The cast of "Friends" then and now

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Probably no one needs to explain what Friends is about. This project belongs to the category of cult. With its help, foreigners learn spoken English, and Americans still copy the style of clothing and demeanor that distinguished the actors of the Friends series. Meanwhile, more than 10 years have passed since the closure of the project. How did the fate of the performers of the six main roles?

Series "Friends"

The pilot episode of the sitcom was released on September 22, 1994 and since then for 10 years every fall, viewers have been waiting for a new meeting with their favorite characters: Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler and Joey.

In addition to the six main characters, Friends attracted an interesting plot with love triangles and the participation in individual episodes of such stars as Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Tom Selleck, Reese Witherspoon, Christina Applegate, Denis de Vito, etc..

Some actors of the series "Friends" were not famous when he first started filming, but this project glorified them all over the world, making them rich as well. So for one episode of the first season, each of the "golden six" received $ 20,000, and starting from the eighth, they were paid 1,000,000 per episode.

After the sitcom was cancelled, these six actors were able to focus on solo careers.

David Schwimmer

This artist played the touching Ross Geller, who had no luck with his spouses.

Before participating in the project, David managed to establish himself as an excellent actor, starring in the films "Crossing the Bridge" and "Twenty Bucks". He was not only the very first to be approved for the lead role in Friends without any additional auditions, but they also created a character specifically for his character. Since David was a Jew, then his Ross was made one.

During the years of work in the television series, Schwimmer simultaneously starred in other films. The most famous of them are "The Pretend Kiss", "Able Student" and "Six Days, Seven Nights".

Besides acting talent, David turned out to be a gifted director. So he did some episodes of Friends and Joey.

After the end of Friends, Schwimmer continued to act, but in minor roles ("Full bummer", "Nothing but the truth"). He also directed two films: Trust and Run fatboy, run.

Some mistakenly believe that David has achieved less success than other actors of the series "Friends". Now he is not acting as actively as during the zenith of his fame, but he continues to be appreciated and invited to play interesting characters, more often than the same Matt LeBlanc.

As for his relationship with his Friends, the actor is friends with Matthew Perry. In addition, Schwimmer has guest-starred on sitcoms starring Matt LeBlanc (Episodes) and Lisa Kudrow (Internet Therapy).

The cast of Friends: Jennifer Aniston

David Schwimmer's hero's lover was the selfish beauty Rachel Green. She was played by Jennifer Aniston.

Like the other Friends cast members (except Schwimmer), the actress didn't get the part right away. At first, she had to go through several stages of audition before she was approved. It is noteworthy that Aniston originally auditioned for the role of Monica.

Before Friends, Jennifer was not very famous. Having starred in the television series Herman's Head and Quantum Leap, she believed that she could not see success in the acting field, so she thought about leaving the profession. But the success of "Friends" helped her become a world-class star, as well as win an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

In parallel with the participation in the television series, the actress starred in such films as "Portrait of Perfection", "Good Girl", "Here Comes Polly" and "Bruce Almighty".

It is rumored that having become famous, Jennifer decided to leave Friends, becoming the initiator of the project's closure.

It is worth noting that it was Aniston who managed to make the most brilliant career inmovie. So, since 2004, the actress has been actively acting in melodramas and comedies: “There are rumors”, “Promising does not mean getting married”, “Headhunter”, “Pretend to be my wife”, “We are the Millers” and others. Despite the audience's love and skill, Jennifer gradually turned into a category B movie star, which did not prevent her from remaining in demand in the profession.

In recent years, Aniston has become famous not so much for her roles as for the amount of gossip that surrounds her person. This was facilitated by the fact that her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, left her for the more famous actress Angelina Jolie. After this scandalous divorce, many watched Jennifer's novels with more attention than her professional success.

Like Schwimmer, Aniston tried herself as a director. She made pictures: Room 10 and Five.

Jennifer is still friends with Courteney Cox and even became her daughter's godmother. In addition, she starred in the television series Dirt and Cougar City, both starring her friend Courtney.

Courtney Cox

The performer of the role of obsessed with the purity of the former bbw Monica - Courteney Cox, before "Friends" has already managed to play in several serious films ("Cocoon: The Return", "Mr. Destiny"). In addition, she became famous as a model, playing in Tampax commercials. When Courtney auditioned for Friends, she was offered the role of Rachel, but she became interested in the character of Monica, whom she later played.

With the arrival of popularity as an actress of "Friends",Courtney began to be invited to play in big-budget films. So she played the main roles in the tapes "Ace Ventura", "All or Nothing", "Bedtime Stories" and the horror series "Scream".

It is known that some actors of the series "Friends" were forced to make sacrifices in order to participate in it (for example, Matt LeBlanc dyed his hair). For Courteney Cox, that sacrifice was her he alth. For 10 years of filming, the actress's eyesight deteriorated catastrophically, but her character could not wear glasses, and the lenses would shine during filming. Because of this, in some scenes, she practically did not see her partners. Also, while working on "Friends", the actress had several miscarriages.

During the filming of Friends, the actress managed to marry David Arquette, which is why she changed her last name to Cox-Arquette. In the last episodes of season 10 of the series, attentive viewers noticed that the actress was in a position, and a couple of months after the Friends closed, Courtney became a mother. Unfortunately, after a few years, the Cox-Arquette union fell apart.

After the closure of Friends, the actress became less in demand in the cinema, but she continued to be invited to appear on television. She starred in the sitcoms Dirt and Cougar City, and was also a guest star in Clinic, Internet Therapy, Get Started! and Drunk History.

Just like Aniston and Schwimmer, Cox tried herself as a director. She directed the film Tall Hot Blonde.

Matthew Perry

This artist turned out to be the most successful among all the male actors of the project. Prior to Friends, he had done a lot of television work, including"Beverly Hills, 90210", but her breakthrough came as the sarcastic Chandler Bing.

While filming Friends, Perry also appeared on The John Larroquette Show, The Clinic, Caroline in the City, Saturday Night Live, and even voiced himself on The Simpsons.

Since 1997, Matthew Perry has starred in the comedies Hurry, You'll Make People Laugh, Threesome Tango, The Nine Yards and The Scammers.

Unfortunately, having become famous, he began to abuse alcohol and drugs, which quite strongly affected his appearance. Thanks to the care of David Schwimmer, Perry was able to cope with addictions, but after the closure of "Friends" he was no longer invited to the main roles in the movie. His biggest achievements were appearances in "Dad 17 Again" and "Helpless".

But on television, Matthew Perry continued to actively invite. He played leading roles in the television series Mr. Sunshine, Ready! and Sweet Couple. In addition, Perry participated in other popular TV shows: The Good Wife, Cougar City, Internet Therapy, etc.

Besides David Schwimmer, he is friends with Courteney Cox. After the divorce of the latter, there were rumors that these actors of the Friends series were dating. Then and now, this information was not confirmed, although Courtney and Matthew did not deny this.

Lisa Kudrow

The record holder for the number of Emmy nominations for the role of Phoebe Buffay was Lisa Kudrow. Before "Friends", she was practically a nobody, although she starred inmany films. The actress got into the project due to the fact that she had previously played Phoebe's twin sister Ursula in the sitcom Mad About You.

During the filming of "Friends" Lisa began to be invited to play in the movies. Her most famous paintings are 1994-2004. – “Romy and Michelle at the reunion”, “Analyze this” and “Analyze that”.

After Friends ended, Kudrow retrained as a voice actress. Famous projects that she voiced are The Simpsons, Hercules, Bulka's Clues.

Also, the actress participated in the creation and starred in the sitcoms "Return" and "Internet Therapy".

Matt LeBlanc

This artist was actually a copy of his character. Like his character Joey, Matt LeBlanc is a good-looking Italian-American who has long succumbed to small roles in cheap TV shows and commercials.

Along with filming Friends, Matt played in small film projects, painfully similar to those in which Joey also starred. His main achievement during this period was the role in the Charlie's Angels duology.

After the closure of Friends, LeBlanc was invited to play in the continuation of the project - the sitcom Joey. Unfortunately, this television series only lasted 2 seasons.

After this failure, the actor sat out of work for several years, sometimes acting as a guest star in Lisa Kudrow's Internet Therapy. However, in 2011, the creator of "Friends" - David Crane invited him to play himself in hisnew sitcom Episodes. This project became popular, and lasted 5 seasons, bringing LeBlanc the Golden Globe.

The series "Friends": actors and secondary roles

In addition to the six artists listed above, there were other famous artists in the project. Among them is Paul Rudd (Phoebe's husband - Mike Hannigan), who recently played the role of Ant-Man in several films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The actors (photo below) also graced the Friends series with their performance (photo below) Elliott Gould (Ross and Monica's father), Tom Selleck (Monica's lover Richard Burke), Giovanni Ribisi (Phoebe's brother), Jane Sibbett (lesbian ex-wife Ross), Aisha Tyler (ex-girlfriend of Joey, and after Ross) and others.

Despite the fact that the Friends project has been closed for a long time, many of its fans do not give up hope that a sequel will be made. Until this happened. Meanwhile, the cast of Friends now (pictured above) continues to be a favorite among viewers, even though many years have passed.