seeing each other. She asks Rachel to be her maid of honor and dress in a garish pink dress. Mindy marries Barry in "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding";
but he later cheats on her and she has divorced him by "The One That Could Have Been, Part 1".
Ben Geller
Ben Geller (Various actors, 1995–1999;
Cole Sprouse
Cole Mitchell Sprouse (born August 4, 1992) is an American actor and photographer. He is known for his role as Cody Martin on the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' (2005–2008) and its spin-off series ''The Suite Life on ...
, 2000–2002): Ross and Carol's son, born during "
The One with the Birth
The first season of '' Friends'', an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. ''Friends'' was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. ...
".
Ben is played as an infant by Michael Gunderson, by brothers Charles Thomas Allen and John Christopher Allen from season 3 to 5, and by Sprouse from season 6 to 8.
Julie
![Lauren Tom by Gage Skidmore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Lauren_Tom_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
Julie (
Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom (born August 4, 1961) is an American actress. Her roles include Lena St. Clair in '' The Joy Luck Club'', Julie in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', Dot in the final season of ''Grace Under Fire'', and the voices for Amy Wong in ''Futurama'' ...
): an old graduate school colleague of Ross, whom he meets again while on a trip to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
; she first appears in the final scene of the season 1 finale.
They start dating but break up soon after, when Ross reveals he loves Rachel.
During the entire time Julie and Ross were dating, Rachel hated the relationship because about a week before Ross came home from China, Rachel discovered that Ross was in love with her. This made Rachel's feelings for Ross grow at a fast rate, making her jealous of Julie's relationship with him. The scene where Rachel speaks slowly to Julie at the airport was based upon the real-life experience of actress Lauren Tom.
Steve
Steve (
Jon Lovitz
Jonathan Michael Lovitz (; born July 21, 1957) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1990. Lovitz starred as Jay Sherman in ''The Critic'' and played a baseball scout in ''A League of The ...
): a restaurant owner and drug addict whom Phoebe knows. In 1995, Monica tries to impress him in an attempt to get a job at his restaurant, and Phoebe tells him he is welcome to go to her apartment and try her food there, but he gets stoned on the journey there and consequently acts obnoxious. At the end of the episode, Phoebe punishes him by giving him a very painful massage.
His drug problem eventually causes him to lose his restaurant, and, in 2003, Phoebe later fixes Rachel up with him (and Ross with nobody) on a blind date, as part of a secret strategy to get Rachel and Ross back together.
Ugly Naked Guy
Ugly Naked Guy (Jon Haugen): A tenant in the apartment in the building across from Monica's apartment—who frequently, perhaps invariably, is naked with the drapes open—so the gang is frequently commenting on his activities—playing cello, wearing "gravity boots", etc. He is first mentioned in the second episode of the series,
but only appears twice: first, his belly and an arm are shown in "The One with the Giant Poking Device"
—in which he is being poked from across the street by the gang (who think he is dead) with a long device made from chopsticks; second, a rear view of him from head to waist is shown in "The One Where Everybody Finds Out"
(his final show)—in which he is moving out of his apartment and Ross tries to get the apartment by ingratiating himself with Ugly Naked Guy by cavorting with him in the nude. (In "The One with the Flashback",
it is learned that he used to be "Hot Naked Guy", but then, in 1993, started putting on weight).
For many years, the identity of the actor that played him in his extremely limited appearances was a mystery. It was speculated that
Michael G. Hagerty
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
, the actor who played Mr. Treeger, was Ugly Naked Guy. However, Hagerty denied this theory. On May 31, 2016, an article was published by Todd Van Luling in ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', detailing his search for the identity of Ugly Naked Guy. His article revealed that an actor named Jon Haugen played the role.
Introduced in season 2
Mr. Treeger
Mr. Treeger (
Michael G. Hagerty
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
): the superintendent of Monica's building, who first appears in "The One Where Heckles Dies",
when he shows Mr. Heckles's lawyer to Monica and Rachel's apartment. He next appears in "The One with Phoebe's Dad",
in which Ross thinks he is soliciting a bribe to fix Monica and Rachel's broken radiator (after they gave cookies instead of cash as Christmas tips and angered most of the servicepeople), when in fact Treeger actually appreciated the personal touch of the cookies. In season 4, when Joey rebuffs him for (gently) insulting Rachel in a moment of pique,
he threatens to have Monica and Rachel evicted unless Joey helps him practice ballroom dancing to impress a woman. In "The One with the Free Porn",
he cleans the shower drain of Chandler and Joey's newly won apartment, and warns them never to turn off their TV after they start receiving free porn. In his final on-screen appearance,
he has a fireman break down the door to Monica's apartment after Joey tells him he smells gas while she and Chandler are away on their honeymoon.
Estelle Leonard
Estelle Leonard (
June Gable
June Gable (born June Golub) is an American character actress, perhaps best known for her role as Joey's agent Estelle Leonard in the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. She also played a Nurse in the delivery room in season 1 episode 23 “The One With The B ...
): Joey's talent agent. She is usually seen wearing colorful clothes, heavy make-up, and a
bouffant
A bouffant () is a type of puffy, rounded hairstyle characterized by hair raised high on the head and usually covering the ears or hanging down on the sides.
Etymology
The English word ''bouffant'' comes from the French ''bouffante'', from ...
. She chain smokes and has a strong New York accent. Gable's first appearance as Estelle, in "The One with the Butt",
was cut for time, though the character appears off-screen when she signs Joey and lands him his first film role, playing Al Pacino's butt-double. The cut scene is included in the episode's DVD release. Her first on-screen appearance comes in season 2's "The One with Russ",
where she gets Joey a recurring part in ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
''. Although she is shown to be supportive of Joey's career throughout the show, in "The One Where Joey Loses His Health Insurance"
it is suggested she has instead been bad-mouthing him after mistakenly assuming he has found another agent. She dies in the final season,
and Joey speaks at her memorial service, where it is revealed that by that point she represented only two clients — Joey and a man whose act is eating paper.
When Gable auditioned for the role, she played Estelle quite plainly and was encouraged to "go away and do something with her". She returned to the audition room wearing a "fat suit" and eating a sandwich from a delicatessen, which she stubbed out a cigarette on. The performance was used in the deleted scene of "The One with the Butt".
Her age is never given but Gable believed that she was in her 80s. In 2004, ''The Seattle Times'' ranked Estelle as the sixth-best guest character of the series.
Gable also plays the nurse who delivers Ben in "The One with the Birth".
Richard Burke
![Tom Selleck 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Tom_Selleck_2010.jpg)
Dr. Richard Burke (
Tom Selleck
Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...
): an
ophthalmologist
Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...
and close friend of Jack Geller. Richard is introduced when Monica caters an event for him in "The One Where Ross and Rachel … You Know".,
and they begin dating despite their 21-year age difference. Ross is initially upset, but becomes supportive of their relationship, especially when Monica decides to tell their parents. This does not go well at first, but even Monica's parents have to admit that they've never seen Richard happier and that he's not just "fooling around" with a younger woman.
He and Monica break up in "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding"
when he tells her he does not want more children, his own having already grown up (and had children of their own). Despite the two still being in love, they cannot reconcile this difference, and are both devastated for months. He makes a brief voice cameo in "
The One Where No One's Ready
"The One Where No One's Ready" is the second episode of the third season of the American television sitcom '' Friends'' and 50th overall, which aired on NBC on September 26, 1996. The plot centers on Ross's (David Schwimmer) anxiety as his frie ...
",
and later they briefly attempt to rekindle their romance as "friends" before accepting that the reasons they broke up remain valid.
In "
The One in Vegas
"The One in Vegas" is a double length episode of '' Friends'' fifth season. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on May 20, 1999, as the finale of season five.
Plot Part I
Joey works at Caesars Palace as a costumed "atmospher ...
", Monica and Richard bump into each other off-screen and have lunch together. Monica does not feel anything for Richard but refrains from telling Chandler because of their upcoming anniversary. When he learns the truth, they fight for most of the episode until Monica assures Chandler that she will never see Richard again. In "
The One with the Proposal
"The One with the Proposal" is a double length episode of the television situation comedy '' Friends''. It first aired on May 18, 2000,Highlights from television’s most popular sitcom’s 10 memorable season," ''The Plain Dealer'' (Cleveland, O ...
",
he runs into Monica and Chandler at dinner. While Chandler is planning to propose but pretends to be against marriage because he "wants it to be a surprise", Richard stuns Monica by telling her that he still loves her, and wants to marry her and have kids with her. Monica rejects him but later arrives at his apartment, frustrated with her own situation. She complains to him for a bit about how bad things are going in her love life before leaving to think things over. Eventually, Chandler comes to his apartment searching for Monica and tells Richard of his own proposal plan. Richard seems to lack sympathy for Chandler at first, responding to Chandler explaining away his plan to make her initially think he was against marriage by stating it had "worked very well" but when Chandler angrily tells him he has no right to ruin another man's relationship with her because he's already ruined his own, he realizes Chandler is right and tells him, "You go get her, Chandler. And can I give you a bit of advice? If you get her, don't let her go. Trust me" — noting that he hates the fact that he is a nice guy when Chandler thanks him. His apartment is put up for sale in season 9, in "The One with Ross's Inappropriate Song",
but Richard is not seen. While there, Chandler finds out that Richard made a
sex tape
Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is made porn that seeks to em ...
with Monica which he steals and watches, but he and Monica later discover that Richard taped over her, relieving Chandler but leaving Monica feeling insulted.
All of Selleck's entrances in season 2 had to be refilmed after the audience left because "it was like The Beatles with the screaming and the applause". Selleck was nominated for the
in 2000 for his appearance in "The One with the Proposal". In 2004, ''The Seattle Times'' ranked Richard as the third-best guest character of the series.
Sandra Green
![Marlo Thomas - 1968](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Marlo_Thomas_-_1968.jpg)
Sandra Green (
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her children's franchise '' Free to Be... You and ...
): Rachel's overprotective mother. In "The One with the Lesbian Wedding",
she announces to Rachel that she never loved Rachel's father and is divorcing him. ("You didn't marry your Barry, honey—but ''I'' married ''mine''.") She later accompanies everyone to Carol and Susan's wedding. In "The One with the Two Parties",
she arrives at Rachel's birthday party and is unaware for the whole night that her ex-husband is also there, as the six friends successfully prevent them from finding out each other are there by setting up two different parties, bemusing them both with their strange, wacky behavior in the process; Joey even ends up kissing Sandra to distract her from her ex-husband's departure. In "The One with the Baby Shower",
she is invited at the last minute to attend Rachel's baby shower, where she offers to move in with Ross and Rachel to help with the baby's first months; Rachel first accepts, then Ross makes her change her mind. When Rachel was planning to move to Paris, Sandra would fly out with Emma a few days later. However this never happens as Rachel chooses to remain in New York with Ross.
For her appearance in "The One with the Lesbian Wedding", Thomas was nominated for the
in 1996.
Frances
Frances (
Audra Lindley
Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off ''The Ropers''.
Life and career
Audra Lindley was born ...
): Phoebe's grandmother by her mother Lily. Her only appearance is in "The One with Phoebe's Dad",
where she reveals to Phoebe that the person in the pictures she keeps around the house is not Phoebe's father, which motivates Phoebe to try to track down her real father. When Phoebe leaves Frances’ house to go and find her father, she kisses goodbye to a picture of her "grandfather", which is in fact a picture of
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
. Though the character appears in only one episode, she is mentioned in a few more, including in season 5's "The One with Joey's Bag",
where it is revealed that she has recently died and Phoebe plans her funeral. Phoebe inherits her grandmother's yellow taxi and apartment. She keeps the taxi until the very end of the series.
Frank Buffay Jr.
Frank Buffay Jr. (
Giovanni Ribisi
Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), ''Ted'' (2012) and its sequel ''Ted 2'' (201 ...
): Phoebe and Ursula's half-brother by their father. In "The One with the Bullies",
Phoebe meets him after finding the courage to knock on her father's suburban door, but learns from Frank Jr.'s mother (played by
Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman (born March 2, 1952) is an American actress, writer and comedian. She was part of the original cast of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. She took an interest at improv in high school. After graduating, she studied mime with Marcel M ...
) that her father walked out several years ago. Despite not finding her father, she connects with Frank Jr. who later visits the city
where he hits on Jasmine, one of Phoebe's coworkers, and mistakes her massage parlor for a whorehouse. He eventually falls in love with and becomes engaged to Alice Knight (
Debra Jo Rupp
Debra Jo Rupp (born February 24, 1951) is an American actress best known for her roles as Kitty Forman on the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'' and its sequel series ''That '90s Show'', and Alice Knight-Buffay on the third through fifth seasons of ...
), his former home-economics teacher who is 26 years his senior.
In "The One With Phoebe's Uterus",
Frank and Alice ask Phoebe to be a surrogate mother for their child, and she later gives birth to their triplets, whom she then says goodbye to in an emotional scene in "
The One Hundredth
"The One Hundredth" (also known as "The One with the Triplets") is the third episode of ''Friends'' fifth season and 100th episode overall. It first aired on the NBC network in the United States on October 8, 1998. Continuing from the previous ...
".
Frank makes a final appearance in "The One Where Ross is Fine",
when he and the triplets meet Phoebe at Central Perk. In the episode, he claims he "hasn't slept in four years" and is so exhausted with raising the triplets he even proposed that Phoebe take one for her own. However, he soon realizes he loves his children too much to give any of them up; Phoebe proposes to start babysitting them so that Frank and Alice can enjoy some more time off.
Previously, Ribisi appeared in "The One with the Baby on the Bus" as a stranger who leaves a condom rather than money in Phoebe's guitar case when she is singing on the street, then comes back to retrieve it. It was never addressed if this was intended to be the same character as Frank, who had not yet been introduced by name.
In 2004, ''The Seattle Times'' ranked Frank as the fourth-best guest character of the series.
Alice was only scheduled to appear in the one episode but was brought back for a recurring role after the surrogacy storyline—which was created when actor Lisa Kudrow became pregnant.
Leonard Green
Dr. Leonard Green (
Ron Leibman
Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Amer ...
): Rachel, Jill and Amy's father, a surly, abrasive and rather amoral
vascular surgeon
Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries, veins and lymphatic circulation, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty ...
; although he is genuinely affectionate and usually good-natured towards his daughter, he is generally a nasty, mean-spirited bully who is quick to insult anyone who, even by accident, irritates him in the slightest way. He takes an instant dislike to his daughter's boyfriend Ross when the latter refers to Green's profession as "a game".
Later, when Ross and Rachel conceive a child (Emma), he becomes furious that they're not engaged because he does not want his grandchild to be a
bastard
Bastard may refer to:
Parentage
* Illegitimate child, a child born to unmarried parents
** Bastard (law of England and Wales), illegitimacy in English law
People People with the name
* Bastard (surname), including a list of people with that na ...
and ends up going to Ross' apartment and shouting at him because Rachel (who is afraid of Leonard's anger) lied to him and claimed that Ross refused to ask her to marry him, leading Rachel to eventually clarify the situation for him. However, he is still angry at her and believes love to be insignificant in a marriage.
He has a heart attack in "The One Where Joey Speaks French"
and is recovering in the hospital when Rachel arrives with Ross, who he once again treated with contempt.
Although Leonard, like his daughter Amy, was a deliberately unpleasant and unlikeable character, the comic relief he provided caused him, again like his daughter Amy, to become memorable as a character fans "loved to hate." As of 2020, Ron Leibman is the only one of the actors playing the group's parents to have died.
Introduced in season 3
Mark Robinson
Mark Robinson (
Steven Eckholdt
Steven Eckholdt (born September 6, 1961) is an American actor. He has appeared in many television series and film roles. He is best known as Saun in ''The Runnin' Kind'', Patrick Flannigan in ''L.A. Law'', Mark Robinson in '' Friends, ''and Dou ...
) first appears in "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister", offering to get Rachel an interview at Bloomingdale's after overhearing her complaining to Monica about her current job. Ross is immediately jealous of Mark, and this, combined with Rachel's staggering obliviousness to Mark's obvious crush on her, puts a strain on their relationship, as Ross overcompensates by smothering Rachel. Although Mark quits Bloomingdale's for a different job in "The One With Phoebe's Ex-Partner", he and Rachel make plans to attend a fashion seminar together. After Ross and Rachel fight and Rachel suggests "taking a break," Mark insists, over Rachel's protests, on coming to her apartment to comfort her (doing the same thing she had been mad at Ross for doing: not listening to her wishes and doing whatever he wants); when Ross calls and overhears Mark's voice, he mistakenly believes Mark is there to have sex with Rachel and, believing that their relationship is now over, gets drunk and sleeps with Chloe.
Weeks after their breakup, Mark asks Rachel on a date and she accepts, but she ultimately rejects his advances when she realizes she only accepted to get back at Ross.
After saying that he will "get back at
oss
OSS or Oss may refer to:
Places
* Oss, a city and municipality in the Netherlands
* Osh Airport, IATA code OSS
People with the name
* Oss (surname), a surname
Arts and entertainment
* ''O.S.S.'' (film), a 1946 World War II spy film about ...
by himself later, Mark is not seen again until season 10, "The One with Princess Consuela",
where he encounters Rachel and Ross after she has been fired from
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...
, and takes her out to dinner where he offers her a new job with
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its produc ...
in Paris. Ross fails to recognize him but becomes jealous all over again once reminded, even declaring his extreme hatred of Mark and forbids Rachel of going to dinner with him and with both of Ross and Rachel's breakups in seasons 3 and 4, both of which Mark was responsible for, oddly being unmentioned. It is also revealed that since his previous appearance he has married and had kids (twins, actually) – once informed of this, an embarrassed Ross wonders: "Should we send something?" Though Ross attempts to counter Mark's job offer by getting Rachel her job back at Ralph Lauren, he eventually relents upon realizing Rachel wants to go to Paris. However, when Ross confesses to Rachel at the airport that he is still in love with her, Rachel gets off the plane at the last minute to reunite with him, turning down Mark's job offer.
Sophie
Sophie (
Laura Dean): Mark's replacement. Sophie is frequently victimized by her boss Joanna and occasionally bewildered by ridiculous comments from Chandler (who had a brief relationship with Joanna). In the episode "The One Where They're Going to ''Party!''",
she is ecstatic about Joanna's death.
Joanna
Joanna (
Alison LaPlaca
Alison La Placa (born December 16, 1959) is an American actress best known for the role of acid-tongued yuppie Linda Phillips in the Fox sitcoms '' Duet'' and its spin-off '' Open House'', both of which aired in the late 1980s.
Biography
Earl ...
): Rachel's boss, who despite being occasionally bewildered by his ridiculous comments, dates Chandler in two episodes (once in season 3,
once in season 4
). She is hostile to her assistant, Sophie, but usually good-natured towards Rachel. After deliberately sabotaging Rachel's promotion in order to keep her, she finally offers Rachel a promotion within her own department,
but is knocked down and killed by a cab before she can effect it.
Doug
Douglas "Doug" (
Sam McMurray
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional ...
): Chandler's new boss in "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion".
Doug enjoys calling Chandler "''Bing!''" and slapping his male colleagues on the butt. Monica and Chandler play a game of tennis with Doug and his wife, who are left exhausted, irritated and bewildered by Monica's ridiculously overly-competitive attitude in "The One with Chandler's Work Laugh" (January 21, 1999; season 5, No. 12). In this episode, it is implied that he, his wife, and the rest of Chandler's co-workers all dislike Joey, whom Chandler claims damaged his reputation in their eyes (presumably with all his stupidity) after he invited him to a work office party, damage repaired by Monica when he invited her to a different one. In "The One with Ross's Step Forward" (airdate December 13; 2001; season 8, No. 11), he invites Monica and Chandler to dinner to celebrate his divorce. To get out of it, Chandler pretends that he wants to be on his own because he and Monica have split up but it backfires when Doug, who despite his seemingly cheerful and relieved attitude towards his divorce is in reality clearly depressed over it, tries to cheer Chandler up by taking him to strip clubs, drunkenly throwing cans at birds and throwing (Doug's) wedding ring into the gutter (Chandler had refused Doug's offer at first, but then made the mistake of thoughtlessly stating his reason for this as being that Monica would not appreciate it, only to then be forced to correct himself upon seeing Doug's confused expression). It is also revealed in this episode that he urinated on an
ice sculpture
Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because ...
during Monica and Chandler's engagement party, and this is why he was not invited to the wedding.
Bonnie
Bonnie (
Christine Taylor
Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', ''The Wedding Singer'', ''Z ...
): Phoebe's formerly bald friend, first mentioned in the episode "The One with the Candy Hearts" (although referred to as 'Abby' then), whom she sets up with Ross in "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion". Rachel met Bonnie two years prior to the events of this episode, and remembers her as a "weird bald chick"; however, when Rachel meets her she is horrified to see that her hair has actually grown back and she is actually a very attractive woman. Since Rachel still has feelings for Ross, she, in a successful attempt to sabotage his relationship with Bonnie, convinces her to shave her hair off again in "The One at the Beach" (airdate May 15, 1997; season 3, No. 25). She makes a brief appearance at the beginning of "The One with the Jellyfish", when Ross decides to dump her and get back together with Rachel. He implies that he made a dreadful mess of breaking up with her, both upsetting and enraging her in the process.
Phoebe Abbott
![Teri Garr - signed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Teri_Garr_-_signed.jpg)
Phoebe Abbott (
Teri Garr
Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is an American former actress, dancer, and comedian. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accola ...
): Phoebe's birth mother. Phoebe tracks her down in "The One at the Beach", believing her to be a friend of Lily's. She reveals her parentage at the end of the episode and makes amends with Phoebe in "The One with the Jellyfish". Later, when Phoebe wants to be a surrogate mother for Frank and Alice's child,
she lends Phoebe her puppy to demonstrate how difficult it is to give up children after carrying them.
The Chick and the Duck
The Chick and the Duck (
live animal actors): Chandler and Joey's pet birds. In "The One With a Chick and a Duck", Joey adopts a
chick
Chick or chicks may refer to:
*Chick (young bird), a bird that has not yet reached adulthood
People
* Chick (nickname), a list of people
* Chick (surname), various people
* Chick McGee, stage name of radio personality Charles Dean Hayes (born 19 ...
from an animal sanctuary, misunderstanding a news report about people who buy chicks and then find they cannot properly care for them. Encouraged by Phoebe to return the chick, but discovering that the animals would be
euthanized
Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...
, Chandler, who went to give the chick back, returns home with the chick and a duck. Chandler and Joey treat the chick and the duck as their own children—at one point, Chandler punishes the duck by sending him out to the hall ("You stay out here and think about what you did!").
Chandler briefly names the chick "Yasmine", after ''
Baywatch
''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...
'' actress
Yasmine Bleeth
Yasmine Amanda Bleeth (born June 14, 1968) is an American actress and model. Her television roles include Caroline Holden on ''Baywatch'', Ryan Fenelli on ''Ryan's Hope'', and LeeAnn Demerest on ''One Life to Live''.
Early life and career
Blee ...
(the chick later, however, turns out to be a rooster, not a hen); and in "The One With Ross's Thing", Chandler refers to the possible offspring of the duck and the chick as "Dick", while Joey refers to it as "Chuck". By season 6 the animals disappeared; the duck was mentioned but not seen in season 7. In the final episode of the series,
Joey bought Chandler a new duckling and chick as a housewarming gift—which Joey names "Duck Jr." and "Chick Jr."—and it is revealed that the original birds died a while ago, and Chandler, not wanting Joey to be upset about it, told him that they had gone to live on a farm, where visitors were not allowed.
Introduced in season 4
Stu
Stuart "Stu" (
Fred Stoller
Fred Stoller (born March 19, 1958) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and author. He is best known for portraying Gerard on ''Everybody Loves Raymond''. He is also the voice of Stanley in the ''Open Season'' series, Fred the Squirrel in ' ...
): a waiter at the restaurant Allesandro's, where Monica gets a job in "The One Where They're Going to Party!" In "The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie" (airdate December 18, 1997; season 4, No. 10), Stu leads a kitchen staff rebellion against Monica (his motivation being partly that she had written an extremely critical review of the restaurant's food and service in the paper prior to being hired to work there herself, which he and the rest of the staff had felt publicly humiliated by and partly that a member of his family lost his job after she replaced him as the head chef), locking her in a cold storage room and writing insults on her chef's hat. Monica hires Joey as a stooge so she can show her authority in front of the staff by firing him in front of them all, and the rebellion soon ends. In "The One with the Stripper",
Stu gives Monica the phone number of someone she assumes is a stripper for Chandler's belated bachelor party, though she turns out to be a prostitute.
Emily Waltham
Emily Waltham (
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale (born 7 June 1970) is an English actress of stage and television, known for her roles as Rachel Bradley in the British comedy drama '' Cold Feet'' (1997–2003), and Emily Waltham in the American sitcom '' Friends'' (19 ...
): The English niece of Rachel's boss Mr. Waltham, who arrives for a two-week visit to New York in "The One with Joey's Dirty Day". She has a whirlwind romance with Ross and they decide to get married. Her friendly relationship with Rachel soon changes during the wedding. The friends fly to London for their wedding in "The One with Ross's Wedding" (airdate May 7, 1998; season 4, No. 23 & 24), and Ross accidentally says Rachel's name at the altar, humiliating Emily in front of her friends and family. She aims to reconcile with him at the airport in "The One After Ross Says Rachel" (airdate September 24, 1998; season 5, No. 1) but sees Rachel with him about to go on their honeymoon and storms out again. Ross tries to convince her to move to New York.
She agrees but makes him promise to get rid of everything Rachel has ever come into physical contact with, in the friends' apartments, which would be virtually impossible, and she demands that he never see Rachel again. When she learns that he's having dinner with the old gang—including Rachel—she tells him she cannot trust him and she decides to end the marriage. She makes a final voice cameo in "The One with the Ride Along",
when she leaves a message on Ross's answering machine the night before her new wedding, telling him she is having second thoughts about it and is worried that they made a mistake splitting up. Rachel accidentally deletes the message, but tells Ross about it and convinces him not to respond to it. Emily's surname is that of the city where both creators of the show attended college.
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and was the lead singer of the pop band Eighth Wonder in the 1980s.
Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Bird ...
was originally approached to play the role but turned it down. Emily and Ross's marriage was intended to last much longer in the series, but Helen Baxendale became pregnant prior to season 5 and was unable to travel for the show; hence, her limited appearances after season 4.
Helen Baxendale was asked to reprise the role in season 10, but turned it down to star in the West End play ''
After Miss Julie
''After Miss Julie'' is a 1995 play by Patrick Marber which relocates August Strindberg's naturalist tragedy, ''Miss Julie'' (1888), to an English country house in July 1945. The re-imagining of the events of Strindberg's original are transposed ...
'', and because she did not want the same level of tabloid attention she received in 1998.
Stephen and Andrea Waltham
Stephen (
Tom Conti
Tommaso Antonio Conti (born 22 November 1941) is a Scottish actor, theatre director, and novelist. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1979 for his performance in '' Whose Life Is It Anyway?'' and was nominated for the Academy Aw ...
) and Andrea Waltham (
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...
): Emily's father and shrewish stepmother, introduced in "The One with Ross's Wedding, Part 2". Their marriage is icy and they openly treat one another with disdain. They are equally hostile towards Jack and Judy Geller when the Gellers refuse to pay for their house to be remodelled after the wedding reception. When the wedding takes place, like all of the guests they are shocked and utterly dumbfounded when Ross accidentally says Rachel's name instead of Emily's during the vows. In "The One After Ross Says 'Rachel'", Stephen angrily tells Ross that consequently Emily has gone into hiding after escaping out of the bathroom window and now feels humiliated, but this does not stop Andrea from telling Ross in front of him that she thinks he (Ross) is "delicious". Andrea's final words onscreen are, to Ross, "Call me." Stephen's final words onscreen, to Andrea in response to her flirting with Ross, are "You spend half your life in the bathroom-why don't you ever go out the bloody window?!"
Jennifer Saunders co-star in ''
Absolutely Fabulous
''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...
'',
June Whitfield
Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress.
Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
, makes a cameo appearance as the Waltham's housekeeper in "The One With Ross's Wedding".
Introduced in season 5
Mr. Zelner
Mr. Zelner (Steve Ireland): an executive at Polo Ralph Lauren, who interviews Rachel while at the same time finding her quirks hard to deal with in "The One with Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss".
After Rachel is promoted in season 7, he becomes a recurring character. In "The One with Princess Consuela", he fires Rachel after overhearing her interview with a Gucci representative.
Ross tries to get Rachel her job back by bribing Zelner: Zelner has a son called Ross who likes dinosaurs. Ross says his name is "Ron", shocked to hear that Zelner's son is also named Ross.
Kim
Kim (
Joanna Gleason
Joanna Gleason (née Hall; born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is a Tony Award–winning musical theatre actress and has also had a number of notable film and TV roles. She's known for originating the role of the Baker's Wife ...
): a colleague of Rachel's at
Polo Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren Corporation is an American publicly traded fashion company that was founded in 1967 by American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. The company is headquartered in New York City, producing products ranging from the mid-range to the luxur ...
. In "The One Where Rachel Smokes", Rachel thinks she is missing out on important decisions, as they are always made when Kim takes a smoking break. She tries to take up smoking so she can stay in the loop but is unsuccessful when Kim, initially bewildered by Rachel's wacky behavior throughout her attempts to join her while she is smoking, threatens to fire her if she keeps damaging her health.
Later, Kim thinks Rachel kissed
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...
in order to take her job, when it was really Phoebe who kissed "Kenny the copy guy". After unsuccessfully trying to deny the affair, Rachel pretends Ralph dumped her. Kim believes her when she sees what she thinks is a cold look from Ralph (appearing as himself) in the elevator.
Introduced in season 6
''Note'': All characters who were introduced in this season did not re-appear in further seasons. Consequently, they are listed in the section on this page "
Only in season 6".
Introduced in season 7
Tag Jones
![Cahill, Eddie (USAF)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Cahill%2C_Eddie_%28USAF%29.jpg)
Tag Jones (
Eddie Cahill
Edmund Patrick Cahill (born January 15, 1978) is an American actor known for portraying "Miracle on Ice" goalie Jim Craig in the 2004 film ''Miracle'', and for playing the roles of Tag Jones in ''Friends'' and Detective Don Flack in ''CSI: NY.' ...
): Rachel's inexperienced but attractive new assistant at Polo Ralph Lauren. She hires him after being promoted, not because he is the best choice for the job but because she is smitten with him.
After he also becomes interested in her they try to keep their relationship a secret from her boss Zelner; otherwise Tag's employment would be a conflict of interest.
In "The One Where They All Turn Thirty" Rachel breaks up with Tag when she realizes that their six-year age difference makes him too young and immature for her to be dating if she intends to follow her marriage schedule.
He reappears in "The One with the Red Sweater" in season eight when Phoebe thinks he is the father of Rachel's unborn baby. He tells Rachel that he has matured a lot since their break-up and wants to resume their relationship, but backs off when he finds out she is pregnant by someone else. He later meets up with Ross—who is the real father and is wearing the same kind of red sweater.
Charles Bing/Helena Handbasket
Charles Bing/Helena Handbasket (
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Tony Awards.
Turner became widely k ...
): Chandler's gay drag-queen father and Nora's ex-husband, regularly referred to as an
unseen character
An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and wh ...
in previous seasons. Determined to invite him to their wedding in "The One with Chandler's Dad", Monica drags Chandler to Charles' burlesque show in Las Vegas, where he is seen for the first time, performing under the name "Helena Handbasket". Chandler invites him to the wedding,
and he and Nora walk Chandler down the aisle in "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding, Part 1".
He does not appear at the reception in "The One After 'I Do,
though a deleted scene reveals he is upstairs crying after Joey accidentally ruined his dress.
Introduced in season 8
Emma
Emma Geller-Green (Cali Sheldon & Noelle Sheldon): Rachel and Ross' infant daughter. Though Ross had originally wanted to name his daughter "Isabella", Rachel wound up in tears when she decided that the name did not suit the baby and was dismayed by her other remaining choice,
Delilah
Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...
. Monica graciously suggests "Emma", the name she had chosen for her own future daughter when she was fourteen, but concedes that since "''Nothing'' goes with 'Bing', so I'm screwed," Rachel can give the name to her own daughter.
Introduced in season 9
Mike Hannigan
![Paul Rudd (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Paul_Rudd_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Michael "Mike" Hannigan (
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in ...
): Phoebe's boyfriend and later husband: in "The One with the Pediatrician" (airdate October 10, 2002; season 9, No. 3), Joey and Phoebe decide to go on a double date, promising to fix each other up with blind dates. However, Joey forgets about Phoebe's date, and wanting to prevent her from discovering this when she enquires about the name of the man he has fixed her up with, he pretends that someone called "Mike" will be her date. He then enters the coffee shop and desperately yells "Mike!" Mike Hannigan replies and is roped into the date, which does not go well as Mike accidentally makes it clear that he does not actually know Joey personally, and Joey tries to recover the situation, consequently upsetting Phoebe and turning off his own blind date Mary-Ellen in the process. Mike feels sorry for Phoebe as he watches her leave and when he spots her again in the coffee shop the next day, he speaks to her and explains that he allowed himself to be roped into the date "because I was told that I'd get a free dinner-which I didn't-and that I'd meet a pretty girl-which I did." A flattered Phoebe does not turn him down when he asks her out on a second date,
which is equally bad thanks to Ross, who accidentally upsets Phoebe before it can begin, causing her to spend rather a lot of the night crying on Mike's shoulder. Ross goes to Mike's house and tries to explain to him that he had accidentally upset Phoebe, which sets off a chain of ridiculous events that result in Mike ultimately deciding he has feelings for Phoebe, and eventually, they decide to move in together;
Phoebe suggests that one day they could get married but he tells her that, after his messy divorce, he never wants to get married again, which results in them breaking up. Emotionally unable to be apart from each other, they reconcile in "The One with the Memorial Service" (airdate March 13, 2003; season 9, No. 17). In "The One in Barbados, Part 1", Monica summons Mike to Barbados, where he proposes to Phoebe at the same time as David. She turns both men down but admits that Mike is the man she wants to be with. Subsequently, Mike has to break up with Precious (
Anne Dudek
Anne Louise Dudek (born March 22, 1975) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Tiffany Wilson in the 2004 film ''White Chicks'', Danielle Brookson in the USA Network television series ''Covert Affairs'', Dr. Amber Volakis on the Fox ...
), the girl he has been seeing since breaking up with Phoebe, but Phoebe (who annoys Precious by calling her "Susie") convinces Precious to dump ''him'' instead.
In "The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits" (airdate October 30, 2003; season 10, No. 5), he proposes to her, and they are married soon after by Joey.
When Phoebe briefly changes her name to "Princess Consuela Bananahammock",
he suggests changing his name to "Crap Bag" making her change it back. He makes a brief appearance in "The Last One", bringing over a "Welcome to the World, Baby Bing" banner to Monica and Chandler's and tells Phoebe that he also wants to have a baby, to which Phoebe agrees.
Theodore and Bitsy Hannigan
Theodore and Bitsy Hannigan (
Gregory Itzin
Gregory Martin Itzin (April 20, 1948 – July 8, 2022) was an American character actor of film and television best known for his role as U.S. President Charles Logan in the action thriller series '' 24''.
Early life
Itzin was born in Washing ...
and
Cristine Rose
Cristine Sue Rose (born January 31, 1951), sometimes credited as Christine Rose, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Angela Petrelli on the hit NBC science fiction drama ''Heroes''.
Early life
Rose was born in Lynwood, ...
): Mike's rich, haughty parents. He introduces Phoebe to them,
and soon after they make it clear that they do not approve of Phoebe due to being both irritated and bewildered by her odd quirks, but Mike defies them and declares his love for her in front of his parents and their two "sinfully boring" friends (who are likewise bemused by the odd quirks of Phoebe). They later meet Joey, who confuses and bemuses them with his comments about how nice it is that "their little ones are growing up" (Phoebe had told him he was "like a dad" to her) and later attend the wedding in "The One with Phoebe's Wedding". His father “crushes a pill” into his wife's drink at the wedding so that she does not create a scene and she appears happy and carefree.
Amy Green
![Christina Applegate 2014 Comic Con (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Christina_Applegate_2014_Comic_Con_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Amy Green (
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film an ...
): one of Rachel's two sisters, who first appears in "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" (airdate November 21, 2002; season 9, No. 8). She arrives at Monica and Chandler's for Thanksgiving dinner, where she is annoyed that she would not get custody of Emma if Rachel and Ross died. A boorish, hedonistic, brazen, dimwitted, amoral, materialistic and utterly unlikeable bully who could not care less about other people's feelings, she greatly irritates the friends with her cruelly honest opinions of them and selfish, self-absorbed attitude; though seems a little afraid of Monica, convinced that she is crazy (after witnessing Monica's bizarre rules when it comes to eating off the china plates she and Chandler received as a wedding present). When Rachel and Amy later have a fight after the former feels the latter has insulted Emma, which results in them accidentally breaking one of Monica's plates (causing her to nearly pass out), Chandler firmly tells both of them off as a father would do, and demands that Amy apologise for ruining Thanksgiving, for which she does. He then later hints to her that their fight was "a major turn-on". Rachel also makes up with Amy after offering to let her use her Ralph Lauren employee discount.
Amy appears again in "The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits", where she tells Rachel that she plans to marry her ex-boyfriend's father, who is rich. However, upon Rachel's advice to try to make it on her own, Amy calls off her engagement and sleeps over at Joey and Rachel's apartment. Rachel tries to teach her responsibility by letting her babysit Emma (who Amy calls 'Ella', insisting it is prettier), and tries to convince her to stop being so selfish and do something nice for another person. Eventually, Amy decides to take Rachel's advice and do something nice for Emma. Only trouble is, the utterly self-absorbed and self-centered Amy decides to get Emma's ears pierced. Ross and Rachel are horrified and angry at Amy, especially as she reveals she plans on becoming a baby stylist. However, Amy and Rachel make up at the end of the episode when they gossip about their sister Jill gaining a ton of weight. This was an oblique reference to Reese Witherspoon (who played Jill) being pregnant.
Although Amy, like her father Leonard, was a deliberately unpleasant and unlikeable character, the comic relief she provided caused her to, again like her father Leonard, become memorable as a character that fans "loved to hate". In 2003, Applegate won the
for her appearance in "The One with Rachel's Other Sister" and was nominated again for her appearance in "The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits".
Charlie Wheeler
![Aisha Tyler SDCC 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Aisha_Tyler_SDCC_2014.jpg)
Charlie Wheeler (
Aisha Tyler
Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Tara Lewis (Criminal Minds), Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Crimi ...
): an attractive paleontology professor (goes to Woodroffe school) whom Ross falls for in "The One with the Soap Opera Party" (airdate April 24, 2003; season 9, No. 20). He plans to ask her out, but is too late when she gets together with Joey instead. Initially angry, he eventually accepts Joey and Charlie's relationship and helps Joey come up with intelligent places to take her on dates in "The One with the Fertility Test". At Ross's conference in "The One in Barbados", Charlie tells Joey that they have nothing in common and breaks up with him. She and Ross then get together. In "The One with Ross's Grant" (airdate November 6, 2003; season 10, No. 6), she breaks up with Ross and gets back together with her old flame, Dr. Benjamin Hobart (
Greg Kinnear
Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997).
Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including ''Sabrina'' (199 ...
).
The character of Charlie was created in part to counter criticism the ''Friends'' production staff had received for featuring too few characters played by ethnic minority actors. Aisha Tyler was only the second major supporting character to be portrayed by a black actress, following
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...
's appearance as Kristen Lang in "The One with the Cheap Wedding Dress" (airdate March 15, 2001; season 7, No. 17). The role was not specifically written for a black actor. Tyler told the ''
St Petersburg Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'', "I hope
eople'sfrustration over
he lack of diversity
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
is tempered by the fact that when they wrote this role, they didn't wimp out. They wrote her so smart and sexy and elevated, she wasn't just the black girl on ''Friends''."
Introduced in season 10
Erica
Erica (
Anna Faris
Anna Kay Faris (; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her work in comedic roles, particularly the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has appeared in a number o ...
): a young girl from
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
who decides to let Monica and Chandler adopt her baby in "The One with the Birth Mother" (airdate January 8, 2004; season 10, No. 9). She visits New York in "The One Where Joey Speaks French" and sees the tourist sites with Monica and Chandler. She goes into labor at the end of "The One with Rachel's Going Away Party" and gives birth to twins Erica and Jack in "The Last One".
Jack and Erica Bing
Jack and Erica Bing—the adopted son and daughter of Monica and Chandler, born in "The Last One". They were portrayed by Cristobal and Antonella. It is revealed that Monica and Chandler did not know they would be having twins until they were born. Chandler suggests giving one of them up but Monica refuses, saying, "We cannot split them up. They're our children and they're coming with us."
Missy Goldberg
Missy Goldberg (
Ellen Pompeo
Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her role on ''Grey's Anatomy'' as the titular Dr. Meredith Grey. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances ...
): a woman from Ross' and Chandler's college, at which they both made a pact to not ask her out so it would not damage their friendship, introduced in "The One Where the Stripper Cries" (airdate February 5, 2004; season 10, No. 11). At a reunion, Chandler gives Ross permission to break the pact, now that he is married, where it is revealed that Chandler and Missy made out numerous times during college after school hours in the school's science labs, which Ross calls his "turf".
Benjamin Hobart
Benjamin Hobart (
Greg Kinnear
Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997).
Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including ''Sabrina'' (199 ...
): Nobel Prize–winning paleontologist and ex-boyfriend of Ross' girlfriend Charlie Wheeler, introduced in "The One with Ross's Grant". After seeing Charlie again for the first time in an apparently long while and meeting Ross for the first time (who bemuses him with ridiculous comments) he eventually confesses to Ross he is still in love with her and then unsuccessfully tries to persuade Ross to break up with her. When Ross refuses, Benjamin comes to resent him and displays this resentment by asking utterly ridiculous questions at the grant interview. He and Charlie eventually get back together, after Ross makes him confess his actions in front of her.
Amanda Buffamonteezi
Amanda Buffamonteezi (
Jennifer Coolidge
Jennifer Audrey Coolidge (born August 28, 1961) is an American actress known for her roles in comedic film and television particularly in American Pie (series), ''American Pie'' film series (1999–2012), Legally Blonde (franchise), ''Legally Bl ...
): an annoying lady who used to live in the building before moving to England.
She picks up a fake English accent and claims to have slept with
Evel Knievel
Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (; October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel was inducted into the Motor ...
. Her inflated ego and utterly self-absorbed attitude cause Monica and Phoebe to find her insufferable, but since they do not want to hurt the nonetheless good-natured Amanda's feelings, they agree to meet up with her in the coffee shop after Chandler ruins their original plan not to take any of her phone calls by doing exactly that and informing her that they are in the house with him, and then bemuses her by informing her that he takes pedicures before handing the phone to Monica.
Jennifer Coolidge also appears in the spin-off series
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
playing his agent.
Roy
Roy (
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...
): a stripper in "The One Where the Stripper Cries", who is hired for Phoebe's bachelorette party at the last minute after she expresses disappointment that the party is not "dirtier". Put under pressure to quickly hire a stripper by Phoebe (who had forgotten to ask them to hire one prior to when the party actually began) they look through the phone book and call the first stripper whose number they discover, asking him to quickly arrive at Monica's apartment where the party is taking place. When he turns up, the girls are surprised to see that he is at least 50 years old, but also delusional about his physical appearance, as he clearly has trouble accepting the fact that he has not aged gracefully and is not physically appealing to women anymore. When he sees that Phoebe is not enjoying his performance he gets annoyed, particularly when she claims while cringing that "this is how (she) looks when (she's) turned on." They have an argument over whether or not he should be paid for arriving after a rather difficult and rushed journey to the apartment on his part, and when she refuses to allow a sympathetic Rachel and Monica to pay him and also insults him, the sensitive stripper gets upset and cries as he is forced to accept the fact that he is no longer physically attractive, but stripping is all he knows. In her guilt, Phoebe comforts him and tells him that he should teach stripping instead. At her insistence, he then performs one last time for the party.
Mackenzie
Mackenzie (
Dakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning (born February 23, 1994) is an American actress. She rose to prominence at the age of seven for her performance as Lucy Dawson in the drama film ''I Am Sam'' (2001), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomina ...
): the daughter of the current residents of the house Monica and Chandler buy. She winds up helping Joey deal with his anxieties about Chandler and Monica moving out of the city. As a bit of revenge for Joey's overanxious behavior, Monica and Chandler briefly pretend that Mackenzie is a ghost.
Characters appearing in only one season
Each of the following characters of ''Friends'', portrayed by a celebrity, may or may not be particularly significant to the story
Only in season 1
Joseph Tribbiani Sr. and Gloria Tribbiani
In "The One with the Boobies" (airdate January 19, 1995; season 1, No. 13), Joey finds out that his father, Joey Sr. (
Robert Costanzo
Robert Jason Costanzo (born October 20, 1942) is an American film, television and voice actor. He has an acting career spanning over 40 years and is often found playing surly New York City types such as crooks, low-level workers and policemen, an ...
), is having an affair with another woman, Ronni (
Lee Garlington
Ann Leslie "Lee" Garlington (born July 20, 1953) is an American actress.
Early life
Garlington was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. She spent her teenage years in Wilmington, Delaware.
Career
She has guest starred in a number of notable television s ...
). Joey (the son) tries to set things right, but Gloria (
Brenda Vaccaro
Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language.
Origin
The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in areas ...
), Joey's mother, who secretly knew about the affair all along, makes Joey change it back because her husband's been unusually nice to her since he started cheating on her.
Though Joey's parents do not appear on the show again, Joey Sr. later makes an appearance on the spin-off series ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
'', making Costanzo the only actor, besides Matt LeBlanc, to reprise his role from ''Friends'' on the series.
Drs. Michael Mitchell and Jeffrey Rosen
Drs. Michael Mitchell (
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
) and Jeffrey Rosen (
Noah Wyle
Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Carter (ER), John Carter in the television series ''ER (TV series), ER'' (1994–2009), which earned him nominations for three Golden Glo ...
): Two doctors whom Rachel and Monica meet at a hospital and go on a date with. Monica and Rachel pretend to be each other for
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
purposes—eventually causing things to go wild. Dr. Mitchell later saves the life of Ross's monkey,
Marcel, who swallows alphabet tiles from a ''
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...
'' game and nearly chokes to death.
(Clooney and Wyle were also cast as physicians on the NBC medical drama ''ER'' when they appeared together on ''Friends''.)
Jill Goodacre Connick
Jill Goodacre Connick
Jill Goodacre Connick (born March 29, 1964) is an American actress and former model. She was one of Victoria's Secret's main models in the 1980s and early 1990s. She is married to singer Harry Connick Jr.
Career Victoria's Secret
Goodacre was a p ...
(herself) gets trapped with Chandler in an
ATM vestibule in "The One with the Blackout".
Chandler uses her cell phone to tell Joey and the others, engages in awkward conversion with her, and plays a "spin the phone pen over your head" game with her.
Alan
Alan (
Geoffrey Lower
Geoffrey Lower (born March 19, 1963) is an American former actor known for playing Reverend Timothy Johnson on ''Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman''. He also played Monica Geller's boyfriend Alan in the ''Friends'' episode " The One With the Thumb".
Ear ...
) is Monica's boyfriend in "The One with the Thumb".
Everyone likes him more than Monica does. At the end of the episode Monica breaks up with him, and has the break-up talk with the other friends as if they broke up with him, too. The irony is that Alan is relieved when Monica breaks up with him as
e'just can't stand your friends'.
Lydia
Lydia (
Leah Remini): a single mother-to-be whose childbirth Joey assists before Carol gives birth to Ben.
Their conversations mostly revolve around whose favored basketball team is better, the
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
(Lydia) or
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
(Joey). In the end, the father of Lydia's baby arrives, and Joey leaves them alone. Remini had originally auditioned for the role of Monica.
Roger
Roger (
Fisher Stevens
Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and ''Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televis ...
): a psychiatrist who Phoebe dates in "The One with the Boobies". The other friends take a swift dislike to him after he (very accurately) diagnoses their unconscious needs and foibles—such as Chandler's intimacy issues and Ross' guilt over being favored over Monica by their parents—and their narcissistic group dynamic. Phoebe breaks up with him, having joined the others in hating him; he is never seen again, but is mentioned in the following episode ("The One with the Candy Hearts") when Phoebe calls him because "it's nice to have a date on Valentine's Day"—essentially confirming what he said about her neediness and clinginess.
Only in season 2
Caroline Duffy
Caroline Duffy (
Lea Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress and director.
She is best known for her role as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990) and Beverly Switzl ...
): a cartoonist. Reprising her role from ''
Caroline in the City'', she talks with Joey and Chandler—seeing them with Ben and consequently thinking them to be lovers—in "The One with the Baby on the Bus".
Eddie Manoick
Eddie Manoick (
Adam Goldberg
Adam Charles Goldberg (born October 25, 1970) is an American character actor, filmmaker, musician, and photographer. Known for his supporting roles in film and television, Goldberg has appeared in films such as '' Dazed and Confused'', ''Saving ...
): Chandler's roommate after Joey moves into his own apartment, having landed the recurring role Dr. Drake Ramoray on ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
''.
Chandler quickly realizes they have nothing in common: Eddie hates ''Baywatch'', foosball, and sports in general. When they seem to be successfully bonding, Eddie reveals his disturbed inner thoughts, and begins to show signs of mental illness, such as stealing mannequin heads from
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
and obsessively dehydrating fruit. In "The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies",
he suspects Chandler of both having sex with his ex-girlfriend Tilly and killing his goldfish. He later forgets these events, but Chandler demands he move out after learning that Eddie watches him sleep.
Eddie agrees to leave but later denies the conversation took place, instead believing that he and Chandler took a weekend road trip to Las Vegas. Chandler ultimately gets rid of Eddie by allowing Joey to move back in after Joey's career falters following the death of Dr. Ramoray. They change the locks, move Eddie's stuff out into the hall, and pretend that Eddie never lived there; confused, Eddie leaves and is never seen again.
Adam Goldberg later appeared in the second season of ''
Joey
Joey may refer to:
People
*Joey (name)
Animals
* Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial
* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets
Film and television
* ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...
'' as Jimmy, the biological father of Joey's nephew, Michael.
Rob Donnan
Rob Donnan (
Chris Isaak
Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby D ...
): Rob asks Phoebe to sing for the children at a library, but the parents are horrified by her morbidly honest lyrics. However, the kids like the songs and come to the café to listen to her, and Phoebe teaches Rob "Smelly Cat".
Isaak's song "
Wicked Game
"Wicked Game" is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third album, '' Heart Shaped World'' (1989). Despite being released as a single in July 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lynch ...
" plays in the background when Rachel and Ross sleep together for the first time ("The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know").
Zoo staff
The Zoo Administrator (
Fred Willard
Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984); the Christopher Guest mockumentaries ''Wai ...
) of the zoo Ross sent Marcel to, who tries to cover up a break-in in which Marcel is kidnapped and forced into show business. When Ross visits the zoo to visit Marcel, the administrator lies and tells Ross that Marcel has died. Ross later learns the truth about what happened from an eccentric janitor (
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...
), an unusual man with a strange fascination for the animals in the zoo.
Susie Moss
Susie "Underpants" Moss (
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...
): an old childhood friend of Chandler, who's working on the production of a movie,
and with whom Chandler has a colored history: when they were in elementary school, Chandler pulled up Susie's skirt when she was on stage, revealing her underwear to the entire school, and she never lived it down until she graduated high school. They arrange a date, Chandler unsuspecting that it is a plot to get revenge. After convincing him to wear her panties, Susie takes him out to dinner, undresses him in the men's room, and takes off with his clothes—leaving him in a bathroom stall wearing nothing but her panties. She is never seen again. Julia Roberts and Matthew Perry briefly dated in real life.
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
(himself):
an actor in the movie Susie's producing, over whom Rachel and Monica compete for attention. Monica has a crush on him but is too shy to ask him out; so Rachel attempts to on her behalf, but he says he'd rather go out with her (Rachel). Rachel asks Monica for permission, which she unhappily gives. After Rachel goes on the date with him it causes a fight between her and Monica that ends with Rachel telling Monica that she will not see him anymore, so that Monica can go out with him. When Monica goes on her date with him, she finds out he only agreed to go out (with Monica) because Rachel told him that Monica was "dying to have a threesome with him and
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...
". Monica immediately dumps him. When she gets home she and Rachel fight again, but this time end up apologizing to each other, agreeing they should not have let him come between them. He is last seen being greatly irritated – along with everyone else on the studio set – by Joey's stupidity while trying to act alongside him.
Erika Ford
Erika Ford (
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...
): a mentally ill stalker who thinks that Joey is actually Dr. Drake Ramoray, the character he plays on ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
''.
Despite this, Joey goes on a date with her. She dumps him when she suspects "Drake" is cheating on her with another woman (actually another character in the soap opera). He tries to explain that "It's a TV show!" and "I'm not ''Drake!''", but she does not understand, so Ross tells her Joey's "Hans Ramoray", Drake's "evil twin"—and Joey tells her to go to Salem to find the "real" Drake Ramoray. She is never seen again afterwards.
Ryan
Ryan (
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Platoon'' (1986), ''Wall Street'' (1987), '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' The Rookie'' (1990), ''The Thr ...
) arrives in New York on leave from the Navy to see Phoebe, who has
chicken pox
Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab ...
at the time.
He is bewildered to see Phoebe covering her head with a scarf, trying to disguise the fact that she has chicken pox; eventually convincing her to admit this to him, he decides he cannot stand to be apart from her and consequently catches chicken pox from her and they both spend the rest of the time sick and trying to not scratch at the sores.
Duncan Sullivan
Duncan Sullivan (
Steve Zahn
Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...
) is a Canadian ice dancer that Phoebe married in order to allow him to get a Green card.
While Phoebe believed him to be homosexual, he returned to ask Phoebe for a divorce because he has realized he is straight and has proposed to another woman. After witnessing and being bewildered by Rachel's antics with a pigeon (after she trapped it inside a saucepan), he admits to Phoebe the truth about his sexuality.
Only in season 3
Chloe
Chloe (
Angela Featherstone
Angela Featherstone is an actress, writer, director, and advocate for children in foster care. She grew up in the Nova Scotia and Manitoba provinces of Canada.
Career Modeling
Within a year of emancipating herself from foster care at age ...
): First mentioned (though only as "the girl from the copy place") in "The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy" and "The One with the Jam", and first seen in "The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break", when Chloe (almost effortlessly) seduces Ross after he and Rachel have a fight and he believes she (Rachel) is sleeping with Mark. Ross tries to get her out of his apartment quickly the next day (in "The One with the Morning After") after hearing a voice message from Rachel rescinding their "break", but Chloe is still there (albeit hidden) when Rachel arrives. Later, Ross is unable to stop the "trail" of gossip leading from Chloe to Rachel, and the latter learns of their tryst, leading to their breakup.
Pete Becker
Pete Becker (
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau (; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
): a computer software genius and multi-millionaire, Pete is introduced when he tips Monica $20,000 at the Moondance diner in "The One with the Hypnosis Tape", which she assumes is a joke. He asks her out for a pizza, and takes her to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Monica worries about the fact that she is not attracted to him and cannot figure out why. When Pete offers her a job in his restaurant, she turns him down, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but a goodbye kiss from Pete finally awakens her feelings. Monica thinks he is going to propose in "The One with Ross's Thing"; instead, he tells her he wants to become an
Ultimate Fighting Champion
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
. He gets badly beaten by
Tank Abbott
David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter, professional wrestler, and author. He currently hosts his own podcast series titled "The Proving Ground with Tank Abbott." Abbott is perhaps best kno ...
,
and every other fighter he encounters, and Monica reluctantly ends their relationship after he refuses to quit despite his increasingly debilitating injuries.
The character of Pete was conceived as "a
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
billionaire genius scientist-type" to whom Monica was not attracted. The producers and casting director had difficulty finding an actor to play Pete as they wanted, "someone who was appealing enough that we liked him, so we could root for him, but on the other hand, wasn't so drop-dead male model gorgeous that we would go, 'What's your problem?' to Monica when she didn't fall for him."
Kate Miller
Kate Miller (
Dina Meyer
Dina Meyer (born December 22, 1968) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role on the Fox teen drama series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1993–94), before landing a leading role opposite Keanu Reeves in the 1995 fi ...
): Joey's co-star in the play ''Boxing Day''.
Joey falls for her, and she sleeps with him, but she is already dating the director, Marshall Townend, and sees Joey as a
one-night stand
A one-night stand or one-night sex is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants. It draws its name from the common practice of a one-night stand, a single ...
. The director dumps her when the play performs poorly with critics, and she gets together with Joey in "The One with the Screamer". Joey is distraught when she leaves for a soap opera role in Los Angeles. In the season 9 episode "The One in Barbados (1)", Joey and Rachel, in hopes of getting into the pharmaceutical convention, use
fake IDs; Rachel uses the pseudonym "Kate Miller".
Marshall Townend
Marshall Townend (
Reg Rogers
Reg Rogers (born December 23, 1964) is an American stage, film, and television actor, known for his roles in '' Primal Fear'' and '' Runaway Bride'' and for the TV miniseries '' Attila''. He also appears in theater, both on Broadway and Off-Broa ...
): the overly dramatic, self-absorbed director of ''Boxing Day'', who is dating Kate. He and everyone else involved in making the play (apart from Lauren) make fun of Joey after Kate outs him as having appeared on an
infomercial
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
as a man too idiotic to open a milk carton. He later dumps Kate after she (and the play) gets bad reviews.
Vince and Jason
Vince (
Matt Battaglia
Matteo Martin "Matt" Battaglia (born September 25, 1965) is an American producer, actor and former American football linebacker.
Football career
Battaglia played college football at the University of Louisville. Battaglia played at Louisville a ...
) is a fire fighter and Jason (
Robert Gant
Robert Gant (born Robert John Gonzalez; July 13, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ben Bruckner on the Showtime series '' Queer as Folk''.
Early life and education
At age ten, Gant began acting in television commercial ...
) is a kindergarten teacher. Phoebe dates both men for some time before they find out about each other, and both break up with Phoebe.
Lauren
Lauren (
Jennifer Milmore
Jennifer Milmore (born October 1, 1969)Gallagher, Pam ''Asbury Park Press'', January 24, 1999. Accessed February 14, 2011. "Williamson, head of makeup for the NBC-TV comedy ''Jesse,'' starring Christina Applegate in the title role and Rumson nativ ...
): Kate's understudy in ''Boxing Day''. She is a big fan of Joey from his role as Dr. Drake Ramoray, and ends up sleeping with him. Joey dumps her after sleeping with Kate, and although she is initially upset (calling him "pig"), she later seems to be fine with him. She takes over the role of "Adrienne" in the play after Kate leaves for Los Angeles.
Jennifer Milmore was the "author" of the improvement book Be Your Own Windkeeper which the girls read in a season 2 episode. Jennifer is married to Friends writer Gregory S. Malins.
Tommy (The Screamer)
Tommy "the Screamer" (
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
): an aggressive bully who explodes into anger at the slightest irritation, only to immediately revert to normal behavior, in an episode fittingly titled "The One With The Screamer". He is introduced as Rachel's last-minute date to one of Joey's plays, as she decides she needs one to balance Ross's; Ross sees him scream at an elderly couple who were accidentally in his and Ross' seats, and later screams at Ross because the latter almost spilt his coffee on him. Ross tries to warn Rachel and the other friends, but they do not believe him, assuming he's just jealous. However, Tommy's true colours are exposed when all six friends see him lose his temper after Joey and Chandler's pet baby chicken urinates in his hand and he screams at both it and their pet duck. Accepting, to his own chagrin, that the others are now afraid of him, he breaks up with Rachel and is never seen again.
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...
(herself): Rossellini visits Central Perk at the end of the episode "The One With Frank Jr." One of the episode's plotlines involved Ross and Rachel compile lists, each of 5 people (celebrities) they can have sex with; Rossellini was originally on Ross' list, but he replaces her with
Winona Ryder
Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), professionally known as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Originally playing quirky roles, she rose to prominence for her more diverse performances in various genres in the 1990s. She has recei ...
because Rossellini is "international", and thus will never be around...only to see Rossellini herself. Rachel encourages Ross to pursue her, knowing he'll get shot down; Rossellini is somewhat charmed and intrigued by Ross's "list," but leaves after seeing that she is not on the final version (quipping that she has a list of five coffee house guys, but she has just bumped Ross off her list).
Tomas and Tim
Tomas (
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
) and Tim (
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
): two strangers at the coffee shop. Appearing at the beginning of "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion", they perform a superfluous skit while sitting on the group's sofa at Central Perk. Tomas confides to Tim that he thinks his wife is cheating on him with her gynaecologist, causing the friends stop trying to have their own conversation and eavesdrop. Eventually Tim reveals how he's sleeping with Tomas' wife; bursting into tears, Tomas starts shouting at and insulting Tim, and leaves the shop in a loud fury, followed by Tim, who gives the six shocked, bewildered friends one last embarrassed, apologetic look before he leaves. Robin Williams and Billy Crystal were filming nearby and adlibbed all their lines, and were uncredited.
Only in season 4
Kathy
Kathy (
Paget Brewster
Paget Valerie Brewster (, ; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She was first recognized for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Her breakthrough role came as FBI Supervisory Specia ...
): Joey's girlfriend, introduced in "The One with Joey's New Girlfriend" (airdate October 30, 1997; season 4, No. 5). A mutual attraction soon develops between Kathy and Chandler,
which manifests in a kiss; Kathy then breaks up with Joey, without telling him why.
After Chandler reveals the truth, Joey is outraged and decides to move out,
but has a change of heart after hearing Kathy's feelings for Chandler, and she and Chandler get together. Although Chandler is initially uncomfortable about the possibility of their relationship becoming sexual as he would be directly compared to Joey, Monica and Rachel are able to give Chandler some pointers. Sometime later, Chandler goes to see Kathy in a play and becomes jealous of her steamy onstage sex scenes with her co-star, Nick. Chandler starts to suspect that she is cheating on him; when he confronts her about it, she leaves, offended, and Chandler assumes the worst. Realizing that he has come to the wrong conclusion, Chandler arrives at Kathy's apartment the next morning to apologize to her, only to find Nick's pants, and they break up.
When Paget Brewster arrived for her audition, she believed she was the "runty alternate" and did not have a chance of getting the part. Matthew Perry later told her that the producers knew she was right for the role when she called herself a "runt". She spent her first two weeks working on the show believing that she would be fired and the part recast with a better looking actress. Brewster did not want Kathy to be written out by cheating on Chandler; Aniston, Cox, and Kudrow agreed with her and tried to persuade the producers to have Kathy tour in a play instead.
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
(himself): actor in a movie with Joey. Joey reeks from spending a day fishing without showering after, so he uses Heston's shower—only to be caught by Heston. Joey tries to explain that he "stinks"—which Heston infers to refer to his acting, not his smell—and Heston gives Joey an actor's pep talk before telling him that "no matter how badly you ''think'' you stink, you must ''never'' break into ''my dressing room'' and use ''my shower!''"
The Salesman
The Salesman (magician
Penn Jillette
Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, actor, musician, inventor, television presenter, and author, best known for his work with fellow magician Teller as half of the team Penn & Teller. The duo has been featured ...
) attempts to sell a set of encyclopedias to Joey, sitting down with him and showing him some entries in the "V" volume. The entire set of 20 costs $1500, and when Joey informs him that he only has $50, he offers Joey a choice of one volume; Joey buys "V".
Cheryl
Cheryl (
Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Alie O'Connell (née Romijn ; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model (person), model. She is known for her role as Mystique (comics), Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the X-Men (film series), ...
): a woman whom Ross dates for a single episode, finding that she keeps an incredibly filthy apartment overrun with rats and fleas, yet finds Ross's own apartment disgusting due to a "weird smell" (which Ross quips may be soap). He attempts to form a relationship with her, but cannot overcome her slovenly lifestyle. Later, Monica arrives at the apartment asking to clean Cheryl's apartment, as she cannot sleep thinking about it.
Joshua Burgin
Joshua Burgin (
Tate Donovan
Tate Buckley Donovan (born September 25, 1963) is an American actor, comedian and television director. He is known for portraying Tom Shayes in ''Damages'', Jimmy Cooper in ''The O.C.'', and the voice of the title character in the 1997 Disney ...
): a recently divorced customer who regularly uses Rachel as a personal shopper at Bloomingdale's. They start dating but break up in "The One with All the Wedding Dresses" (airdate April 16, 1998; season 4, No. 20) when Rachel, reeling from Ross' engagement to Emily, proposes to Joshua after just four dates. Joshua appeared after the time that Jennifer Aniston and Tate Donovan were dating each other in real life.
Chip Matthews
Chip Matthews (
Dan Gauthier
Daniel Lester Gauthier (; born December 2, 1963)
is an American actor best known for his roles as Kevin Buchanan on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'', Matt Liston on the sitcom Ellen for two seasons, Brad Powell in the 1989 film ''Teen Wi ...
), who attended Lincoln High School with Rachel, Monica and Ross, and is described as being the most popular boy in school. His first brief appearance is actually on a Geller home video in "
The One with the Prom Video
"The One with the Prom Video" is the fourteenth episode of the second season, and the 38th episode overall, of the American television situation comedy ''Friends'', which first aired on NBC on February 1, 1996. The episode focuses on the main char ...
" (airdate February 1, 1996; season 2, No. 14) as Rachel's prom date; he is played by an unknown, uncredited actor and his face is not seen onscreen. He fully appears in the episode "The One with the Cat" (airdate October 2, 1997; season 4, No. 2), when Monica goes on a date with him and we learn that, on the night of their prom, he cheated on Rachel. Monica's high school dream is soon shattered when she realizes that Chip is still mentally a teenager: he has not matured or done anything to better himself since high school, still hangs out with the same friends, plays immature pranks on people, lives with his parents and works part-time at a movie theatre because he likes the free posters and candy he gets. Monica "dumps" him and he is never seen again.
Mr. Waltham
Mr. Waltham (
Paxton Whitehead
Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead (born 17 October 1937) is an English actor, theatre director and playwright. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Acto ...
): Rachel's boss at Bloomingdale's in season 4, who appears in "The One with Rachel's Crush" and "The One with Joey's Dirty Day" after Rachel is demoted to personal shopping after Joanna's death. He is Emily Waltham's uncle. Emily only meets and falls in love with Ross after Mr. Waltham asks Rachel to accompany Emily to the opera; Rachel blows Emily off to pursue Joshua, and convinces Ross to go with her instead.
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson; 15 October 1959), also known by the nickname Fergie, is a member of the British royal family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the younger brother of King Charles III ...
(herself): Sarah makes a cameo appearance with Joey on his video camera, in "The One with Ross's Wedding".
Dr. Tim Burke
Dr. Tim Burke (
Michael Vartan
Michael S. Vartan (born November 27, 1968) is a French-American actor, known for his role as Michael Vaughn on the ABC television action drama '' Alias'', his role on the TNT medical drama '' Hawthorne'', and his role on the '' E!'' drama '' The ...
): Richard Burke's son. Monica, who has an ice chip in her eye while she is taking out the turkey from the freezer, meets him. He is invited to share the Thanksgiving dinner in "The One With Chandler In A Box". Eventually, after they kiss, they both realize that dating each other is a mistake, as Monica compares Tim to his own father Richard, and they both get the ick.
Only in season 5
Danny
Danny (né Daniel) (
George Newbern
George Young Newbern (born December 30, 1964) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Charlie in the ABC show ''Scandal'' and Bryan MacKenzie in ''Father of the Bride'' (1991) and its sequels ''Father of the Bride Part II'' and '' Fath ...
): a man who has been on an around-the-world trip and returns in "The One with the Yeti".
Rachel and Monica encounter the bearded man in the basement of their building and think he is a
Yeti
The Yeti ()["Yeti"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...
. Rachel is attracted to him but plays hard-to-get by pretending not to be interested in a housewarming party he is throwing.
They eventually get together, but Rachel dumps him when she discovers he has a "special bond" with his sister.
Katie
Katie (
Soleil Moon Frye
Soleil Moon Frye (; born August 6, 1976) is an American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. She began her career as a child actress at the age of two. When she was seven, Frye won the role of Penelope "Punky" Brewster in the NBC sitco ...
): The titular girl in "The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey", she is extremely energetic and throws play-punches to emphasize her point that are much harder than she realizes. A seemingly nice person nonetheless, whenever she playfully punches Joey on the arm she accidentally hurts him, but is oblivious to this. When Joey actually tells her, she thinks he is merely making good-natured fun of her small size. Joey eventually decides he wants to break up with her, but worries about how hard she will hit him if she is actually upset, Rachel gives him a way out when she kicks Katie's ankle in retaliation for one of Katie's punches, and when Joey refuses to stick up for Katie, she breaks up with him and leaves. She is never seen again afterwards.
Dr. Donald Ledbetter
Dr. Donald Ledbetter (
Michael Ensign
Michael Ensign (born February 13, 1944) is an American actor who mostly played very small roles. One of his most-known roles was Benjamin Guggenheim in the 1997 film ''Titanic''.
Early life
Ensign was raised in both the United States and Englan ...
): Ross's boss at the museum. After he eats Ross's leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwich in "The One with Ross's Sandwich", Ross angrily shouts at him, and he puts Ross on sabbatical.
He reappears in the tag scene of "The One Where Everybody Finds Out".
Gary
Gary (
Michael Rapaport
Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include ''True Romance'' (1993), ''Higher Learning' ...
): a cop who accidentally leaves his badge in Central Perk.
Phoebe finds it and starts
impersonating a police officer. He tracks her down and, not wanting the fact that he left his badge behind in a coffee shop to get out, decides not to arrest Phoebe and, feeling attracted to her, asks her out to dinner, and they start dating. He takes Ross, Joey and Chandler on a ride-along while at the same time being irritated by their quirks,
and asks Phoebe to move in with him.
She leaves him after he shoots a bird on his windowsill just because it was irritating him by chirping too loudly. He is never seen again after that.
Frank Buffay Sr.
Frank Buffay Sr. (
Bob Balaban
Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, author, comedian, director and producer. He was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Gosford Park'' (2001), in which he also appeared.
Balab ...
): Phoebe, Ursula, and Frank Jr.'s father. He shows up at Phoebe's adoptive grandmother's funeral
looking for his late wife, Lily. His defense for abandoning Phoebe and Ursula is that "I was a lousy father", and he shares a "lullaby" he used to try to sing to them, which has a striking resemblance to Phoebe's "Smelly Cat".
Only in season 6
Janine LaCroix
Janine LaCroix (
Elle Macpherson
Eleanor Nancy Macpherson (; née Gow; born ) is an Australian model, businesswoman, television host, and actress.
She is known for her record five cover appearances for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' beginning in the 1980s, leading ...
): Joey's female roommate after Chandler moves in with Monica. Joey places an ad for a new roommate in "The One Where Phoebe Runs"; attractive Australian dancer Janine applies and Joey immediately gives her the room without knowing anything else about her.
She adds a feminine touch to the apartment by hanging pictures of babies, flowers, and babies dressed as flowers, which unnerves Joey—who senses that he's "becoming a woman".
They get together during the recording of ''
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE'') is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop ev ...
'',
but break up after she reveals she does not like Monica and Chandler. She moves out soon after and is never seen again in the series.
The Judge
The Judge (
Conchata Ferrell
Conchata Galen Ferrell (March 28, 1943October 12, 2020) was an American actress. Although she was a regular cast member of five TV sitcoms, she was best known for playing Berta the housekeeper for all 12 seasons of ''Two and a Half Men''. For he ...
) presides over the attempt of Ross and Rachel—who got married in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
while drunk—to get an annulment; she informs them that they have to get a divorce instead.
Jill Green
Jill Green (
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...
): one of Rachel's two sisters, who arrives at Monica and Chandler's in "The One with Rachel's Sister", thinking Rachel still lives there. Their father has cut off Jill's supply of money and sent her to stay with Rachel, "the only daughter he's ever been proud of". She is vain, ditzy, materialistic and spoiled, a lot like her other sister Amy, but is a lot kinder towards Rachel and her friends. Rachel tries to train Jill in the ways of the world but, Jill just buys herself expensive things.
She dates Ross to spite Rachel and is occasionally bewildered by quirks from both of them but leaves in the subsequent episode after Ross rejects her and she destroys his slide projector in her rage.
Jill is mentioned in season 10 when Amy gleefully reveals she has gotten fat, having gained fifteen pounds (a reference to Witherspoon's pregnancy).
Elizabeth Stevens
Elizabeth Stevens (
Alexandra Holden
Alexandra Paige Holden (born April 30, 1977) is an American actress. Her credits include films such as '' Drop Dead Gorgeous'' (1999), '' Sugar & Spice'' (2001) and ''The Hot Chick'' (2002), and recurring roles in the television series '' Friends ...
): one of Ross's students, whom he starts dating in "The One Where Ross Dates a Student", mistakenly believing it is not against university rules.
In "The One with Joey's Fridge", Elizabeth heads to the beach with several guys for
spring break;—jealous and worried, Ross follows her down there, appearing dancing with her on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
.
He breaks up with her in "The One with the Proposal, Part 1" when it becomes clear to him that she is too young for a serious relationship with him. Elizabeth then angrily throws a water ballon from her apartment hitting Ross square in the head, drenching him. She is never seen again in the series after that.
Paul Stevens
Paul Stevens (
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
), Elizabeth's father, who takes an instant dislike to Ross; he threatens to have Ross fired from the university unless he ends his relationship with Elizabeth. After Rachel joins the three of them for dinner, Paul and Rachel start dating. The two couples end up at Paul's country cabin in "The One Where Paul's the Man", unbeknownst to each other. Ross hears Paul psyching himself up in the mirror and singing "Love Machine", and uses this knowledge to blackmail Paul into not revealing his relationship with Elizabeth to the university.
After Ross and Elizabeth break up, Rachel continues to date Paul, but feels that he is too closed-off and attempts to get him to open up emotionally; she regrets this when he does open up, breaking down in tears and talking about his past for hours, and she breaks up with him.
Bruce Willis donated his appearance fee to five charities after losing a bet with his ''
The Whole Nine Yards
"The whole nine yards" or "the full nine yards" is a colloquial American English phrase meaning "everything, the whole lot" or, when used as an adjective, "all the way", as in, "The Army came out and gave us the whole nine yards on how they use ...
'' co-star Matthew Perry. He won the
for his role.
Only in season 7
Erin
Joey has a one-night stand with Erin (
Kristin Davis
Kristin Landen Davis (also listed as Kristin Lee Davis; born February 23, 1965) is an American actress and producer. She is known for playing Charlotte York Goldenblatt in the HBO romantic comedy series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004). She ...
),
but when he leaves the apartment and asks Rachel and Phoebe to get rid of her, they do not; Joey is forced to date her again and develops feelings for her, but then ''she'' decides to dump him, leaving it to Rachel and Phoebe to tell Joey.
Cecilia Monroe
Cecilia Monroe (
Susan Sarandon
Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
) is a soap opera diva who has played Jessica Lockhart on ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
'' for years,
famous for throwing drinks at people and slapping their faces. When her character is killed off, her brain is transferred to Joey's Dr. Drake Ramoray.
Cecilia sleeps with Joey and teaches him how to "play" her, but then takes a role in Mexico, ending their relationship and never appearing on the show again.
Cassie Geller
Cassie Geller (
Denise Richards
Denise Richards (born February 17, 1971) is an American actress, television personality, and former fashion model. Her most recognized roles are Carmen Ibanez in '' Starship Troopers'' (1997), Kelly Van Ryan in '' Wild Things'' (1998) and Bond gi ...
): a cousin of Ross and Monica who comes to stay with Monica and Chandler. The engaged Chandler, her cousin Ross and the
otherwise heterosexual Phoebe are all attracted to her. Initially, Chandler's constant staring requires her to stay at Ross's apartment instead. While watching a movie, Ross convinces himself that she "wants it" too, and makes a move. Cassie's negative reaction leaves him speechless for what seems to him like an eternity, and he then worsens the situation by saying, "I haven't had sex in a very long time."
Consequently, Cassie stays with Phoebe, who thinks to herself that she should ask her out as Cassie is not ''her'' cousin.
Melissa Warburton
Melissa Warburton (
Winona Ryder
Winona Laura Horowitz (born October 29, 1971), professionally known as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Originally playing quirky roles, she rose to prominence for her more diverse performances in various genres in the 1990s. She has recei ...
): one of Rachel's sorority sisters in college. During their senior year, Melissa and Rachel went to the Sigma Chi luau wearing coconut bikinis—and, after drinking too much sangria, ended up making out. Melissa fell in love with Rachel and never forgot that night, but Rachel never saw it as anything more than a wild college experience.
Rachel runs into Melissa in Central Perk and they go out to dinner. When Rachel confronts Melissa about the kiss, she pretends to have no memory of it ever happening because she does not think Rachel will return her love. At the end of dinner, Rachel kisses her again to prove to Phoebe that she can do something crazy. Melissa takes this to mean that Rachel loves her back. She says that "nobody can kiss that good and not mean it", but Rachel says that she is just a good kisser. Melissa is extremely embarrassed and tries to act as if she was kidding, saying, "I'm not in love with you. I don't hear coconuts banging together. I don't picture your face when I make love to my boyfriend..." Melissa leaves, but not before asking for another kiss goodbye, which she does not get. She is never seen again after that.
Richard Crosby
Richard Crosby (
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...
): a pedantic actor with whom Joey shares scenes in a wartime drama, also from "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding" (he appears in parts 1 and 2).
He gets a bad first impression of Joey when the latter irritates him by congratulating him for winning an Oscar he actually had not won. Crosby insists that real actors spit when they enunciate, resulting in both actors spitting on each other during takes, and being given towels by the crew afterwards. Crosby later shows up drunk for work, arousing concern as to whether Joey will complete his scenes in time to attend the wedding. For his performance, Oldman received a nomination for the
.
Only in season 8
Mona
Mona (
Bonnie Somerville
Bonnie Somerville (born February 24, 1974) is an American actress and singer. She has had roles in a number of movies and television series, most notably as Mona in ''Friends'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''Grosse Pointe'', '' The O.C.'', ''Cashmere Mafia ...
), a co-worker at Monica's restaurant, first meets Ross in "The One After 'I Do'". They later get reacquainted in "The One with Rachel's Date" (airdate October 25, 2001; season 8, No. 5) and begin dating. Their relationship is troubled from the start due to Ross being the father of Rachel's baby; in "The One with the Stripper", Leonard Green calls her a "tramp" after Ross does not propose to Rachel, and Ross regularly forgets dates with her when Rachel has problems with the baby. They eventually break up in "The One with the Birthing Video" (airdate February 7, 2002; season 8, No. 15) after Rachel lets slip that she is moving in with Ross until the baby is born. In "The One with the Tea Leaves" (airdate March 7, 2002; season 8, No. 17), Ross sneaks into her apartment to recover his "faded salmon color" shirt, which he left there, but has to hide when she arrives home with a date and is discovered when she and her date start making out and he tries to slip out; while Mona is angry with Ross at first, she later visits to accept his apology and assumes that he still has feelings for her. She admits that she still has feelings for him as well but insists they have to move on. She asks Ross if she can keep the shirt to remember him, but Ross really only wanted his shirt back, and she leaves for good once he takes it back.
Dina Tribbiani
Dina Tribbiani (
Marla Sokoloff
Marla Lynne Sokoloff (born December 19, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for playing Lucy Hatcher on the legal drama television series ''The Practice'', and Gia Mahan on ''Full House'' and '' Fuller House''. She has also appeared in fi ...
): Joey's youngest sister, who appeared in the episode "The One With Monica's Boots". She is considered the smartest and most well behaved of the Tribbiani children. She took the SATs and went to college for "both years", but still isn't terribly bright. At one point, she asks Rachel, "Do you ever worry that you'll be walking and your baby will just slip out?" When Dina discovered she was pregnant, she went to Rachel first because Rachel herself is unmarried and pregnant at the time and is asking her to help her tell Joey. Dina says that Joey is her favorite guy in the world and that she was more scared to tell him that she was pregnant than anyone else. She got pregnant by her boyfriend, Bobby Corso.
Although not mentioned by name, the character of Dina Tribbiani also appeared in the episode "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister".
Bobby
Bobby (Marc Rose): Dina Tribbiani's boyfriend and her unborn child's father.
Dr. Long
Dr. Long (Amanda Carlin): Rachel's obstetrician, who appears in five episodes of season 8. She delivers the baby in "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby" after Rachel's extremely long labor.
Eric
Eric (
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
): Ursula Buffay's boyfriend, whom she brings to Monica's Halloween party in "The One with the Halloween Party" (airdate November 1, 2001; season 8, No. 6). Phoebe is attracted to him but learns that Ursula has lied about herself in order to marry him, and so promptly warns him about Ursula's lies. He dumps her and in "The One with the Stain" and tries to get together with Phoebe, but cannot stand to look at her as she reminds him of her sister. Phoebe is able to convince him to see past that, and after she leaves for a massage client after their make-out session, she comes back only to find that Eric had sex with Ursula thinking she was Phoebe. They awkwardly decide that it is too weird to pursue things any further. Penn got the role after he made several visits to the ''Friends'' set with his children, who were fans of the show.
Will Colbert
Will Colbert (
Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
): formerly overweight high school friend of Monica and Ross with a grudge against Rachel. Monica invites him over for Thanksgiving dinner in "
The One with the Rumor
"The One with the Rumor" is the ninth episode of the eighth season of the American television situation comedy '' Friends'', which aired on NBC on November 22, 2001.Wild, p.235 It continues the series' annual Thanksgiving-themed episode tradition ...
" (airdate November 22, 2001; season 8, No. 9). Will has lost 150 pounds and now looks great—which makes Phoebe flirt with him. Here they find out that Will hates Rachel due to all the bullying he had suffered at her hands in high school and had co-founded the "I Hate Rachel Green Club" with Ross and spread rumors about her being a
hermaphrodite
In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes.
Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...
. He is last seen looking bemused but amused when Joey enters the room wearing Phoebe's maternity pants (under the deluded belief that he would need to change into a new pair of pants to achieve his goal of eating an entire turkey all by himself). Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston in real life at the time, and his given name is in fact "William".
Jim Nelson
Jim Nelson (
James LeGros
James Le Gros () (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in ''Living in Oblivion''.
Career
James Le Gros appeared as Rick in Gus Van Sant's 1989 ...
): a bully who asks Phoebe out on a date, then to amuse himself intimidates her with a number of creepy, vulgar comments, causing her to walk out on him. Appears in "The One With The Tea Leaves".
Parker
Parker (
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...
): an extremely energetic and optimistic man Phoebe meets at the dry cleaner in "The One with the Tea Leaves". He next appears in "The One in Massapequa" (airdate March 28, 2002; season 8, No. 18), where he meets the other five friends and annoys them with his habit of making a big fuss over everything, even the most trivial things. At Jack and Judy Geller's anniversary party, he drives everyone crazy by getting excited by anything and everything he sees. Phoebe overhears her friends making fun of Parker and scolds them, but he soon begins to irritate her as well. At her apartment after the party, unable to listen to him anymore, Phoebe snaps and angrily tells him she wants him to be "much less happy"; he breaks up with her...only to return, excited, to compliment Phoebe on the argument they just had.
"Sick Bastard" and "Evil Bitch"
"Sick Bastard" (Jimmy Palumbo) and "Evil Bitch" (
Debi Mazar
Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), ''Little Man Tate'' (1991) and ''Si ...
), the couple who are having a child and with whom Rachel, who is waiting to have her baby delivered, shares a semi-private room. The woman is apparently in pain and deeply frustrated about it, and the fact that her perverted husband keeps leering at Rachel earns him the brunt of her frustrations.
Only in season 9
Leonard Hayes
Leonard Hayes (
Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum (; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films of his era, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and '' Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels.
...
), a director who thinks Joey does not act "urgent enough"; he gets a bad first impression of Joey when he mistakenly thinks the latter is making fun of him in their conversation shortly after they first meet, but quickly comes around when he realizes that Joey is actually complimenting him in his own way. When Joey does the audition while needing to urinate, Leonard is impressed by the newfound urgency in his performance, so the former drinks a lot of liquids in preparation for the second audition. All goes well in the aforementioned second audition—that is until Leonard, failing to realize that Joey needs to urinate, makes the mistake of telling him to "relax" causing him to wet his pants on the spot—to Leonard's chagrin.
Gavin Mitchell
Gavin Mitchell (
Dermot Mulroney
Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...
), Rachel's temporary replacement at Polo Ralph Lauren. Zelner makes it known to Rachel that he likes Gavin, so Rachel ends her maternity leave early to compete with him in "The One Where Rachel Goes Back to Work" (airdate January 9, 2003; season 9, No. 11). Their working relationship has improved by "The One with Phoebe's Rats", and they kiss at her birthday party. In "The One Where Monica Sings" (airdate January 30, 2003; season 9, No. 13), Rachel tells Gavin that, although she likes him, a relationship would be difficult because of her history with Ross.
Steve
Steve (
Phill Lewis
Phillip David Lewis (born February 14, 1968) is an American actor, comedian and director who is best known for his role as hotel manager Mr. Moseby on the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and its spin-off, ''The Suite Li ...
): Chandler's boss at his internship. Appears in "The One Where Rachel Goes Back to Work", "The One with the Mugging" and "The One with the Lottery", when he offers Chandler the job of junior copywriter.
Molly
Molly (
Melissa George
Melissa George (born 6 August 1976) is an Australian actress and entrepreneur. A former national artistic rollerskating champion and model, George began her acting career playing Angel Parrish in the Australian soap opera Home and Away (1993– ...
): Emma's hot nanny, whom Ross gets to hire since Rachel does not see it in her.
When Joey sees her, his lady killer instinct kicks in. Ross tries to make Joey stay away from her when he flirts with her, which makes Joey want her more. Ross wants Chandler to watch Joey and make sure he does not go after Molly. When Ross is lecturing Joey there is a knock on the door and it is Molly's girlfriend. They kiss, and Ross no longer has a problem—although Joey's even more turned on by her lesbian status. Molly makes one more cameo appearance, in "The One Where Monica Sings" (airdate January 30, 2003; season 9, No. 13).
Sandy
Sandy (
Freddie Prinze Jr.
Frederick James Prinze Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American actor, television & film producer and screenwriter. He has starred in films such as ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997) and its sequel ''I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' ...
): Emma's first nanny.
After unsuccessfully interviewing several female nannies, both Ross and Rachel are surprised to see that Sandy is male. During the interview he wins Rachel over and she hires him despite Ross not being keen. Sandy proves himself to be highly competent, advising Ross and Rachel that toy dinosaurs he found in the apartment were not age-appropriate for Emma (only for Ross to tell him that they were his
oss'toys, causing a bemused Sandy to reply "Also not age-appropriate") and even educating the idiotic Joey with his techniques; however, he is let go after Ross cannot get used to the idea of having a male nanny.
Zach
Zach (
John Stamos
John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...
), a prospective sperm donor for Monica, who finds out that Chandler cannot get her pregnant.
Wendy
Wendy (
Selma Blair
Selma Blair Beitner (born June 23, 1972) is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film '' Brown's Requiem'' (1998). Her breakthrough came when she s ...
), a philandering co-worker of Chandler's in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
, who tries to seduce him when he's forced to spend Christmas there.
Only in season 10
Cameo appearances
*
Jill Goodacre
Jill Goodacre Connick (born March 29, 1964) is an American actress and former model. She was one of Victoria's Secret's main models in the 1980s and early 1990s. She is married to singer Harry Connick Jr.
Career Victoria's Secret
Goodacre was a ...
("The One with the Blackout")
*
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
("The One with the Monkey")
*
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
("The One with Mrs. Bing")
*
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
("The One After the Superbowl: Part 2")
*
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...
("The One with Frank Jr.")
*
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
and
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
("The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion")
*
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
("The One with Joey's Dirty Day")
*
Sarah Ferguson ("The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 1")
*
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields.
Branson expressed ...
("The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 1")
*
June Whitfield
Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress.
Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
("The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 2")
*
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...
("The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 2")
*
Gary Collins ("The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS")
*
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren, ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his co ...
("The One with Rachel's Inadvertent Kiss")
*
McKenzie Westmore
McKenzie Kate Westmore (born April 26, 1977) is an American actress and singer most popular for having played the role of Sheridan Crane Lopez-Fitzgerald on the television soap opera ''Passions'' from 1999 to 2008.
Early life
Westmore was born Ap ...
("The One with Joey's Award")
*
Trudie Styler
Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress and film producer.
Early life and family
Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was two years ...
("The One with Monica's Boots")
*
Matthew Ashford
Matthew Nile Ashford (born January 29, 1960) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on the soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' and '' The Bay'', for the former of which he received a nomination for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstand ...
("The One with the Soap Opera Party")
*
Kyle Lowder
Kyle Brandon Lowder (born August 27, 1980) is an American actor. He began his career in 2000, when he was cast in the role of Brady Black on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''; he remained in the role until his exit in 2005. Lowder went on ...
("The One with the Soap Opera Party")
*
Farah Fath
Farah LeeAllen Fath Galfond (born May 1, 1984) is an American actress. She portrayed Mimi Lockhart on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' from 1999 to 2007, and Gigi Morasco on the ABC Daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 2007 to 20 ...
("The One with the Soap Opera Party")
*
Alexis Thorpe
Alexis Ann Thorpe (born April 19, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Rianna Miner on the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', from 2000 to 2002, and Cassie Brady on the soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'' from 2002 ...
("The One with the Soap Opera Party")
*
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...
("The One Where the Stripper Cries")
*
Leslie Charleson
Leslie Charleson (born February 22, 1945) is an American actress, best known for her role as Monica Quartermaine in the ABC daytime soap opera ''General Hospital''.
Life and career
Charleson was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Actress Kate Charles ...
("The One Where the Stripper Cries")
References
Primary sources
; From ''Friends'':
; From elsewhere:
Secondary sources
Bibliography
*
The Original Friends Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friends
Friends and Joey characters
Lists of American sitcom television characters
Lists of romance television characters
Friends and Joey characters