20 Fave ‘Friends’ Guest Stars: From Founder of the 'I Hate Rachel Green Club' to Paul Rudd

When it comes to Friends, we often think about the iconic group of six sitting in Central Perk, hanging out and drinking coffee, but what about the others? You know, the ones that came in for an episode or two, made us laugh harder than we ever thought possible and were never heard from again? These 20 Friends guest stars did exactly that — just keep scrolling to find out who they are. 

20. Selma Blair as Wendy 

Blair’s character tried to sleep with Chandler (Matthew Perry), knowing he was married in season nine, so for that reason, we have to place her last. No further explanation needed. 

19. Helen Hunt as Jamie Buchman 

Appearing briefly in season 1, Helen Hunt played her beloved character from Mad About You, Jamie Bunchman. This cameo wasn’t surprising to anyone as Friends co-creator David Crane’s partner worked on Mad About You at the time. Overall, Hunt’s cameo was fun, but if you have not seen Mad About You, then it didn’t make a whole lot of sense. 

18. Jean Claude Van Damme as … Jean Claude Van Damme 

Van Damme played himself in season 2 of Friends, but his “character” wasn’t the best. Not only did he jump from Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) to Monica (Courteney Cox), but he also was just rude to them. Plus, he didn’t have a whole lot of screen time. 

17. Susan Sarandon as Cecilia Monroe

Sarandon came in as Joey’s (Matt LeBlanc) Days of Our Lives co-star in season 7. Remembers the actress, “They all went back to set watching each other’s scenes, first of all. So it was a real family environment. I loved my wig. I love Joey. They were all just really fun.”

And while Sarandon might have had fun, her cameo was somewhat forgettable and so we have no choice but to place her here. 

16. Aisha Tyler as Dr. Charlie Wheeler

Although Tyler’s character, Charlie, was nice and a decent romantic fit for Ross (David Schwimmer) she was always jumping around and dating guy after guy. First, it was Joey, who she left for Ross, and after that, she left Ross for her ex-boyfriend. It was just a lot, so she has to be here. 

Tyler does remember her time on the show, saying, “The cast was incredibly welcoming when I first joined. This was in season 9 when they had already had several very high-profile guest actors on the show, including Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Selleck and Bruce Willis. I think they were very aware that it could be an intimidating set, and they made a special effort to be kind and open toward me when I arrived.” 

15. Ben Stiller as Tommy

Remember when Stiller screamed in front of all the friends in season 3? We certainly do! It was just so memorable and funny. The fact remains, though, that Stiller’s time on the show was so short and sweet that it is very easy to forget it even happened. Hence the reason he’s number 15. 

14. Sean Penn as Eric 

Penn came in as Ursula’s (Lisa Kudrow) fiancé and left as Phoebe’s boyfriend — dating someone's twin sister after calling off your wedding to the other just seems a little weird. 

Schwimmer], however, thinks that Penn’s cameo was incredible, remembering, “I had very little if any dialogue with him, but here I am thinking, ‘Greatest actor in the world, and I’m a potato. I’m a potato.'” So, we did give Penn so bonus points for that. 

13. Gabrielle Union as Kristen Leigh

Another Friends guest star who dated both Ross and Joey was none other than Gabrielle Union. Her character might have been a bit forgettable, but she did give us one of the most iconic Ross and Joey fights, so we placed her here for that reason. 

12. Isabella Rossellini as herself 

Rossellini guest starred as herself in season 3, when Ross and Rachel were talking about the five celebrities they are allowed to sleep with and the other one can't get mad. Rossellini was one of Ross’, but sadly, the actress shot him down. 

11. Freddie Prinze Jr. as Sandy 

We love the idea of a male nanny named Sandy, but Ross, unfortunately, didn’t feel the same way, so Prinze’s time on the show was quite short. But we will always love the way he played the flute and cared for little baby Emma. 

10. Anna Faris as Erica

We love Faris’ character in Friends for one simple reason: she gave Monica and Chandler her baby. 

“I worked mostly with Courteney and Matthew, and they were unbelievable to me,” Faris said. “They were so kind.” And she was so kind to them in return. 

9. Charlie Sheen as Ryan

Sheen guested in season 2 and played Phoebe’s on-and-off-again boyfriend, who she spends time with after she gets the chickenpox.  Sheen's character was super sweet, and he and Phoebe got along so well, but like so many Friends guest stars, his time was just too short. 

8. Winona Ryder as Melissa Warburton

Before she was fighting Demogorgans, Ryder decided to stop by Central Perk and become Rachel Green’s (Jennifer Aniston) long-lost college friend, Melissa Warburton, in season 7, episode 20. Melissa is a fine character, but she doesn’t do anything important other than kiss Rachel, hence her low ranking. 

7. Julia Roberts as Susie Moss

Julia Roberts might have only portrayed Chandler Bing’s former classmate Susie Moss for one episode in season 2but her chemistry with Perry was just so memorable and unforgettable, probably because the two actually dated in real life! 

Just like their characters, though, it ended tragically, with Perry writing in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, “Dating Julia Roberts had been too much for me. I had been constantly certain that she was going to break up with me. Why would she not? I was not enough; I could never be enough; I was broken, bent, unlovable. So instead of facing the inevitable agony of losing her, I broke up with the beautiful and brilliant Julia Roberts.” 

The two ended things on civil terms, though, and Roberts herself even said everyone on the Friends set was “welcoming to me as just a kind of a one-off character, and it was a really fun time.” 

6. Reese Witherspoon as Jill Green 

Before they were delivering morning news together on Apple TV+’ The Morning Show, Witherspoon and Aniston starred together as sisters in two episodes of season 6 of Friends. 

"So, I was terrified,” revealed Witherspoon. "I was out of my body. I was — my body was there and then my head and my brain were somewhere else. Walking into Central Perk and sitting on the couch, I was like, 'Oh, my God, I can't believe this is happening. Oh, my God, there's Joey. Oh, my God.'" 

And as adorable as that is, we simply cannot get over the fact that Jill tried to date Ross just to make Rachel mad. That’s just not very sisterly if you ask us. 

5. Brad Pitt as Will Colbert

Pitt starred on the show in season 8 when he and Aniston were still married, and while his character might have started the “I hate Rachel Green club,” we still think his cameo as Ross’high school friend is as iconic as ever. 

Remembers Pitt, “It was a great cast, man. But I flubbed my first line. We had to stop and start again.” The actor would earn an Emmy nomination for his work on Friends. 

4. Christina Applegate as Amy Green

No one could have played Rachel’s other spoiled sister but Christina Applegate. The actress appeared in two episodes total in seasons 9 and 10 and is best remembered for her inability to remember who anyone is. 

"It was shocking that I was nominated [for an Emmy] for the episodes I did, because it honestly didn't feel like work," Applegate recalled in 2019. “And it didn't feel like I was doing anything special in any way. I was just having so much fun. I really was in shock when that happened. It was one of those moments of, like, 'why … what, me?'”

3. Tom Selleck as Dr. Richard Burke 

When we first met Dr. Richard Burke in season 2, we couldn’t help but fall in love with him. But as Monica's relationship went on, he became less dreamy and more dreadful and if anyone but Selleck played him, we guarantee Richard ruining Chandler's proposal would not have gone over as well.  

2. Bruce Willis as Paul Stevens 

Wills became the man Paul Stevens, Rachel’s love machine for three episodes in season six and man was his time on the show hilarious. However, Willis’ character on the show isn’t as talked about as how the actor came to be on the show in the first place. 

Perry  — who was a good friend of Willis’ — cleared this up in his memoir, writing, "Bruce hadn't been sure the film [The Whole Nine Yards]  would work at all, and I'd bet him it would — if he lost, he had to do a guest spot on Friends.” 

Between that and just how iconic Willis’ character was, we simply had to put his hilarious cameo at number 2. 

1. Paul Rudd as Mike Hannigan 

Of course, we had to put Rudd as the number one Friends guest star. His character Mike — who went on to marry Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) — just fit in so well with the rest of the gang, and it was just so easy to picture him sitting with all of them on Central Perk’s orange couch. 

“It was really fun, and they were great,” Rudd recalled in 2023. “The whole thing was a bit surreal, I must say, to be a part of that — because I came on really at the end. I never knew that I was going to be in as many [episodes] as I was.” 

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