Friends: 10 Best Characters Only In One Episode
1. Leonard Hayes
Episode: The One With The Mugging (S9E15)
Let's just get this out of the way upfront: Jeff Goldblum is a wonderful human being, and the universe deserves extra credit for gracing us with his presence.
Okay, now that's done, what is it that makes his Friends character - a famous stage play director called Leonard Hayes - so special? Well... it's the fact that Goldblum isn't really acting at all.
The trademark quirkiness he possesses both in real life and onscreen is in full effect in this episode, with the actor literally mugging to the camera at one point, humble-bragging about Leonard's knack for nurturing new talent - which, in this case, is Joey, who is auditioning for Leonard's newest play.
The episode is full of self-aware nuggets like this that play into Goldblum's real-life fame (his first line is "I've been blessed with a lot of great roles"), making it seem like the Friends crew just let the actor loose and told him to have fun with the character. This adds a real spark to his interactions with LeBlanc that gives all of their scenes an "inside joke" vibe, which is hilarious, because anyone who's familiar with Goldblum will be in on the joke too.
Nobody else could have pulled this character off as well as Goldblum did, a claim that not many other Friends guest actors can make.
-
Who's your favourite single-episode guest star on Friends? Let us know in the comments section!