It has been 23 years since “Friends” premiered on NBC in September 1994. The show ran for ten seasons and was one of the biggest hits and trends in the 90’s. Until now, the show is still well-known and popular with its syndicated reruns drawing 16 million weekly viewers.
“Friends” follows the lives of Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler and Joey, a group of friends in their mid-20s, living in New York. The series shows the friends’ different adventures in life – career issues, romantic relationships and of course, how they’re always there for each other.
Apart from the six main characters, the popular guest stars and the many recurring characters made the show even more memorable. From the parents of the main characters to their romantic interests, these characters left an impact on the show. Here are some of the most memorable recurring characters on the show.
Gunther
The barista/manager of Central Perk, Gunther is well known for his snarky comebacks, iconic bleach blonde hair and unrequited love for Rachel. He is almost like the unofficial 7th friend.
Monica: This is a getting-rid-of-everything-Rachel-ever-used sale. Ross: Touched, used, sat on, slept on. Gunther: I'll take it all.
— Friends (@friendsthetv) October 7, 2017
Played by James Michael Tyler, he was a real-life barista when he was offered the role as an extra on the show, just to make the environment more natural.
He is typically seen serving coffee or working behind the bar. On Season 2, show creator, Marta Kauffman, gave his character the name ‘Gunther’ and started giving him lines.
Also, his hair is naturally dark. According to Tyler’s interview with BuzzFeed, he had to bleach his hair every week for 10 years. When the show ended, he immediately dyed his hair dark.
Janice Litman-Goralnik
Well-known as Chandler’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, her nasal voice, iconic laugh and her popular catchphrase that make Chandler’s balls jump back up inside his body, Janice Litman-Goralnik nee Hosenstein is one of the characters that made the show funnier and more iconic.
Portrayed by Maggie Wheeler, Janice appeared at least once in all ten seasons of the show, and when she enters, her first words are “Oh.
My. Gawd!” In the actress’ interview with the Cosmopolitan UK, she explained that the voice of the character was her idea (meaning, that is not her real voice).
Janice’s iconic laugh was born during rehearsals. It was a form of cover-up for when she would break out of character because she finds Matthew Perry (Chandler) very hilarious.
Ugly Naked Guy
Although he is mentioned on the show many times since the six friends observe him from their apartment, he only physically appeared on the show a few times and his face was never revealed.
Ugly Naked Guy first appeared in “The One with the Giant Poking Device” (S03E08) where the friends constructed a poking device made of chopsticks to poke him to check if he was still alive.
The other time he appeared was in “The One Where Everybody Finds Out” (S05E14) where he was moving out of his apartment and Ross charmed him to get the apartment, by stripping down as well.
Ugly Naked Guy and the actor who played the character was a mystery, until last year. A staff writer from HuffingtonPost, Todd Van Luling, uncovered the mysterious identity of Ugly Naked Guy. After a year of investigation and research, he discovered Jon Haugen – the actor who played Ugly Naked Guy. The actor also explained that he was wearing boxer shorts when he appeared on screen, good camera angles made it look like they were naked though.
