41 Friends guest stars you may have forgotten - all the celeb cameos
The One With All The Guest Stars.
The core Friends cast went on to become massive stars themselves, but the popular sitcom had a whole host of huge names in its 10 season run.
Everyone from Brad Pitt to George Clooney, Julia Roberts to Christina Applegate have all popped up in various roles and story arcs, but how many do you remember?
We've picked 41 of Friends guest stars for you, with when they appeared and who they played so you'll never forget them ever again.
Brad Pitt
The One with the Rumour (S8 EP9)
Back when Jennifer Aniston was married to Brad Pitt, he made a guest appearance on the show as Will Colbert, her old high school classmate. Instead of showing the pair in wedded bliss (as they were believed to be at the time), Pitt's character had an intense loathing for Rachel. Ross and Will both hated Rachel so it's not too surprising that he reveals he spread a rumour about her in high school.
Jill Goodacre
The One With the Blackout (S1 EP7)
Early on Jill Goodacre pops up in one of the first episodes of the show when Chandler is trapped in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre herself.
Hank Azaria
The One With The Monkey to The One in Barbados Part 1
Azaria plays one of Phoebe's love interests, David, the scientist guy who leaves her to go to Minsk. The other is Paul Rudd's Mike of course.
- Read more: Friends fans name the best character
Isabella Rossellini
The One With Frank Jnr (S3 EP5)
Ross writes a list of celebs he would be allowed to cheat on Rachel with, but takes Rossellini off the list for somebody closer to home. Then he actually bumps into Isabella Rossellini, who plays herself, at Central Perk.
Paul Rudd
Seasons 1-10: First appeared in The One With The Paediatrician and last appearance in The Last One Part 2
Paul Rudd may not look on his time on Friends too fondly, but he played a supporting character that became key to Phoebe's happy ending. Rudd stars as Mike, a piano player who she ends up tying the knot with. The pair first meet when Joey introduces them on a disastrous blind date. Their relationship ends when phoebe realises he never wants to remarry - though he later changes his mind when he realises David is keen and set to propose to Phoebe. Coming full circle, Joey marries the pair thanks to that internet ordination for Monica and Chandler's wedding.
Alec Baldwin
The One in Massapequa (S8 EPS18)
Speaking of Phoebe's love interests, 30 Rock star Alex Baldwin appeared as Parker for two-episodes in season eight. He was over eager, and annoying as hell, but that's the point.
Jason Alexander
The One Where Rosita Dies (S7 EP13)
Seinfield's Alexander plays Early who Phoebe tries to talk out of killing himself when she calls him her first day as a toner-selling telemarketer.
- Read More: Friends cast rule out revival or movie
Reese Witherspoon
The One With Rachel's Sister (S6 EP13)
Witherspoon stars as Rachel's younger sister Jill Green who rocks up and goes on a date with... Ross.
Christina Applegate
The One With Rachel's Other Sister (S9 EP8)
As the title says we're introduced to Rachel's other sister, Amy, who is pretty terrible. Not only can she not remember any of Rachel's friend's names, but she also forgets Rachel's baby's name too. She appears later on in the series for a Thanksgiving episode where Amy tries to get custody of Emma if Ross AND Monica die. Her performance earned her an Emmy. The second appearance sees her babysit Emma and get her ears pierced - Emma's that is, not Amy's. That would still have been odd, but slightly more normal than what happened.
Danny DeVito
The One Where the Stripper Cries (S10 EP11)
It's Phoebe's fancy bachelorette (or hen do for us Brits) and Monica and Rachel soon realise she's expecting a stripper so they arrange a last-minute booking. But when he turns up, he isn't exactly what they expected...cue Danny DeVito. It's hard to watch at first, but soon descends into a weird hot experience for Phoebe. Genius.
Julia Roberts
The One After the Super Bowl: Part 1 & 2 (S2 EP 12 & 13)
Ross travels to San Diego where his pet monkey Marcel is now the star of a new film. While on set Chandler comes across an old school friend (Julia Roberts) hell bent on seeking revenge for a childhood prank. Jean-Claude Van Damme, Brook Shields, Dan Castellaneta, Fred Willard and Chris Isaak also appear in this star-studded episode that followed directly after, you guessed it, the Super Bowl.
Brooke Shields
The One After the Superbowl (S2 EP12)
Shields stars as Joey's 'stalker', Erika Ford. Erika thinks she's dating Joey's Days of Our Lives character, but she becomes a liability when she actually thinks Joey is Dr Drake.
Kathleen Turner
The One With Chandler's Dad (S7 EP22)
Meet Charles Bing aka Helena Handbasket aka Chandler's father! Kathleen Turner stars as Chandler's dad who has his own Las Vegas Show.
Hugh Laurie
The One With Ross' Wedding (S4 EP23)
Hugh Laurie stars as Rachel's airplane neighbour as she makes her way to London. She's excited as she's trying to build herself up to gatecrashing - and stopping - Ross' wedding. Laurie's character isn't so keen on all this nervous energy and he's very rude, but you can't help but like his as usual.
Helen Hunt
The One With Two Parts (S1 EP16 and 17)
Helen Hunt stars as her Mad About You character in a perfect cross-over. Jamie goes into Central Perk and thinks Phoebe is her twin sister Ursula, who is a waitress on Mad About You.
Jon Lovitz
The One With the Stoned Guy (S1 EP15)
The One With the Blind Date (S9 EP14)
Saturday Night Live's Jon Lovitz stars as Phoebe's friend Steve. We first meet him as he's opening up a restaurant and he wants to try Monica's cooking, but he's far too stoned.
He returns later in season nine, this time for a blind date with Rachel.
Greg Kinnear and Aisha Tyler
The One With Ross' Grant (S10 EP6)
Greg Kinnear plays Ross' girlfriend's ex Dr Benjamin Hobart. He just also happens to be the very man who decides whether or not Ross gets his grant money. Dr Hobart is happy to grant the money, that is if Ross breaks up with his girlfriend Charlie.
Jim Rash
The Last One (S10 EP17)
Community's Jim Rash stars in the finale as yet another airplane passenger sat next to Rachel. He's incredibly on edge, arguably his nerves are the push for Ross and Rachel finally getting together... his fear that there's something wrong with the plane causes a hold up, giving Ross the time he needs to make it to Rachel.
Bruce Willis
The One Where Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad (S6 EP21)
The One Where Paul's The Man (S6 EP22)
The One With The Ring (S6 EP23)
Ross begins dating student Elizabeth, much to the amusement of the friends. But when her strict father Paul (Bruce Willis) is introduced to Ross, he somehow ends up a relationship with Rachel. Legend has it that Bruce Willis starred in Friends after losing a bet to Matthew Perry when they both starred on The Whole Nine Yards. Willis actually ended up winning an Emmy for his Friends role so we'd say it worked out well for him.
George Clooney
The One with the Two Parts: Part 2 (S1 EP17)
Rachel sprains her ankle but when she gets to the hospital she pretends to be Monica in order to use her medical insurance. Unsurprisingly, Monica is not a fan of this plan – especially when Rachel organises a double date with their handsome doctors, played by fresh-faced ER stars George Clooney and Noah Wyle.
Jeff Goldblum
The One With the Mugging (S9 EP15)
Joey has an audition with Jeff Goldblum and narrowly secures a callback. During his second round, desperate for a wee, he gives a jumpy audition which Goldblum loves. So when it comes to his final round he fills his bladder to bursting – a decision that has dire consequences. Goldblum ends up covered in Joey's banked up 'energy'.
Charlie Sheen
The One With The Chicken Pox (S2 EP23)
Sheen starred in season two as Phoebe's "Submarine Guy" aka Ryan. When Ryan comes home he only has a short time to spend with her, but their plans to be alone together is ruined with an outbreak of chicken pox.
Read More: The Friends star that originally wanted to play Rachel
Anna Faris
The One With the Birth Mother (S10 EP9)
The final season saw Monica and Chandler try for a baby before opting for a surrogate, Erica. Anna Faris appears in five episodes for the story arc, and while Erica isn't the smartest she does bring the couple baby joy!
Winona Ryder
The One With Rachel's Big Kiss (S7 EP20)
Winona Ryder stars as Melissa Warburton, Rachel's sorority sister who Rachel says she made out with in college. Phoebe really doesn't believe her, so Rachel drags her to dinner with Melissa only to find Melissa denies it ever happened. Eventually she admits the truth and gives Rachel another kiss.
Denise Richards
The One With Ross and Monica's Cousin (S7 EP19)
Denise Richards plays Cassie Geller, Ross and Monica's cousin who is visiting for the wedding. It all gets a little weird when Chandler, Ross and Phoebe all get heart eyes for her and can't stop staring. Cue Denise Richards in slow mo.
Billy Crystal and Robin Williams
The One With the Ultimate Fighting Champion (S3 EP24)
Both comedy legends Billy Crystal and Robin Williams appeared on the show about the same time as their film Father's Day, though we're not saying that's why they crop up. Both are chatting in Central Perk when their conversation catches the Friends attention. We can hardly blame them when Williams' wife's affairs pop up.
Susan Sarandon
The One With Joey's New Brain (S7 EP15)
Joey's Days of Our Lives character gets a brain transplant from one of the show's female characters. Unfortunately the actress who plays her (Susan Sarandon) is unaware she is about to be killed off...Sarandon shows Joey how to play her character in a weird story arc involving teaching him how to throw a drink at someone and slapping them in the face. Her daughter Eva Amurri also stars.
David Arquette
The One With The Jam (S3 EP3)
Courtney Cox's future husband pops up in season three of the show, but in a romance with Phoebe! David Arquette stars as Malcolm, Phoebe's twin sister Ursula's stalker. Malcolm accidentally mistakes Phoebe for her sister and starts to stalk her, leading to the pair becoming interested each other. Not your usual romantic set up.
Rebecca Romijn
The One With the Dirty Girl (S4 EP6)
X-Men's Romijn starred in Friends in her first acting role in season four as Cheryl, the 'Dirty Girl'. Ross and Cheryl are dating, but he can't get over the fact she has a filthy flat.
Marlo Thomas
The One With the Lesbian Wedding (S2 EP11)
The One With The Two Parties (S2 EP22)
The One With the Baby Shower (S8 EP20)
You'll know her as Ann Marie on That Girl, but in Friends she's Rachel's mother, Sandra Green. Sandra is visiting Rachel to tell her she wants a divorce, then asks more inappropriate questions about sex, before requesting marijuana. It's a lot.
Selma Blair
The One With Christmas in Tulsa (S9 EP10)
Cruel Intentions' Selma Blair stars as Wendy, Chandler's co-worker hell bent on seducing him. She steals ham from a party then proceeds to throw herself at Chandler.
Gabrielle Union
The One With the Cheap Wedding Dress (S7 EP17)
Gabrielle Union (Bring It On) stars as Kristen Lang. Ross and Joey meet her as she's moving into an apartment in their block. Both ask her out and then manage to fight with each other while on a date with her.
Morgan Fairchild and Jay Leno
The One With Mrs Bing (S1 EP11)
Morgan Fairchild stars as Chandler's mother, Nora, an erotic writer who has previously made out with her son's friends. She later brought Jay Leno on the show as she's interviewed by him.
Kristin Davis
The One With Ross' Library Book (S7 EP7)
Things don't go quite the way Joey plans when he brings back Erin, played by the Sex and City star. Rachel and Phoebe meet her before Joey can make a move and become best mates with her.
Sean Penn
The One With the Halloween Part (S8 EP6)
Penn stars as Eric, Ursula's fiancé, who ends up in hot water when he realises he doesn't quite know her as well as he thought. Eric turned up to Monica and Chandler's Halloween party dressed as the solar system - he's a second grade teacher so it's fitting.
John Stamos
The One With the Donor (S9 EP22)
Full House star Stamos stars as Zack, another of Chandler's co-workers. Chandler invites Zack to dinner to basically get him to donate his sperm, but they don't things directly. Instead Chandler and Monica grill him with questions about sperm.
Ben Stiller
The One With the Screamer (S3)
Ben Stiller stars as Tommy in the third season. Tommy is a very very angry man that dates Rachel but as the date enfolds it becomes clear he has quite the short fuse. He shouts at the chick and the duck which says it all.
Freddie Prinze Jnr
The One With the Male Nanny (S9)
Starring as Sandy, Freddie Prinze Jnr really threw him into playing the nanny. He looks after baby Emma in the season nine arc but Ross isn't too keen...
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Comedy hub.
