Everybody’s got their favorite Friends character when it comes to Ross Gellar, Rachel Green, Chandler Bing, Monica Gellar, Phoebe Buffay and Joey Tribbiani. But what about the dozens of other people who came in and out of their lives over the NBC Must See TV show‘s 10 seasons? Here are 32 side characters from one of the best sitcoms of all time that we still love today:
Janice Litman-Goralnik
Oh. My. God! Chandler’s on-off girlfriend Janice Litman-Goralnik (Maggie Wheeler) was nothing short of iconic, and despite all the cute moments Chandler and Monica blessed us with in Friends‘ later seasons, there is still a contingency of the fandom that thinks he and Janice should have been endgame.
Carol Willick
Things weren’t always easy for Ross (David Schwimmer) and his ex-wife Carol Willick (Jane Sibbett), as the series opened with them navigating not just their divorce, but their unexpected pregnancy and her new relationship. However, they continued to be there for each other when needed — Ross walking Carol down the aisle at her wedding, for instance — and we couldn’t help but love her too.
Julie
The six Friends had a lot of girlfriends come and go over the years, but poor Julie (Lauren Tom) was simply a victim of bad timing. She came back into Ross’ life just as Rachel was finally reciprocating his years-long crush on her. Julie was never anything but sweet and kind, but nobody could have stood in the way of Ross and Rachel finally getting together.
Richard Burke
Tom Selleck was one of Friends‘ best guest stars, playing Richard Burke, Monica’s fan-favorite Season 2 boyfriend. Forget the fact that he was 21 years older and her dad’s best friend. He still fit in just fine with Monica’s close-knit friend group, even if Joey and Chandler did see him more as a father figure. Their breakup because Richard didn’t want to have more children was truly heartbreaking.
Gunther
No one will ever forget Gunther, the Central Perk barista with hair brighter than the sun. James Michael Tyler stood mostly quietly behind the counter for an impressive 162 episodes, secretly pining for Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) the entire time.
Frank Jr.
Phoebe’s half-brother Frank Jr. (Giovanni Ribisi) really seemed to prove which side of the family her wacky personality came from. Frank Jr. was hard to rein in, but he had so much love for his sister, and you can’t help but smile at how enthusiastic he was to be having triplets with his wife Alice. Because he never had a dad around, and “now I always will, ’cause, you know, it’ll be me!”
Marcel The Monkey
It was certainly a unique choice of Friends to bring in a pet monkey for Ross. Marcel, who was actually a capuchin named Katie, was a hilarious companion to the newly divorced character in the first season. To this day can Friends fans even hear “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” without thinking of Marcel?
Ugly Naked Guy
It may be strange to love a character whose face we never saw, but Ugly Naked Guy provided quite a few comedic moments for the gang watching him from Monica’s apartment.
Rhonda
Sherri Shepherd has said she loved guest starring on Friends as Rhonda, a museum employee who helped Matt LeBlanc’s Joey (a new tour guide) navigate the lunchtime situation. Just as Joey was hurt that Ross chose to sit with the other scientists rather than him, we can all understand why Rhonda called out Peter, a fellow employee she’d known since grade school, for the same thing. After all, she shared her pudding with him. She gave him her Snack Pack!
Sandra Green
Marlo Thomas made a few appearances over the years as Rachel’s mother Sandra Green, and she was at her best when she was marveling at the life her daughter had created. Sandra had never had to take care of herself, and she admired Rachel for being brave enough to not go through with a wedding to a man she didn’t love.
Jack Gellar
Who was more lovable than Ross and Monica’s dad Jack? The character, played by Elliott Gould, may have still shown a little favoritism toward Ross, but Jack clearly had a soft spot for his little Harmonica. Fans continue to love him for his musings on being buried at sea, selling ice on the Internet and the sun-dried tomato business. Don’t tell me your heart didn’t melt when he went to check on Monica (Courteney Cox) after her breakup with Richard.
Estelle Leonard
Estelle Leonard, played by a heavily made-up June Gable, was not the most talented of talent agents, as Joey struggled as an actor possibly more than necessary over the years. However, her exaggerated New York accent and chain-smoking proclivities made for consistent laughs in an unforgettable role.
David
It’s hard to believe Hank Azaria appeared in only three episodes as David, the scientist who was forced to move to Minsk (which is not in Russia) so soon after he and Phoebe fell in love. I wouldn’t have been upset if she’d ended up with him.
Mike Hannigan
It’s hard to argue against Mike Hannigan though. Paul Rudd played a pretty significant role in Seasons 9 and 10, as his character eventually married Phoebe. Mike didn’t always understand Phoebe’s unconventional ways, but he always allowed her to be herself, even if that meant changing his name to Crap Bag to prove a point to Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock.
Mr. Heckles
Anybody who’s ever had a noisy upstairs neighbor can likely relate to Mr. Heckles. Larry Hankin’s character was a bizarre one, indeed, as he spent his sporadic appearances either telling Monica and co. to keep it down or insisting that he could have a cat/play the oboe/have birds, etc. According to “The One With the Flashback,” we also have Mr. Heckles to thank for Joey and Chandler becoming roommates!
Susan Bunch
Susan Bunch gets a bad rap on Friends, and I honestly don’t get it. We all know that Ross was kind of the worst, and nobody got the brunt of his pettiness more than the woman Carol left him for. While their interactions were often strained, Susan was as understanding as possible of Ross’ perspective, but she never allowed herself to be pushed aside, especially when it came to Carol or their son Ben, and I love that.
Eddie
Man alive! Who didn’t love this dehydrating maniac? Adam Goldberg played Eddie, Chandler’s roommate when Joey temporarily moved into his own place. Eddie didn’t always have a strong grasp on reality, and there was really nothing creepier than finding out he liked to sneak into Chandler’s room to watch him sleep, but Eddie sure was an amazing character who fans continue to love to this day.
Ursula Buffay
The character of Ursula Buffay originated on Mad About You, with Friends creating Phoebe as her identical twin to justify Lisa Kudrow‘s appearance on both NBC series. Ursula was the “evil twin” of sorts, just as flighty as Phoebe but with none of the warmth. She was still a heck of a lot of fun to watch.
Leonard Green
It was interesting to get to meet Rachel’s dad Leonard Green (Ron Leibman), the man who spoiled his three daughters so shamelessly, but the best part about this character was how ruthless he could be, particularly toward Ross. “Nice hair. What’d you do, swim here?” Classic.
Nora Bing
Like many of the Friends characters, Chandler had a loving but complicated relationship with his mom Nora Bing (Morgan Fairchild), particularly because of her line of work writing erotic novels. But how fun was it for his friends to be able to meet the woman who wrote page 79 of Mistress B… well, never mind.
Jill Green
If there’s one thing we learned about Rachel’s sisters on Friends, it’s that they’re used to getting what they want. Reese Witherspoon was a joy to watch as Jill Green, who easily manipulated everyone around her, even dating Ross for no other reason than to prove to Rachel that she could. After all, the only thing she can’t have is dairy!
Erica The Birth Mother
Erica (played by Anna Faris) wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box, but she made the process of Monica and Chandler adopting her twins extremely easy for them, despite the fact that they lied to her about their identities during their first meeting.
Erika The Obsessed Fan
Brooke Shields went way over the top to play Erika, Joey’s stalker who somehow didn’t understand that his soap opera character Drake Ramoray didn’t exist in the real world. Her hand-licking scene lives in infamy, and who didn’t love watching her throw water in Joey’s face after she saw him kissing another character on Days of Our Lives?
Paul Stevens
Things could have gotten all kinds of weird when Rachel started dating Paul Stevens (Bruce Willis), the father of Ross’ girlfriend Elizabeth. Oh, and they definitely did get weird, but one can’t blame Paul for giving himself that mirror pep talk before he continued his romantic weekend with Rachel. Everybody needs a little reminder that they’re a neat guy (and a love machine).
Parker
Alec Baldwin guest-starred as Phoebe’s date Parker in Season 8, and how could you not love how excited he got about every little thing? The brake lights were “aglow with the light of a thousand fairies!” The Long Island Expressway was “a concrete miracle!” Parker, I just want to take a mental picture of you … click!
Pete Becker
Who hasn’t dreamed of being pursued by a multi-millionaire? Jon Favreau guest-starred in six episodes as Pete Becker, and I can’t even be mad that he tried to woo Monica by leaving $20,000 tips and whisking her away to Rome for pizza on their first date. Too bad their relationship couldn’t withstand Pete’s dream of becoming the Ultimate Fighting Champion.
Amy Green
While Rachel’s sister Jill was defined by her manipulative personality, Amy Green was the very definition of self-centered. Christina Applegate’s character couldn’t be bothered to learn anyone’s name (even Rachel’s daughter Emma), constantly mistook Ross for a guy who worked at the falafel stand and somehow still thought she would get custody of Emma if something happened to Ross and Rachel. Talk about a character you loved to hate!
Judy Gellar
Christina Pickles appeared 19 times in Friends‘ 10 seasons as Monica and Ross’ mom Judy, and while the micro-aggressions she hurled at Monica were pretty brutal, it was downright hilarious to see what aspect of her daughter’s life she would nit-pick next: The un-fluffed pillow? The “easy” lasagna she made for dinner? Still not having a boyfriend? It was a lot, but it was relatable to a lot of Friends viewers.
Mr. Treeger
Sure, Mr. Treeger made Rachel cry that one time, but he wasn’t exactly wrong in calling her out for being spoiled. As far as building superintendents go Michael G. Hagerty’s character was a pretty nice one, not evicting Monica from the apartment she was apparently living in illegally. He also had a great storyline where he learned to dance so he could impress a woman he liked at the Super Ball.
Alice Knight
If you can get past the age difference between Frank Jr. and his wife Alice Knight (Debra Jo Rupp), and the fact that he was her student (her BEST student, obviously), the love between them was so undeniable. In pretty much all of their appearances together, they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, and that’s one of the things that made Alice such a great side character.
Charlie Wheeler
Ross and Joey each had a lot of girlfriends over the series’ 10 seasons, and they both dated Aisha Tyler’s Charlie Wheeler. One can certainly see how they’d both be attracted to her, as she was brilliant, beautiful and pretty funny too. Frankly it was also nice to see a Black character with a major storyline.
Kathy
It’s a little surprising that Kathy is so beloved by Friends fans, given the fact that she ultimately cheated on both Joey and Chandler. But the Joey situation was just unfortunate, because he was dating other people too, and Paget Brewster’s on-screen chemistry with Matthew Perry was simply electric. I join many other Friends fans in wishing she and Chandler had lasted longer … and ended differently.
Friends may have aired its final episode decades ago, but you know what they say: I’ll be there for you, and that includes all of the beloved side characters that we met along the way. You can revisit any of your favorite episodes and guest stars, as all 10 seasons are available to stream with a Max subscription.
