Friends: The cast then and now
It’s been 27 (!) years since the TV phenomenon that is Friends first graced our screens, and we’re finally being blessed with a reunion special. While not the Friends movie we hoped for, the unscripted HBO Max special will air on May 27, so not too long to wait now.
The special was filmed in March and April and while we don’t know too many details just yet, what we do know is that some of the original sets (i.e. Monica’s iconic purple apartment) have been brought back to life for the special. We couldn’t be any more excited.
While there’s no word on when we’ll be able to watch the reunion in the UK, ahead of the special, we thought we’d take a look at where the core cast - and some of our favourite recurring characters - are now, nearly 17 years after the last episode aired.
While we know Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow’s on-screen husband, Paul Rudd have gone on to be bonafide movie stars - what about James Michael Tyler (Gunther) or Maggie Wheeler (Janice)?
Despite only being nine years old when he first appeared on Friends as Ross’ son Ben, Cole Sprouse has gone on to become one of the bigger names of the cast, having had one of the lead roles Riverdale since 2017.
And Jon Favreau, who played Monica’s millionaire boyfriend Pete, has had a stellar career since he boxed his way out of the show - directing films like Elf, Iron Man 2 and The Lion King remake as well as having acting roles in the Avengers and The Mandalorian.
But what about Helen Baxendale who played Emily? Or Steven Eckholdt (Mark) or Jane Sibbet (Carol)? Read on to see where the characters from arguably the best sitcom of all time are now.
Getty ImagesJennifer Aniston (Rachel)
Like most of the cast, Friends was Jennifer’s big break. Since the show wrapped up in 2004 she became the breakout movie star of the group, starring in rom-coms like Along Came Polly, Marley & Me and The Break-Up. More recently she starred in the Netflix film, Dumplin’ and joined Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carrell in the Apple TV series, The Morning Show.
Getty ImagesCourteney Cox (Monica)
Courteney was the most well-known member of the cast when she took on the role of Monica in 1994. A decade earlier, she’d appeared in Bruce Springsteen’s video ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and held a few TV roles before starting Friends. During Friends, she starred in cult-classic film Scream and afterwards her most notable role was in Cougar Town, a series which ran from 2009 to 2015.
Getty ImagesLisa Kudrow (Phoebe)
Before Friends, Lisa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology and intended to become a physician like her dad, but pursued the comedy scene instead. During Friends, Lisa starred in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and since the show wrapped up she has had scene-stealing parts in films likeP.S. I Love You, Easy A and Booksmart.
Getty ImagesDavid Schwimmer (Ross)
After Friends, David took a different route than the rest of his castmates and veered into directing and theatre work. He has still taken on acting projects as well - he was in the animated Madagascar film franchise and was nominated for an Emmy for playing Robert Kardashian (yep, Kim’s dad) in The People v. O. J. Simpson in 2016.
Getty ImagesMatt LeBlanc (Joey)
After moving to New York at 17 to pursue modelling (which he was told he was too short for), Matt eventually decided to try his hand at acting. When he was cast as Joey in Friends, he’s since said he was down to his last $11. His character was the only one to have a spinoff from the show - which was aptly called Joey and ran from 2004 to 2006. He’s also had a leading role in Episodes which ran from 2011 to 2017 and has hosted Top Gear in recent years too.
Getty ImagesMatthew Perry (Chandler)
Matthew moved from Ottawa in Canada to Los Angeles when he was just 15 to pursue acting. He landed a few roles in series like Beverly Hills, 90210 and Growing Pains before taking on his role of Chandler Bing in Friends. Post-Friends, he’s mainly done TV work but has also starred alongside Zac Efron in the 2009 film, 17 Again and has a role in the 2021 film, Don't Look Up, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.
Getty ImagesMaggie Wheeler (Janice)
Quite possibly our favourite supporting cast member, Maggie Wheeler left a lasting impression as Janice (Oh. My. God!). Before Friends, she had already starred in shows like Seinfeld and The X-Files and since, she’s done everything from Friday Night Lights, to Shameless and How I Met Your Mother.
Getty ImagesPaul Rudd (Mike)
Despite only making his acting debut in 1992, Paul went on to star in hit films like Clueless and Romeo + Juliet before joining the cast of Friendsin 2002. Since playing Phoebe’s husband Mike, Paul’s arguably been the most successful cast member of the lot, starring in films like Anchorman, This is 40 and being cast as Ant Man in the Avengers series. He also doesn’t seem to age, so there’s that too.
Getty ImagesTom Selleck (Richard)
One of the most famous recurring guest stars on the show, Tom had already received a slew of accolades before he took on the role of Monica’s love interest, Richard. He’d won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his breakout role in Magnum P.I. , which ran from 1980 to 1988. Since Friends, he’s most notably starred in Blue Bloodswhich has been running since 2010.
Getty ImagesGiovanni Ribisi (Frank)
Since first appearing as Phoebe’s brother Frank in Friends, Giovanni has gone on to be nominated for an Emmy for his role in My Name Is Earl. He’s also starred in films like Saving Private Ryan and Avatar - and he’s reprising the latter role for Avatar 2 and 3 which are set to come out in the next few years.
Getty ImagesJane Sibbett (Carol)
Jane had a few acting credits under her belt before she took on the role of Ross’ ex-wife in Friends - she’d already had guest roles in 21 Jump Street and Cheers. During Friends, she starred alongside Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in It Takes Two and she took a bit of a break from acting between 2008 and 2016 when she took on some theatre directing work while living in Hawai’i.
Getty ImagesCole Sprouse (Ben)
Despite sharing most of his acting roles as a kid with his twin brother Dylan (the pair played the same character in the 1999 Adam Sandler film, Big Daddy) only Cole was cast to play Ross’ son Ben due to the lack of screen time the character had. Since Friends, Cole has become one of the more famous members of the cast, starring in Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in the 2000’s and, more recently, in Riverdale. Dylan has continued to act as well and is currently dating model, Barbara Palvin.
Getty ImagesJessica Hecht (Susan)
Friends was Jessica’s first recurring role. Before playing Carol’s wife, Susan, she had guest roles in shows like Seinfeld, Party of Five and Lois & Clark. Since Friends wrapped up, she's starred in film, theatre and TV with parts in shows like The Sinner, Breaking Bad and CSI.
Getty ImagesHelen Baxendale (Emily)
If Helen looked familiar when she appeared on Friends in 1998, that’s probably because by this point she already had a leading role in Cold Feet, which ran from 1997 to 2003. The actress has had a pretty steady career ever since, with a host of TV and theatre credits like in the play Hamlet and in shows like Midsomer Murders and the 2020 series, Noughts + Crosses.
Getty ImagesAisha Tyler (Charlie)
The person that Ross should have ended up with (don’t fight me on this), Aisha played his love interest Charlie towards the end of the series. Aisha’s had a pretty successful career since ending her nine-episode stint on Friends, she’s been the voice of Lana Kane in Archer since 2009 and has also had roles in BoJack Horseman and Modern Family.
Getty ImagesSteven Eckholdt (Mark)
The person Rachel should have ended up with (he totally would have supported her move to Paris), Steven had already appeared in a number of shows (Baywatch, 21 Jump Street, Ellen) before first appearing in Friends in 1997. He’s had lots of guest starring roles since too, in shows like The West Wing and Bones.
Getty ImagesJon Favreau (Pete)
One of the more memorable guest stars, after playing Monica’s millionaire boyfriend Pete, Jon has split his time between acting and directing. He’s directed films like Elf and the recent remake of The Lion King as well as the TV show The Mandalorian and he’s had a recurring role in the Avengers films too.
