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| Friends that have flown the nest |
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Friends de-united – the stars have had varying
degrees of success since the series ended.
Friends was one of the most successful sitcoms ever made.
The decision to end the show allowed the cast to finally
fly their New York nests forever. Some have flown on to
bigger and better things while others seem to be having
a bit of bother shaking off their award-winning alter
egos.
 David
Schwimmer’s post-Friends career is now going rather
schwimmingly after a slow start. He has recently joined
the cast of Nothing But the Truth, starring alongside
Kate Beckinsale. He plays Beckinsale’s character’s
husband, who faces family life without his wife after
she reveals the identity of a CIA agent and is imprisoned
for refusing to name her source.
This September, Schwimmer also showcased his directorial
comedy debut, Run, Fat Boy, Run, a London-based film starring
Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton and a cameo role from David
Walliams.
Jennifer Aniston has earned far more press coverage for
dramas in her personal life than for her career. However,
Aniston has been the most successful in bagging Hollywood
roles.
She gained the most critical acclaim for her roles in
The Good Girl, Bruce Almighty and Along Came Polly playing...
well, roles pretty similar to her Friends character Rachel
Green.
She changed character for the darker film Derailed, but
it didn’t sit well with critics. Her following roles
in Rumour Has It and The Break-Up put Aniston back in
her comfort zone.
Whatever Aniston’s doing, she’s doing it well.
Forbes listed Aniston as the 10th richest woman in the
entertainment industry for this year. Fans will be pleased
to hear that she has been signed to star in the up-coming
thriller Wanted, alongside Meryl Streep and Martin Hernandez,
which will see her stepping out of her comfort zone again.
While Courteney Cox found plenty of solo success –
as well as husband David Arquette – while filming
the Scream trilogy alongside Friends, her subsequent roles
have fallen short at the box office. The Runner, 3000
Miles to Graceland and The Shrink Is In all went largely
unnoticed.
Tragically for her career, she almost landed the role
of Susan Mayer in Desperate Housewives, but was unavailable
to take the part due to her pregnancy. Since then she
has performed some minor film roles and has played a tabloid
editor in the US drama Dirt, but her main role today is
that of mummy. The couple are currently trying for a baby
through IVF.
Since Friends, Lisa Kudrow hasn’t run off a long
list of roles, but for her it’s quality not quantity.
She played the main character in the US drama series The
Comeback, and served as co-creator, writer and executive
producer. Kudrow received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on The Comeback,
making her the first Friends cast member to receive a
major award nomination since the show ended.
Matthew Perry has appeared in a number of films, including
Three to Tango and The Whole Nine Yards. He also successfully
carved out a career in drama starring in The West Wing,
for which he received two Emmy nominations.
Perry made his directorial debut for an episode of Scrubs
and starred in The Ron Clark Story, for which he received
a Golden Globe and Emmy nomination.
Perry starred in Sky One’s Studio 60 On The Sunset
Strip and has recently filmed a new comedy drama called
Numb. Since leaving Friends, he seems to be staying on
the wagon, having spent his years filming Friends fighting
addictions to alcohol and painkillers. He was hospitalised
again in 2005 for a reaction to prescription drugs, though
few details were released.
Matthew Le Blanc has found it hard to shake off the character
Joey, not helped by the fact that he starred in a Friends
spin-off called Joey, which finished last year after 47
episodes. Since leaving Friends, Le Blanc has been married,
been caught handling a stripper in an inappropriate way
and, not surprisingly, divorced. Oh dear. |
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