Friends’ child stars now look unrecognizable… from Netflix actor to TikTok sensation – have you spotted them on screen?
THE youngest stars of Friends are now grown and almost unrecognizable.
What became of the children who graced our screens in the hit series over 19 years ago?
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The Friend cast of child stars have lived very different lives, from TikTok creators and blockbuster actors to those who have left show business behind.
THE TWINS WHO PLAYED EMMA
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Both Cali and Noelle Sheldon played Ross and Rachel’s baby Emma.
The now 20-year-old identical twins took on the role of Emma from 2003-2004.
Both have continued their acting careers, appearing alongside Black Panther stars Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke in the horror film Us.
Speaking of her experience on the Friends set, Cali told Insider, “All of the cast were super nice to us, they treated us all like little princesses and when we had holidays and stuff they gave us little Christmas presents.”
“It’s kind of cool to see something we’ve been in but don’t really remember, so it’s like the memories are being kept for us,” she added.
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Phoebe’s triplets
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Who can forget Phoebe’s triplets surrogacy storyline in season five?
Lisa Kudrow’s character carried her little brother Frank Jr. and his wife Alice’s three babies, who went by brilliant names: Leslie, Frank Jr. Jr. and Chandler.
Although the triplets were played by several different babies, one major episode cast the quadruplets from the Cimoch family – Alexandria, Cole, Justin and Paul.
Alexandria, a sophomore, recently took to TikTok to share her past role on the show.
The video has been viewed over 2.6 million times and she captioned it, “Yes… I was on Friends.”
She also revealed in the video how her brother played a little girl, a fact they still joke about to this day.
Alexandria has not returned to television but appears to have sustained her acting through high school productions.
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THE LITTLE BOY
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Though far from a starring role, a young Tahj Mowry starred in a Friends episode where Phoebe sang to a bunch of kids at Central Perk.
However, the now 36-year-old actor was no stranger to the big screen. From 1991 to 1995 he starred in another hit series, Full House.
Post-Friends, he has been seen frequently on Disney Channel and children’s shows like Kim Possible. Mowry also had a starring role on ABC’s Baby Daddy until 2017.
THE TRICK OR TREATER
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A very young Emily Osment played Lelani, an adorable trick-or-treating who visits Monica and Rachel’s apartment and receives a check from the latter.
The child actor has had big roles including Gerti Giggles in the Spy Kids films and Miley Cyrus’ best friend Lilly Truscott in Hannah Montana.
Osment is now a series regular on Young Sheldon as well as other hit American TV shows.
JOEY’S YOUNG FRIEND
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Near the end of Friends, Chandler and Monica buy a house in the suburbs.
The miserable Joey accompanies them in this endeavor, where he meets eight-year-old Mackenzie, played by Dakota Fanning, who helps comfort him.
Fanning, who was almost unknown at the time of her friend’s appearance, went on to have huge commercial success in films such as Twilight, War Of The Worlds and Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
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SANTA-LOVING OWEN
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Daryl Sabara plays a Santa-obsessed Owen, the adopted son of Phoebe’s friends, in a 2003 episode.
In an iconic scene, Owen finds out he was adopted through Chandler’s carelessness.
The young star has previously appeared on the sitcom Will & Grace and had starring roles in the early films of the Spy Kids franchise.
He is now married to singer Meghan Trainor and is a regular on her TikTok with their young son.
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Ben Geller
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A true star of the show, Cole Sprouse played Ross’ son from season six through season eight.
The show regular would star directly in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody alongside his twin Dylan.
The 30-year-old actor is more recently known for his role as Jughead on Netflix’s Riverdale.
Fans of the sitcom will know that Ben did not appear after season eight and was only mentioned a handful of times after that.
The three-divorced Ross had Emma with Rachel, but his first child has seemingly been forgotten.
In 2019, the actor opened up about why he thought the character was “killed off.”
One fan answered questions online for GQ on Youtube and asked Cole on Twitter, “How do you feel about being killed by Friends?”
Cole revealed: “Critics would agree that Ross was never really the most present father.
“And so it doesn’t surprise me too much.”
The role was the first Cole played solo without being separated from his identical twin, Dylan.
Cole added, “Honestly, our performance as the same character was kind of dependent on how much screen time we had.
“On Friends, for example, my role wasn’t as present.
“They really only had to hire one twin because we were both incredibly expensive.”
In 2017, Cole – who was nine when he started playing Ben – admitted he had a crush on his Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston.
“I had a really, really hard time working with Aniston because I was so in love with her,” he told the New York Post.
“I was infatuated. I was speechless – I got all bubbly and forgot my lines and completely blank… It was so difficult.”
In 2019, Cole co-starred in the romantic drama Five Feet Apart, in which he plays a cystic fibrosis patient who falls in love with a girl with the same condition.
It was his second starring role in a major motion picture, 20 years after his first Big Daddy in 1999.
In 2021, he was cast in the US sci-fi romantic comedy Moonshoot alongside Lana Condor, star of X-Men: Apocalypse.
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https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/7671470/friends-unrecognisable-stars-throwback-netflix-tiktok/ Friends’ child stars now look unrecognizable… from Netflix actor to TikTok sensation – have you spotted them on screen?