28 Supporting Actors From “Friends” Without Whom The Show Would Not Have Been Possible

It’s been 27 years since F.R.I.E.N.D.S premiered. Nevertheless, fans can never get over it, because of the stories, the connection and obviously the characters it holds. Fans are always seen talking about the show, how they could relate to the characters in certain situations. So, we can conclude that it’s the characters that play a great role in making the show popular.

When we talk about the characters, we don’t only discuss the main characters but we also talk about the supporting characters who played a great role, because who would Ross call Rachel, if Emily wasn’t there.

Here are some of the supporting characters, who were seen in the seasons and what they are doing now.

1. Jane Sibbett- Carol Willick

Carol, without a doubt, has been one of the most well-known characters in her entire acting career, Ross’s first wife. Who left him, when she fell in love with her friend Susan. Though she was seen many times and appears as a recurring character throughout the seasons because of her son with Ross (little Ben).

Other than Friends, Jane has worked on It Takes Two, Herman’s Head and other films as well. She is still very close to Jessica and they even gave online Yoga classes together.

2. Jessica Hecht- Susan Bunch

Carol and Susan are the most famous couple among Friends fans. Good, that they met! Otherwise, how would we get our Ross and Rachel?

Jessica was very ambitious with her acting career, and she continued to work regarding the same. She has worked in movies like Whatever works, Dan in real life. She also appeared in the Breaking Bad, but it was difficult to recognise her without her curly hair, which was seen in Friends.

3. Cole Sprouse- Ben Geller

How Much this little Ben has grown up! We still remember him as the little cute Ben who pranked everyone he learned from his aunt Rachel. And how Ross dressed as Armadillo to explain Hanukkah to Ben. Cole has a twin brother whose name is Dylan. Together they have done a TV show like The Suite Life Of Zack and Cody and now also he is seen as a part of Riverdale playing Jughead Jones.

4. James Michael Tyler- Gunther

Apart from the main characters, Gunther has been the most reappeared character throughout the seasons. Gunther was one of the most loved characters because of his ultimate love for Rachel and equal hate for Ross.  Rachael’s love once made him buy a cat which Rachael didn;t want anymore and also all of Ross’s furniture which was touched by Rachael because Emily wanted to get rid of it

James had worked in cafes before, and the reason behind selecting him for the role was that he was the only person who knew working in an Espresso machine. He has worked in many TV Series including Episodes.

5. Maggie Wheeler- Janice

Who will ever forget Janice’s “Oh My God”, and her gunfire laughter? We don’t even have to count how many times she has made us laugh with her one-liners. Undoubtedly she has been one of the jolliest characters throughout.

She has appeared in movies and series since Friends, with supporting roles. Some of her most famous works include The Parent Trap. Other than acting she is very much passionate about music.

6. Mitchell Whitfield- Barry

Barry has been a famous character in the first season, where he was left by Rachael at the altar. Not only in the first season, he has later appeared when he was marrying Mindy, Rachael’s closest friend. Apart from Friends he has worked in various movies and series as a voice star.

7. Cosimo Fusco- Paolo

Cosimo played the role of Charming Paolo in the series, with whom Rachael fell in love after they met during the power failure. Ross even got upset after all this. Paolo is actually an Italian who lives in Rome, but he knows English frequently unlike the series. He recently did the Spanish series 30 Coins, for HBO.

8. Larry Hankin- Mr Heckles

Hankin is a Producer, writer, director and singer along with being an actor. He has a great career in the acting field, but he admits that his character of Mr Heckles has brought him fame and recognition. He has played the role of old Joe in Breaking Bad, both in the movies and series as well. He also mentions how he has been from the start and has seen the show grow gradually.

9. Hank Azaria- David

Hank was seen as the scientist and Phoebe’s love of life, however, they could never be. More than Friends Hank is recognised for his voice-overs in several Simpsons characters like Chief Wiggum, Moe Szyslak and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and many others. His role is not very impactful in the series but his voice-overs are worth remembering.

10. Mike Hagerty- Mr. Treeger

Mr Treeger is rather a cute character from the series. He was a Superintendent of the building where Joey, Chandler, Rachael and Monica lived. He is also known as Michael Gerard Hagerty. Apart from Friends he has acted in many successful series as supporting actors like Grey’s Anatomy, Glee and Seinfeld.

11. Tom Selleck- Richard Burke

Tom is very well settled in his acting career, he is a winner of the Golden Globe and an Emmy. He got his part of fame and recognition after working in the series Magnum P.I., and he has also worked in so many series and movies that when we talk about Richard, Friends is not something that comes to our mind at once. But, his part had an impact on the show, where he was Monica’s boyfriend but it did not work out well since he didn’t want children.

12. Steven Eckholdt- Mark Robinson

Who could ever forget Mark? After all, he has been a game-changer for the show. When Rachael got her first job and how she loved everything about Bloomingdale. The main reason why Rachael and Ross had their first breakup, was because Ross was jealous whenever Mark was around. Not only in the first season he has appeared in the last one as well when he offered Rachael a job in Paris. He has been a part of series and movies as well but the character of Mark is something quite famous.

13. Tate Donovan- Joshua Bergin

They were actually a couple when they were doing the show. But on the verge of breakup, when they were working together for Friends. How weird it has to be working with your ex, daily and pretend to be in love with the show. Things Professionalism teaches!

14. Helen Baxendale- Emily Waltham

The character can never be forgotten. She is British like her character in Friends as well. She played Rachael Bradley in cold feet. But, now she has taken a complete break from fame to concentrate on her family.

15. Elle Macpherson- Janine Lecroix

We have seen Joey falling in love every day, but a few times when Joey thought he had found his apple of an eye when Janine arrived. She is an Australian just like her character, and she was Joey’s roommate when Chandler moved in with Monica. She is an international supermodel and no doubt, she has it all when you look at her.

16. June Gable- Estelle Leonard

Estelle appeared as a talent agent who used to handle Joey’s acting career. Though she has a weird look in the show, that is definitely something people absolutely love about her and remember till now. She was already famous before she appeared in Friends.

17. Lauren Tom- Julie

She had a brief role in Friends, playing Julie, Ross’s girlfriend. Later, she continued working as a voice actor for one of the famous cartoons Futurama.

18. Jon Favreau- Pete Becker

Everyone dreams of having a rich boyfriend. Monica had him. In the third season of Friends, he was Monica’s boyfriend, where he took her for a date in an Italian restaurant in Rome. He also bought a  restaurant for her where she could be a chef which she always wanted. Besides acting, he is a famous producer, who has worked on films like The Lion King and The Avengers Franchise.

19. Alexandra Holden- Elizabeth Stevens

She was Ross’s girlfriend in season 6. But she was always the topic for discussion and joke because of the age difference between both them, not only this she was Ross’s student. But she had left a good impact on fans from her role and acting.

20. Noelle and Cali Sheldon- Emma Geller Green

They are the twin sisters who have been famous before they even knew. They were not even one year old when they were a part of Friends. Later they have worked on a few short films together.

21. Paul Rudd- Michael “Mike” Hannigan

Mike is one of the most loved characters in the show as a supporting actor. The way Phoebe and Mike met is the most loving scene. Other than Friends, Rudd has a very successful career as a comedian and now Ant-Man in The Avengers Franchise.

22. Aisha Tyler- Charlie Wheeler

She started with dating Joey but somehow ended up with Ross which gave spark to a brief romance between Joey and Rachael, But the dinosaur girl, which Phoebe named her, left Ross as well for her ex-boyfriend.

Other than Friends, she has been seen in Criminal minds, Ghost whisperer, Crime Scene Investigation and many other series and films.

23. Elliott Gould- Jack Geller

We remember Jack by his witty comments, dad’s jokes and especially hate for Chandler. No one forgets the way he called Monica “my Little Harmonica” and his steamy relationship with his wife.

He has a very good career in acting. He worked with Marta Kauffman again in Grace and Frankie, where Lisa Kudrow was also seen in a guest appearance.

24. Christina Pickles- Judy Geller

Judy had a different kind of priority for Ross, obviously because Monica wasn’t married yet. She is an Emmy Award winner with a great career in acting.

25. Marlo Thomas- Sandra Green

Sandra was a loved character. How she never hesitated to change anything which she didn’t like in her life. How she divorced and compared Barry to her husband in front of Rachael to make her understand that she never loved him.

She is 82 years now with an extensive career and a writer by profession.

26. Ron Liebman- Leonard Green

He as a character was hard to get along with and had a judgement for Ross when Rachael got pregnant and Ross wasn’t planning to get married.

Though he passed away in the year 2019, at the age of 82.

27. Morgan Fairchild- Nora Tyler Bing

She was the mother of Chandler Bing and a successful Novel Writer. Though when the entire Friends group enjoyed her company Chandler was always embarrassed by her presence.

She has a great career in acting through her series and films and she even contributes to AIDS charity.

28. Kathleen Turner- Charles Bing

Chandler’s father divorced his mother when she was caught cheating. We got to know this when they went to LA to invite him for their wedding.

Although Kathleen suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, which changed her body entirely when she was young.

All images sourced from Brightside