The rich filmography and popularity of Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox and other leading actors is no secret to anyone. What about the life of the shy Gunther, the nasty Janice and the baby Ben?
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the cult TV series Friends, the BeautyHack editors recall the actors who played secondary roles in this project.
James Michael Tyler
Gunter
Forever in love with Rachel, the Central Perk manager was supposed to appear in six episodes and not say a word, but just be part of the crowd. It wasn't until the middle of the second season that executive producer Martha Kauffman, after learning about James Michael Tyler's acting education, turned the silent worker into Gunter and gave him the lyrics.
In 2019, the actor turned 57 years old, but he is still associated with a shy blonde guy from a coffee shop. James admits that no one even knows his real name, but he is not offended - he participates with pleasure in events dedicated to the series and communicates with fans. Now James is trying himself as a screenwriter and less and less often appears in serials.
Maggie Wheeler
Janice
We know - as soon as you hear Janice's name, you immediately remember her squeaky: "Oh my god!" To the surprise of the fans of the show, in life the actress's voice is not at all the same, and she invented her trademark laugh herself - before the very first episode: “I knew that I would have to work with Matthew Perry, and he is very funny. I decided that I had to prepare. So I came up with Janice's laugh as a … security measure."
In 2019, actress Maggie Wheeler celebrated her 58th birthday, and fans still stop her on the street and ask her to say the catchphrases. After Friends, her career took off: Maggie starred in the most popular TV series - How I Met Your Mother, Californication and Everybody Loves Raymond. Recently, she has been playing less and less, paying more attention to the family (the actress has two daughters).
Paul Rudd
Mike Hannigan
Actor Paul Rudd came to the series as an accomplished star: before Friends, he played in the popular 90s films Clueless, The Object of My Admiration and even auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic (you can find your dream movie characters here) … Most people now associate Paul with Ant-Man rather than with her husband, Phoebe Buffet, but in the last two seasons he has taken an active part.
In April 2019, the "superhero" turned 50 years old - he continues to appear in Marvel films, prefers raising his son and daughter to social networks and surprises everyone with his ability not to age.
Jane Sibbett
Carol
The ex-wife of Ross Geller was first played by Anita Baron, but she was invited to another series, and the producers had to urgently look for a replacement. Jane Sibbett was strikingly different from her predecessor, but she impressed with her acting experience - before Friends she managed to star in Santa Barbara, Herman's Head and Star Trek. Now it is difficult to imagine someone more suitable for the role of a girl who left her husband for a friend.
Jane Sibbett finished her acting career back in 2008, having managed to star in several popular films (everyone remembers the bitchy Clarissa from “Two: Me and My Shadow”?). And in November 2019 she will turn 57 years old - she tries herself as a producer and brings up three children from her ex-husband Karl Fink.
Jessica Hecht
Susan
We both loved and hated the curly lovemaker (until we realized that Ross must be with Rachel), but if Carol and Susan existed in reality, then this year we would have celebrated the 23rd anniversary of marriage.
The character of Jessica Hecht appears in the series infrequently, but it was after Friends that the actress began to be invited to roles in TV shows and feature films, although she had previously played only on Broadway. She can be found in the show "Breaking Bad" and in the movie "Anesthesia". But not much is known about Jessica's personal life: since 1995, she has been married to director Adam Bernstein, gave birth to two children from him, and in June 2019 she celebrated her 54th birthday.
Tom Selleck
Dr. Richard Burke
The episode in which Monica breaks up with Richard because of his unwillingness to have children, forced many to grab a handkerchief, and fans of the series still argue with whom the heroine would be better - with a family friend and a cigar lover or with a funny and at times ridiculous Chandler.
For Tom Selleck, participation in Friends was not a landmark - he is better known for his role in the TV series Magnum, a private detective, for which he later received an Emmy. Throughout his career, the actor has starred in more than fifty films and TV series and is not going to stop there, despite his age (Tom is over seventy) - not so long ago a new season of Blue Blood was released with his participation.
Giovanni Ribisi
Frank Buffet Jr
Few people remember that Giovanni appeared in "Friends" twice - even before we knew that it was Frank Buffet Jr., the actor in the second season played an unknown person who threw a condom into Phoebe's guitar case. A little time will pass, and she will decide on a serious step - to become a surrogate mother for her younger brother and his lover.
The actor is still sometimes called Frank by passers-by on the street, although his filmography is impressive: among the most famous works - participation in "Saving Private Ryan", "Gone in 60 Seconds", "Lost in Translation" and "Avatar". Personal life also attracts public attention: the actor was married twice, and one of them was secretly, to the model Agness Dein.
Cole Sprouse
Ben Geller
It's hard to believe that the mysterious handsome Jughead from the TV series "Riverdale" is the same baby Ben, son of Ross and Carol. The role in “Friends” for twin brothers Cole and Dylan (yes, they replaced each other on the set) became key, although the debut was earlier - in the comedy “Big Daddy”, where the actors starred with Adam Sandler. Read about the stars whose twins are unknown to anyone here.
Many years later, Cole admitted that it was very difficult to play in the series - it was difficult for him to concentrate because of his love for Jennifer Aniston. Now the actor has many roles in TV shows and movies, and at the same time he is fond of photography - Kendall Jenner and Zendaya have already become the heroines of his photo shoots.
Text: Anastasia Speranskaya
