Movies And TV Shows Featuring The Stars Of Friends
They actually did leave Central Perk every once in a while.
Friends is considered one of the best sitcoms of all time, and it really did offer the roles of a lifetime to Jennifer Anison, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer back in 1994. While the actors will forever be associated with those characters, they have accomplished far more than portraying, Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross. Here are some other movies and TV shows that feature the main cast of Friends.
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
When Ryan Murphy tackled O.J. Simpson's trial for The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, many were surprised that David Schwimmer was cast as Robert Kardashian. However, Schwimmer's portrayal of Simpson's best friend and attorney was praised by Kim Kardashian, who said it was "just done so well."
The Comeback
In Lisa Kudrow's first big TV role post-Friends, she starred as Valerie Cherish on HBO's The Comeback. The concept was actually pretty meta, featuring an actress (Valerie) joining a series in a humbling (and often cringeworthy) attempt to recapture the fame she'd previously found on another sitcom — all while a camera crew documents her journey for a fictional reality show.
Lost In Space
Around Friends' midpoint, Matt LeBlanc took some time to star in the 1998 sci-fi adventure Lost in Space. He plays Major Don West, a hotshot fighter pilot who is part of the crew that gets lost while attempting to lead a planet-wide emigration from a dying Earth.
Scream
Courteney Cox has found fame on several projects outside of the famed NBC sitcom, but arguably her next-most-recognized character after Monica Gellar is Gale Weathers in the Scream franchise. The cut-throat journalist holds the distinction of being the only main character to appear in every film through Scream VI, but thankfully Gale's infamous bangs did not survive all the sequels.
Fools Rush In
Matthew Perry may have had some hilarious lines as Chandler Bing, but he had some good moments outside of his and Joey's apartment as well. Amongst Perry's best movies is the romantic comedy Fools Rush In, which also stars Salma Hayek in a story of a would-be one-night-stand resulting in a pregnancy and the couple's efforts to make a marriage work despite having just met.
Better Nate Than Ever
Better Nate than Ever is a coming-of-age story and celebration of musical theater, as 13-year-old Nate sneaks off to New York to audition for a Broadway show. Once in the Big Apple, he enlists the help of his estranged aunt Heidi (Lisa Kudrow), who has dreams of the Great White Way herself.
Dirt
Three years after Courteney Cox bid goodbye to Monica Gellar, she joined the cast of FX's Dirt as Lucy Spiller, the editor-in-chief of a sleazy tabloid. The show ended after two seasons, doomed by the 2007 writer's strike, a timeslot change, and other factors, but fans did get to see a fun guest appearance by Jennifer Aniston.
17 Again
In 17 Again, Matthew Perry plays 37-year-old Mike O'Donnell, who loses his job and is on the brink of divorce from his high school sweetheart Scarlet (Leslie Mann). After an accident, Mike finds himself back in his 17-year-old body (portrayed by Zac Efron) with the chance to relive his high school experience and perhaps make some changes to ensure a happier future.
Picture Perfect
The Friends cast periodically took part in other projects during the 10 years that the sitcom aired on NBC, and 1997's Pitch Perfect was one of those for Jennifer Aniston. In the rom-com, she plays the advertising executive Kate, who lies and says she's engaged to Jay Mohr's Nick in order to make it look like her life is more stable than it is. The only thing missing from these complicated relationship dynamics was someone shouting, "We were on a break!"
The Pallbearer
It's pretty obvious why the Friends stars were tapped for so many romantic comedies in the '90s. David Schwimmer, for his part, took a break from Ross Gellar to play Tom Thompson in 1996's The Pallbearer. Tom is a struggling twentysomething who agrees to be a pallbearer for a former classmate who has died, despite not remembering him. A strange love triangle forms between Tom, his high school crush and his late friend's mother.
The Morning Show
Jennifer Aniston and her Friends sister Reese Witherspoon reunited in 2019 to executive produce and star on The Morning Show on Apple TV+. The workplace drama tackles issues straight from the headlines, as Aniston and Witherspoon play news anchors who are often right in the center of the turmoil.
Mad About You
Friends fans know that Phoebe Buffay was a twin, with Lisa Kudrow pulling double duty as both Phoebe and Ursula on eight episodes. What people may not know is that Ursula Buffay was a fully formed character on Friends' fellow NBC Must-See TV offering, Mad About You. Kudrow appeared as Phoebe's ditzy counterpart alongside Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt in 24 episodes from 1992 to 1998.
Episodes
Five years after Matt LeBlanc's Friends spinoff Joey was canceled, the actor returned to the sitcom space on Episodes. LeBlanc plays a fictionalized version of himself — a charming but arrogant actor who signs onto the American remake of the British series Pucks. LeBlanc was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor during Episodes' run and won one of two Golden Globes for Best Actor that he was up for over those years.
Cougar Town
Premiering in 2009 and running for six seasons, Cougar Town stars Courteney Cox as Jules Cobb, a divorced woman in her 40s trying to reintegrate herself into the dating world. The role nabbed her a Golden Globe Award nomination in 2010, and Friends fans were surely delighted to see cameos from Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry.
The Odd Couple
In one of Matthew Perry's final TV roles, the man most famous as Chandler Bing took on another iconic comedic character in The Odd Couple's sloppy Oscar Madison. He starred in the CBS adaptation opposite Thomas Lennon, who played the obsessively clean Felix Unger. Sounds like he and Monica Gellar would have gotten along.
Cake
Jennifer Aniston has proven over the years that her talents stretch far beyond the spoiled Rachel Green, and her performance in 2015's Cake earned both critical praise and a Golden Globe nomination. The actress plays Claire Bennett, a woman who abuses pain medication to deal with the physical and emotional effects of the car accident that killed her son. After the suicide of a woman in her chronic pain support group, Claire forms a bond with her husband and son.
Romy And Michele's High School Reunion
In one of the best movies about female friendship, Lisa Kudrow stars alongside Mira Sorvino in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. Ten years after graduating, Romy and Michele are roommates who haven't made much of their lives, but they decide to return to high school with fake stories of success in order to face the ex-classmates who bullied them. This 1997 comedy is a cult classic and features a great cast, not to mention an iconic dance from Alan Cumming.
Top Gear
Taking a step away from scripted TV, Matt LeBlanc got to show off his expertise as a car enthusiast when he signed on BBC's Top Gear as a co-host from 2016 to 2019. Even shooting episodes of this show abroad, LeBlanc wasn't able to escape the grasp of Joey Tribbiani, as he has said he once encountered a Moroccan group living in caves far from civilization who, upon seeing him, called him Joey and affected an accent to say, "How you doin'?"
Shining Vale
Courteney Cox has established herself both as a comedic actress on Friends and a scream queen in the Scream movies, and in the 2022 Starz series Shining Vale, she gets to show her expertise in both genres. In the horror comedy series, Cox plays Pat, who is convinced that something is going on in her dysfunctional family's home, with terrible things having taken place in the past.
Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip
In 2006 following the end of Friends, Matthew Perry signed on to Aaron Sorkin's NBC dramedy Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The series depicted the behind-the-scenes antics of a live sketch comedy show similar to Saturday Night Live, but it was strangely made to compete with 30 Rock, a comedy with a very similar premise, which premiered on NBC only a month after Perry's project. Studio 60 was canceled after its first season.
Office Space
Office Space is considered one of the most Gen X movies of all time, and Jennifer Aniston perfectly embodies that spirit in her role as Joanna, the waitress who gets fed up for her lack of enthusiasm and flair.
Band Of Brothers
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg teamed up for the powerful miniseries Band of Brothers, which was based on the nonfiction book by Stephen E. Ambrose and premiered on HBO on September 9, 2001. David Schwimmer was in the midst of his stint on Friends but found time to portray Herbert Sobel in the World War II saga that followed soldiers preparing to fight in one of the biggest military conflicts of all time.
Web Therapy
Years before telehealth was a common and necessary thing, Lisa Kudrow tackled the subject in her web series-turned-Showtime-show, Web Therapy. The actress portrays therapist Fiona Wallice, who offers abbreviated sessions to her clients via the Internet. The show utilized a computer screen POV, and featured a number of fun cameos over its four seasons on Showtime, including appearances from Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. If only Jennifer Aniston could have made it a clean sweep!
Man With A Plan
Matt LeBlanc found himself another sitcom in 2016, starring in Man with a Plan on CBS. He played Adam Burns, who must take on more responsibilities of raising his three kids when his wife Andi decides to go back to work. The series was largely panned by critics, who called it "bland and forgettable," among other things, but it still managed to air for four seasons.
Family Ties
Years before Monica Gellar would enter the realms of television history, Courteney Cox had a recurring role on Family Ties' sixth and seventh seasons. She played Lauren Miller, the girlfriend of Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) in 19 episodes from 1987 to 1989.
Go On
Matthew Perry took yet another stab at NBC sitcom glory in 2012 with Go On, where he played Ryan King, a sports radio talk show host struggling with the recent death of his wife. He joins an emotional support group, where he's introduced to a motley crew of characters and personalities. Despite being previewed following NBC's Olympics coverage and getting a boost from The Voice as a lead-in, the series was canceled after a single season.
The Good Girl
Jennifer Aniston really got about as far away from Rachel Green as she could in 2002's The Good Girl. Aniston stars as Justine, an employee at a small-town big box store who seems stuck in an unhappy marriage. She engages in an affair with the new cashier Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal), which ultimately ends in tragedy on multiple levels.
The six stars of Friends may be best known for NBC's '90s sitcom, but there are plenty of other movies and TV shows to see them in.