Friends ended in 2004, that's over ten years ago. How old does that make you feel! The show began ten years before that, in 1994. Blimey! It was truly an iconic show that will have us chuckling for decades to come thanks to re-runs and online streaming. I'm sure many of you will even have the full DVD box set collection (which is pretty much useless now, but still).
Who could forget the main six, our lovable Friends? We were with them through their highs, lows and many hijinks. Many of us grew up with them on our TV screens. The supporting characters and love interests helped make the show too. Friends would not have been the same without the whole Ross and Emily saga. And Mike and Phoebe's wedding, wasn't that just the sweetest?
With so much time having passed since the end of the spectacular sit-com, I bet you've wondered where some of the stars are now. Is the actress who played Janice still treating people to that grating but legendary laugh of hers? Did the guy who played Gunther wind up working in a real coffee shop? Well you're about to find out...
15 Ben
Cole Sprouse was a cute, little nugget when he played Ross's son Ben on Friends back in the day. That episode where Rachel teaches him all the pranks is one of the funniest ever. As you can clearly see, Sprouse has Neville Longbottomed epically since then - he's quite the handsome devil! After Friends, Sprouse remained a child star, acting alongside his twin brother, Dylan, in the Disney Channel show The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. From there he went on to complete an archaeology degree at New York University (so he's hot and smart, yowzer). Sprouse is now 24-years-old and starring in the Netflix series, Riverdale, which is a darker take on Archie comics. He plays one of the main characters, Jughead Jones. You might want to binge-watch the show to see what Ben is like all grown-up!
14 Gunther
Gunther was the kind of sweet / kind of awkward / sometimes a little creepy but you still liked him, owner of Central Perk, who obviously had a major crush on Rachel. One significant change that came after Friends for the actor who played Gunther, James Michael Tyler, is that he stopped bleaching his hair . Without that platinum blonde do he's practically unrecognizable as his former Friends character! Back in 2009, Tyler appeared at a real-life version of Central Perk in London to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Friends. It was a replica of the set and featured real props such as Joey's dog statue. How cool is that! Tyler has had a couple of acting gigs since Friends, he appeared in a pilot that unfortunately wasn't picked up and played himself in Matt LeBlanc's show, Episodes.
13 Julie
Do you remember Julie? She appeared in the second season of Friends, Ross brings her back from a trip to China much to Rachel's dismay. She's definitely worthy of a mention as she inspired one of the best lines ever uttered on Friends, Rachel: "Isn't that just kick you in the crotch, spit on your neck fantastic!" Since Friends, Lauren Tom, who played Julie has had a successful acting career with roles in Pretty Little Liars, Men in Trees and several films such as In Good Company (2004). Perhaps more interesting though is her work as a voice actor, Tom has lent her voice to several cartoons. She plays the Martian Amy Wong on Futurama! It's funny how many actors that you know of appear in cartoons without you even noticing. For instance, Futurama's Leela is voiced by Katey Sagal who has had many leading roles in sitcoms such as Married With Children and 8 Simple Rules.
12 David
David was Phoebe's hot nerd lover, of course. Their love affair wasn't meant to be as David had to move to Minsk for work, which is in Belarus by the way and not Russia. We can't say that Hank Azaria, who played David, has fallen on hard times since appearing in Friends. Like Lauren Tom he's found great success in voice acting. He's been playing the lovable oaf, Homer Simpson on The Simpsons since 1989. With a role like that Azaria has certainly had job security. He also voices the characters of Moe, Chief Wiggum, Snake, Professor Frink and so many others - what a talented man! He's had other roles in movies and TV too, such as the recent series Brockmire and Ray Donovan. How does he find the time? As one of the richest cartoon voice actors ever, his net worth is estimated at a mahoosive $70 million.
11 Janice
Janice, played by Maggie Wheeler, is arguably the most memorable supporting character to have ever appeared on Friends. Her on-again off-again relationship with Chandler during his commitment-phobic days brought all of the laughs. And it was mainly Janice's laugh that brought all of the laughs, as well as her catchphrase, "OH. MY. GOD." Wheeler also had a prominent recurring role in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond as family friend, Linda Gruenfelder. She has had smaller roles in various other shows since Friends too, including How I Met Your Mother and Californication. Basically Wheeler hasn't been shy of work opportunities since her epic role on Friends. Oh, and in case you were wondering, that distinct Janice voice isn't wheeler's real voice; she put it on for the character (and we are so glad that she did).
10 Dr. Richard Burke
Richard was of course the suave, older gentleman that Monica dated, despite him being a friend of her parents and her eye doctor. He was also the source of much contention and jealousy for Monica and Chandler when they got together. Now, women of a certain age will have known Tom Selleck way before he played the debonair doctor on Friends. He had a starring role in the TV series Magnum P.I. in the 80s. He was also the lead in hit comedy film, Three Men and a Baby (1987). It's no surprise therefore that Selleck's acting career continued to be successful after starring in Friends. TV movies seemed to be his favorite post-Friends gig. But now he plays police commissioner Frank Reagan in the show Blue Bloods. So, the dishy Tom Selleck is still going strong indeed.
9 Emma
Ahh, sweet baby Emma. Wasn't she adorable? And she had an important role to play in Friends too, despite being a little munchkin. She brought the lols, you remember that one where she takes a shining to Joey's favorite stuffed animal and he gets all territorial about it? Funny. In the bigger scheme of things, her birth slowly but surely draws Ross and Rachel back together. What you may not have realized is that Emma was played by twins Cali and Noelle Sheldon, who are now 14-years-old - how crazy is that. Since Friends, the girls have had some roles in short films but in an interview with Bustle they explained that they mostly treat acting as a hobby while they attend school. They're just normal kids really, they're into sports and science competitions. Cali wants to pursue science at UCLA and even cure cancer one day; while Noelle is less sure of her future path but intends to be a barista when she finishes high school. She could be the next Gunther!
8 Emily
English rose, Emily had a whirlwind love affair with Ross which began in season four of Friends. Who could forget that PIVOTal moment when Ross said the wrong name as he got married to Emily, "I Ross take thee Rachel..." It was shocking. Helen Baxendale, who played Emily, is pretty much a household name in Britain. Just before she appeared on Friends she started a British comedy-drama series called Cold Feet. When her time on Friends came to an end in 1999, she continued to star in Cold Feet until 2003. Thereafter, Baxendale had a number of small roles in British TV series including Law & Order: UK. Her most prominent role was that of Lorna in the sitcom Cuckoo, which also starred Taylor Lautner. Cuckoo is available worldwide on Netflix if you want to catch up with Rachel, I mean Emily.
7 Mike Hannigan
Mike is Phoebe's lobster, they met by chance when Joey was supposed to set her up on a blind date but forget to find somebody, and they ended up married. A favorite episode for Friends fans is sure to be the one in which Phoebe meets Mike's parents and adopts that bougie voice to try and fit in. Nowadays, Paul Rudd needs no introduction, he's one of the funniest actors in Hollywood. Rudd has had several roles, including starring in the cult favorite Clueless (1995) before he was in Friends where he really showed his comedy chops. He finished Friends in 2004 and appeared in Anchorman that same year. From there his fame really skyrocketed, and the rest is history. Rudd is currently filming Avengers: Infinity War in which he will reprise his role as the superhero Ant-Man, due to be released in 2018. Before then you can catch him as Cactus Bill in the film Mute, about a mute bartender who tackles gangsters in a bid to find out what happened to his missing partner, which will be released on Netflix this year.
6 Monica
Now we're onto the main stars of the show! We loved Monica, despite her anal ways. In fact, many viewers could probably relate to her need for order. Our favorite moment was when she showed her softer side by getting down on one knee and trying to propose to Chandler. After Friends, Courteney Cox had reccurring roles in the TV series Scrubs and Dirt, before producing and starring in the show Cougar Town. It was on the air for six years and centers on a divorced woman getting back into the dating game. As far as her personal life is concerned, Cox got engaged to Johnny McDaid of the band Snow Patrol in 2014. After a break in 2015, I doubt that's what they would have called it though because we all know that gets confusing (we're looking at you, Ross), they reunited before the year was out.
5 Chandler
We all have a Chandler in our lives, or at least we should, in other words that friend with a quick wit and sarcasm for days. Chandler and Joey definitely gave us friendship goals. Our fave Chandler moment is when he pretended to flirt with Phoebe (awkwardly) to the point where things nearly went too far, in order to throw her off the scent regarding his and Monica's relationship. Matthew Perry has had several TV roles since Friends, including playing the lead on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. He also overcame his addictions to alcohol and prescription drugs, converting his mansion in the Malibu Hills into a sober living facility for men called "The Perry House". Good on you Matt, we say! More recently he has veered away from sitcoms and is due to appear as Ted Kennedy in the TV mini-series The Kennedys: After Camelot, which premieres in April.
4 Phoebe
Phoebe was probably the most lovable character on Friends. Her ditsy persona and hippie ways were just so endearing. It's tough to pick a favorite moment for Phoebe but we'll have to go with when she does an impression of Ross playing the bagpipes - you can see Jennifer Aniston breaking character and cracking up if you look closely, it's that funny. Lisa Kudrow stays out of the limelight, you're unlikely to read any headlines about her personal life any time soon. As far as post-Friends roles go, Kudrow has had some great ones! She was in a few episodes of Scandal and the recent blockbuster The Girl On The Train (2016). She co-created and starred in the series Web Therapy and The Comeback which both had long runs over several years. So it looks like Kudrow has been working hard both on-screen and behind the scenes since Friends. You'll be able to catch her in the upcoming films Table 19 and The Boss Baby.
3 Ross
The character of Ross was even more neurotic than his anal-retentive sister Monica. But he was a sensitive guy at heart and looking to find love, despite his many divorces. There are a couple of of words that sum up our favorite ever Ross moments and those are "PIVOT" and "unagi". Then there was the time when he got drunk on margaritas and was "fine". After Friends, David Schwimmer lent his voice to the giraffe Melman in the Madagascar movies. His most notable role since Friends though was only recent, when he played Robert Kardashian (the Kardashian sisters' late father and prominent lawyer) in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story in 2016. In terms of his personal life, Schwimmer fell for a Brit just like Ross, an artist, photographer and producer called Zoe Buckman to whom he is married. The couple have one daughter together.
2 Joey
Joey was sort of like the boy version of Phoebe, being so down to earth and ditsy. He also took on the role of the ladies' man of the group and was quite the heartthrob. We got to know Joey and his quirks so well over the series and that made our favorite moment, when "JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD" even funnier. After Friends, there was much hype over Matt LeBlanc's spin-off series named after his character Joey. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a flop. Maybe Friends was just too good as it was to try something different. LeBlanc has had more success with the comedy series Episodes, in which he plays a version of himself. The show has been running since 2011 and is still going strong, so good luck to him! He is also the new host of a long-running British TV series all about cars, Top Gear, the former hosts of which have been surrounded by much controversy. Here's hoping he does a better job.
1 Rachel
From the very start, us ladies related to Rachel, a young woman who was just trying to make it on her own two feet in the big city. We fell in love with her more and more as the series went on and her character has always been something of a fashion icon. As you well know, Jennifer Aniston has seen the most fame since Friends ended. Her marriage to Brad Pitt and their divorce were highly publicized. And since then she has remained in the public eye, ever the strong-ass, beautiful woman. She is currently married to actor, director and screenwriter Justin Theroux. Aniston has had a number of major Hollywood roles since Friends including We're The Millers (2013) and she showed her skill as a serious dramatic actor in the 2014 film Cake. Earlier this year she starred in The Yellow Birds, a film about two young soldiers in the Iraq war.
Sources: romper.com, independent.co.uk, imdb.com, bustle.com, nydailynews.com
