The beloved ’90s sitcomFriendsis undeniably one of the most popular and enduring programs to ever grace the small screen, with the juggernaut series famously following the personal and professional lives of a group of close-knit pals living in Manhattan in their ’20s and ’30s. The buzzed-about show helped launch the careers of its sensational ensemble cast including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and thelate and great Matthew Perry, and throughout its phenomenal ten-season run, countless noteworthy celebrities made memorable appearances as unique characters.
Friends is the popular sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, released back in 1994 and ran for ten seasons. The show follows a group of six twentysomethings through their lives in New York City and their time spent between their two apartments and their local coffee shop. The show features the group navigating tricky relationships with one another and comical misadventures.
From Brad Pitt’s unforgettable appearance as Rachel Green’s hostile enemy Will Colbert to Danny DeVito’s side-splitting performance as the seasoned stripper “Officer” Roy Goodbody,Friendshas hadnumerous guest starsleave their mark by popping up and shining in one standalone episode. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and look at the fifteen bestFriendscharacters who were only in one episode of the groundbreaking series.
15Tommy (Ben Stiller)
“The One with the Screamer” (Season 3, Episode 22)
In the side-splitting episode “The One with the Screamer,” Ben Stiller appears as the extremely hot-headed Tommy, the first man Rachel goes on a date with after her devastating break-up with Ross.
The angry and short-fused character is constantly losing his cool over the most minor inconveniences, yet only Ross witnesses his aggressive tirades and tantrums. When he attempts to point out just how unhinged Tommy truly is, the rest of the Central Perk gang tell Ross he’s simply jealous that Rachel is trying to move on.
Tommy Finally Gets Caught in the Act
Frustrated that no one else had been privy to Tommy’s fiery rage and that he was somehow able to disguise his anger problems, Ross makes it his mission to catch Tommy in the act and drives himself nuts trying to do so.
Ross is finally vindicated by the end of the episode when Tommy unleashes his fury on the chick and the duck, and Rachel and the rest of the group look on in complete and utter shock. Naturally, she ends things with the volatile Tommy, yet the character nonetheless left a lasting impression on fans, as didStiller’s uproarious delivery.
14"Officer" Roy Goodbody (Danny DeVito)
“The One Where The Stripper Cries” (Season 10, Episode 11)
Legendary film andTV superstar Danny DeVitocompletely dominates every role he takes on and he knocked it out of the park when he appeared as the seasoned stripper “Officer” Roy Goodbody, whom Rachel and Monica hired for Phoebe’s bachelorette party. When the middle-aged, pint-sized Roy begins to perform his sexy dance routine for the ladies, they are left feeling a bit underwhelmed and downright uncomfortable by the cringe-worthy show.
Related:10 Best Unscripted Moments From Friends That Were Left In
Goodbody’s Swan Song
Clearly not the stripper they were expecting or hoping for, Roy begins to break down because of their lackluster response and contemplates retiring once and for all from the risqué profession, but not before Phoebe encourages him to finish his performance and go out with a major bang.
DeVito’s fearless delivery and trademark humor were front-and-center in the episode, and watching him carry out the rest of his routine and have one final, glorious moment as his stripper alter ego was an absolute riot for fans of the beloved sitcom and actor.
13The Guy on the Plane (Hugh Laurie)
“The One with Ross’s Wedding, Part 2” (Season 4, Episode 24)
“The One with Ross’s Wedding, Part 2” is one of the sitcom’s most unforgettable episodes for a myriad of reasons, from Monica and Chandler’s shockingly delightful one-night stand to Ross iconically saying Rachel’s name at the alter instead of Emily’s, andHugh Laurie’s roleas a fed-up plane passenger was icing on the cake.
After initially declining to attend their London wedding, Rachel has a major change of heart and comes to the realization that she’s still in love with Ross, and she hops on a plane to tell him in person.
Rachel Gets a Dose of Reality
Seated next to her on the flight is a guy who gets quite an earful about her long and complicated history with Ross, as Rachel spends most of her time rehashing her relationship woes to her fellow passenger.
After reaching his breaking point and becoming completely fed-up by the conversation, the man bluntly puts Rachel in her place and calls her out for her selfish behavior, telling her she is going to ruin the happiest day of Ross' life despite claiming to love him. What’s even more hilarious is that he tells Rachel she and Ross were definitely on a break, adding a little extra salt to the stunned character’s wound.
“The One with the Rumor” (Season 8, Episode 9)
Fans all across the world went wild when Jennifer Aniston’s then-husband Brad Pitt appeared inthe Thanksgiving episode"The One with the Rumor," and though many assumed they would play love interests that was amusingly not the case. Pitt portrayed Monica’s old high school friend Will Colbert, who was formerly overweight and has now become slim, handsome, and successful, and his arrival on the holiday naturally attracts Rachel’s attention.
A Show-Stopping Special Guest
Will has the opposite reaction to discovering that Rachel will be at the dinner, as she had previously bullied him in high school and he was never able to let go of his anger and resentment towards her. His deep-seated hatred for Rachel was palpable and his presence at the gathering led to some pretty funny revelations about the gang’s teenage years, namely that both Will and Ross were members of the “I Hate Rachel Green Club.”
The duo were also responsible for the outlandish rumor that circulated all across the state of New York, claiming that Rachel was a hermaphrodite. The petty and hostile Will is bewildered when he learns Ross dated his arch-enemy and got her pregnant, yet he took great delight when he learned he had no plans of marrying her.
11Amanda Buffamonteezi (Jennifer Coolidge)
“The One with Ross' Tan” (Season 10, Episode 3)
When Jennifer Coolidge guest starred on the season 10 episode “The One with Ross' Tan,” she was still most famous for having portrayed Stifler’s mom in theAmerican Piefranchiseand had yet to take over Hollywood. Her obnoxious and over-the-top character Amanda Buffamonteezi was Monica and Phoebe’s old friend from the building who shows up years later after moving to England and just can’t seem to stop bragging about herself every chance she gets.
Amanda “Accidentally” Spills the Beans
Amanda attempts to make plans with the ladies, and they make it their mission to sneakily cut her out of their lives by ignoring her phone calls and messages, which backfires spectacularly after Chandler makes the mistake of answering one of her many calls.
Amanda’s constant boasting rubs Phoebe and Monica the wrong way as does her hilariously terrible fake British accent, and she causes problems for the pair when she “accidentally” reveals Phoebe tried to cut her pal out of her life back when they were roommates. Unsurprisingly, Coolidge shined as the annoying wannabe Brit and managed to stand out in the popular episode.
10Russ (David Schwimmer)
“The One with Russ” (Season 2, Episode 10)
David Schwimmer took a page from Lisa Kudrow’s book when heperformed double-dutyin the episode “The One with Russ”, in which the actor played Rachel’s newest beau Russ, who just so happens to look nearly identical to Ross. In an attempt to get over her feelings for Ross and accept his relationship with Julie, Rachel strikes up a romance with a periodontist named Russ, whom she believes looks more like Bob Saget than Ross.
An Uncanny Resemblance
The episode is extremely entertaining because everybody can clearly see how Russ is basically Ross' doppelgänger, yet the only people who refuse to accept the truth are Rachel, Ross, and Russ. She remains oblivious to the gang’s many questions and concerns but upon witnessing the two argue in Central Perk and seeing first-hand how their temperaments and unique quirks mirror one another, Rachel freaks out and ends up fleeing in a state of shock.
She ends up breaking up with Russ because she can’t get over his similarities to Ross, though he himself stays blissfully unaware of any likeness to the paleontologist.
9Celia Monroe (Susan Sarandon)
“The One with Joey’s New Brain” (Season 7, Episode 15)
Academy Award-winner Susan Sarandonwas an absolute riot when she appeared as the sassy and seasoned soap opera star Celia Monroe, who is stunned to discover that her famous character Jessica Lockhart is being killed offDays of Our Livesand her brain being given to Joey’s Dr. Drake Ramoray.
Loved and adored for her penchant for throwing drinks in people’s faces and giving them a firm slap to the face, Celia is initially infuriated when Joey tries to ask her for tips on how to capture Jessica’s essence.
Celia Teaches Joey the Craft
Despite the rage and disappointment she feels towards the writers ofDays of Our Lives,Celia ends up taking Joey under her wing and teaching him her tips and tricks for portraying the cunning Jessica, even showing him how to milk the camera when she’s given a romantic kissing scene and “own the room.”
Of course, womanizer Joey ends up charming Celia and the two end up sleeping together, and when Monica and Rachel discover their favorite soap star is in the apartment, they can’t keep their composure and Monica even begs Celia to slap her (which she legally can’t do anymore).
8Erika Ford (Brooke Shields)
“The One After the Superbowl: Part 1” (Season 2, Episode 12)
In Part 1 of the double-length episode “The One After the Superbowl”, Brooke Shields delivered a lively andwonderfully unhinged performanceasDays of Our Livessuperfan Erika Ford, who believes that the soap opera and characters are actually real and not simply a television show. When Joey receives his very first fan mail from the beautiful yet unbalanced Erika, he is thrilled and even decides to date the young woman despite the fact that she is clearly mentally unwell.
Related:Friends: The Most Iconic Quotes from the Main Characters, Ranked
Stranger Than Fiction
Joey takes his unhinged stalker out and she continuously refers to him as Drake (his on-screen character), and even grows extremely angry when she accuses him of cheating on her with another woman (who is really just another actress onDays of Our Lives).
Even her beauty can’t help Joey get over the fact that she’s mentally ill and living in a fantasy world, and when he tries to tell her he is actually just an actor playing Dr. Drake Ramoray, Erika doesn’t believe him. It’s not until the rest of the gang discreetly tells Erika that Joey is “Drake’s” evil twin brother “Hans” that she leaves him alone and ultimately moves on.
7Sandy (Freddie Prinze Jr.)
“The One with the Male Nanny” (Season 9, Episode 6)
There’s no denying that some episodes ofFriendshaven’t exactly aged the greatest since its premiere 30 years ago, and the season 9 entry “The One with the Male Nanny” is another example ofRoss not coming off the bestin the sitcom.
When Ross and Rachel begin searching for a nanny to help them care for their daughter Emma, Rachel falls head-over-heels for the kind and calming Sandy (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and begs Ross to let them hire him, even though he’s less-than-thrilled when he discovers Sandy is a man.
A Progressive & Gender-Defying Character
Despite Ross' cool reaction to him, Sandy proves that he is exceptionally good at his profession and Emma instantly takes a liking to him (as does the rest of the gang). When Ross learns that Sandy has no problem bucking gender stereotypes and enjoys baking, puppetry, and can even play the recorder, Ross fires him and unsurprisingly, Sandy takes it well and respects his decision.
Though Ross initially had problems with how in touch with his emotions Sandy was, the male nanny is able to help Ross open up about his own negative childhood memories and experiences with his father, and comforts him.
6Earl (Jason Alexander)
“The One Where Rosita Dies” (Season 7, Episode 13)
Seinfeldalum Jason Alexanderwinningly portrayed a suicidal officer worker contemplating suicide in the season 7 episode “The One Where Rosita Dies,” which follows Phoebe as she begins a new job as a telemarketer selling printer toner and becomes deeply invested in her first potential customer, Earl.
As she attempts to learn the ropes and master the art of selling a product over the phone, Phoebe is dumbfounded when the first person she calls bluntly tells her he plans to end his life and therefore does not want to buy any toner.
Phoebe to the Rescue
When she gets on the phone with the deeply troubled and unhappy supply manager Earl, Phoebe makes it her mission to convince the depressed man not to give up on life. When he confesses that he wants to take his own life, a majorly concerned Phoebe leaves her new job and rushes to his office to get him to change his mind and convince him there are plenty of things worth living for.
Though Alexander does a great job playing the despondent Earl (who believes nobody cares about him), seeing Phoebe rise to the challenge of trying to save his life made the episode equally touching and amusing for fans.
