Digital Spy presents Friends Week - seven days of special features celebrating 20 years of the US sitcom that became a cultural phenomenon.

Warner Bros. Television



There's little point asking 'Where Are They Now?' of our six Friends from NYC - David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc are all still very much in the public eye, acting and (in some cases) writing and directing too.

It's not too hard to keep track of the sitcom's big-name guest stars (Tom Selleck, Anna Faris, Jon Favreau...) either - but what about the other guys?

Many of the supporting players who crossed paths with Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Phoebe and Joey have gone on to lead long and, in some cases, rather interesting careers!

Friends Week: James Michael Tyler on being Gunther

Friends Week: Maggie Wheeler on being Janice

Friends: The definitive ranking of all the love interests… ever

1. Paul the Wine Guy (John Allen Nelson)

Paul - a.k.a. 'Paul the Wine Guy' - was Monica's first ever on-screen love interest. Appearing in the Friends pilot, he lured her into bed with talk of his sexual dry spell - in fact, a fabrication - and lost a watch to Mon's resulting fury!

Since 1994, actor John Allen Nelson has continued to work steadily in US television, with a recurring role on Baywatch from 1990-1995. Most notably though, he played Walt Cummings, the traitorous White House Chief of Staff, in two seasons of 24.



2. Eddie Menuek (Adam Goldberg)

Who can forget Chandler's deranged roommate Eddie, eventually forced out when he and Joey ended their brief feud?

Following his three-episode Friends stint in 1996, Adam Goldberg has become an in-demand character actor - he's starred in Saving Private Ryan (1998), four episodes of Entourage (2007) and this year played hitman Mr Numbers on Fargo.

Bizarrely, Goldberg also appeared in nine episodes of Friends spinoff Joey as a completely different character named Jimmy!



3. Julio (Carlos Gomez)

Moondance Diner employee Julio swept Monica off her feet, only to blow it by comparing her to an "empty vase" - like Adam Goldberg, actor Carlos Gomez also appeared in Joey under a different guise (he played Sam, a director) and has also appeared on 24 (in 2003), The West Wing (in 2004) and Castle (earlier this year).



4. Susan Bunch (Jessica Hecht)

Susan, wife to Ross's ex Carol, has continued to pop up in film and television since Friends. She notably played Paul Giamatti's ex-wife in 2004 Oscar winner Sideways and appeared as Gretchen Schwartz, former love of Walter White, in five episodes of Emmy favourite Breaking Bad. Not too shabby!



5. Julie (Lauren Tom)

Since playing Ross's season two girlfriend Julie in seven episodes of Friends, Lauren Tom has continued to light up our television screens, with a stint on Supernatural as Kevin Tran's mother Linda among her recent credits.

However, she's perhaps best known for voicing amorous Amy Wong on Futurama - who would've thought it of sweet, innocent Julie?



6. Mark Robinson (Steven Eckholdt)

Mark - Rachel's dishy co-worker at Bloomingdales who sent Ross into a jealous rage - is now a silver fox, but Steven Eckholdt shows no signs of slowing up. He held the recurring role of Doug Westin, the President's son-in-law, on The West Wing from 2003 to 2006 and later appeared on The L Word (2006-07), Castle (2012) and Bones (2013).



7. Alice Knight (Debra Jo Rupp)

Following her 6 episodes as Alice Knight - later Alice Knight Buffay, bride of Phoebe's brother Frank - Debra Jo Rupp landed on another sitcom as a series regular, playing Kitty Forman in 201 episodes of That '70s Show between 1998 and 2006.



8. Kathy (Paget Brewster)

Kathy - who left Joey for Chandler, only to break Mr Bing's fragile heart - left the laughter of Central Perk behind for a gig on moody crime procedural Criminal Minds in 2006.

Appearing in 126 episodes, Paget Brewster was a long-time regular as profiler Emily Prentiss - though she later departed the series, she still pops back for the occasional guest spot, most recently in February.



9. Joshua Burgin (Tate Donovan)

Joshua ("Josh...U-A!!") was a handsome customer of Rachel's who briefly dated the budding fashionista. Since Friends, Tate Donovan has become a familiar face on screens big and small - with a recent big-screen outing in Ben Affleck's Oscar winner Argo complimenting regular TV gigs on The OC, Damages and 24.



10. Elizabeth Stevens (Alexandra Holden)

When Ross began dating his student Elizabeth, he became a target not only for his friends' jibes, but also for the righteous fury of her uptight father Paul (Bruce Willis).

Alexandra Holden, who played the part, later appeared in such series as Friday Night Lights and Rizzoli & Isles - but most surprisingly, she also stepped into Olivia Colman's shoes in 2005, playing Sophie in a US remake of Peep Show that also starred The Big Bang Theory's Johnny Galecki as Mark Corrigan.



11. Tag Jones (Eddie Cahill)

Cute office boy Tag loved two things - Rachel Green and her scooter. Since his short Friends stint in 2000-2001, Eddie Cahill has become a bona fide leading man on US television - he appeared in 197 episodes of CSI: NY as Don Flack and now appears in CBS summer hit Under the Dome as the decidedly unsavoury Sam Verdreaux.



12. Dr. Timothy Burke (Michael Vartan)

A fresh-faced Michael Vartan wooed an eyepatch-sporting Monica as Richard's charming young son Timothy Burke. Four years after 1997's 'The One with Chandler in a Box', the actor found fame on spy series Alias, playing mysterious Michael Vaughn opposite Jennifer Garner's Sydney Bristow.



13. Rhonda, the Tour Guide (Sherri Shepherd)

"I'm Rhonda... and these aren't real!!" - A classic moment from 1998's 'The One with Phoebe's Uterus'. After an early acting job as one of Ross's museum colleagues, Sherri Shepherd not only became a sitcom queen - appearing in Less Than Perfect, 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother - but also co-hosted ABC's phenomenally popular daytime talkshow The View for seven seasons.



Friends fans in the UK can watch the show on Comedy Central.

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