Famous Actors You Didn't Know Starred As Kids On Friends

"Friends" launched its main cast members to fame (and fortune) when it made its debut in 1994, and it remains a huge cultural touchstone today thanks to streaming and reruns. One of the most fun things to do when watching "Friends" is highlighting all of the hidden details in each episode. Another enjoyable mission is making note of the many fabulous guest stars — especially those whose careers had yet to blow up. Take the actors on this list, all of whom appeared on "Friends" as children, then went on to become huge stars. Save for Dakota Fanning, none of them had name recognition when they guest-starred on the juggernaut hit series.

"Friends" was on the air for 10 seasons, and no one could have predicted the legacy it would leave behind or the impact it would have across generations. While the show is only one of many notable credits for the stars on our list, many of them have recalled the lasting effect of appearing on "Friends" as children. Some have discussed their positive memories, while others have said they still get recognized for their episode(s) decades later, but none has expressed any negative feelings about being associated with one of the most massive TV shows of all time. Here is a look at some of the famous actors you didn't know starred as kids on "Friends."

While her older brother Haley Joel Osment was seeing dead people in 1999, when he catapulted to fame in "The Sixth Sense," it would be a few more years before Emily Osment hit it big. The younger Osment became a household name herself — at least among the tween crowd — when she started on "Hannah Montana" in 2006, appearing as Hannah's best friend, Lilly Truscott, in 99 episodes of the series in addition to the movie. Before that, Osment's biggest role was playing Gerti Giggles in the second and third "Spy Kids" movies.

But by the time "Spy Kids 2" rolled around in 2002, Osment had already been working in Hollywood for three years. Most of her earliest roles were guest spots on shows such as "Touched by an Angel," "3rd Rock From the Sun," and "Friends," where she played Lelani Mayolanofavich, an adorable trick-or-treater to whom Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) writes a check after running out of candy.

Osment's experience on "Friends" was colored by tragedy, as it was the first episode filmed after the horrific events of 9/11 and security was so tight, her dad was not even allowed on the set. "It is a terrifying thing to look back on and remember," she told Media Village. 

Still, the young actor had a positive experience filming the show. "Jennifer was incredibly nice and polite," she said. "I even got to keep my costume."

Emily Osment was in a couple of "Spy Kids" films, but for a lot of fans, Daryl Sabara is the "Spy Kids" movies. Along with Alexa PenaVega, Sabara headlined the franchise's original film, appearing front and center on all posters and promotional materials. He reprised his character in multiple sequels and video games, and remains best known for playing Juni Cortez (and for being married to pop star Meghan Trainor).

Sabara began acting before he could talk — his first credited role was in three 1992 episodes of "Murphy Brown" when he was an infant. He had only one other credit until 1999, when he started making more TV appearances. Even after "Spy Kids" was released in 2000, Sabara continued to guest star regularly, with roles in series such as "John Doe" and "One on One." None of these shows was especially memorable, but "Friends" offered Sabara a huge amount of exposure to a totally different audience.

On "Friends," Sabara played Owen, the child of a couple whom Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) and Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) go to for help with the adoption process. Chandler memorably let it slip to Owen that he was adopted and, before rushing out the door, that Santa was not real.

Sabara continued acting after his 2003 "Friends" episode, both in voice and live action roles. Some of his credits include "Weeds," "Resident Advisors," and, as a voice actor, "Ultimate Spider-Man" and "Generator Rex."

Mae Whitman has become a TV staple thanks to roles in major series including "Arrested Development," "Parenthood," and "Good Girls." But as a successful child actor, Whitman was booking high-profile Hollywood gigs well before her 2004 "Arrested Development" debut. Her first credit was the 1994 film "When a Man Loves a Woman," and she followed that up with three projects the following year. Then 1996 hit, and it was a pivotal year for the young star. Whitman appeared in one of the year's biggest films, "Independence Day," and guest-starred in one of the biggest shows of the year, "Friends" (ranked 4th in the ratings at the time). Whitman was 8 years old when she appeared on the iconic series.

On "Friends," Whitman played Sarah Tuttle in "The One Where Rachel Quits," an episode largely focused on Jennifer Aniston's character, Rachel Green. While Sarah was a girl whom Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) put in the hospital with a broken leg, Whitman's strongest memories involve Aniston. Whitman said she was ecstatic to be reunited with Aniston during an episode of "Live with Kelly and Ryan" in March 2023. 

"Had the genuine best time doing @livekellyandryan," Whitman posted on Instagram after the appearance. "And the coolest part was I had a Friends reunion with the luminous @jenniferaniston whom I remember made me feel so welcomed and loved and I wept hysterically when I wrapped the episode and made her a Christmas ornament."

Until Cole Sprouse started appearing on "Riverdale" in 2017, much of the world saw him as a package deal with his twin brother, Dylan. After all, the Sprouse boys were then most famous for their popular Disney Channel series "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." Before that, they also split the acting duties for playing single characters, as is customary among Hollywood twins due to the limits on hours a child actor can work. For instance, both brothers appeared as Julian McGrath in "Big Daddy" and as Justin Carver in "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." They even got their start playing the same character, Patrick Kelly, on the sitcom "Grace Under Fire. The twins appeared on that program from 1993 to 1998.

So it would be fair to assume that both Dylan and Cole appeared on "Friends" as Ross Geller's son, Ben. Contrary to popular belief, however, it was only Cole who took on this role. The young actor appeared in seven episodes between 2000 and 2002, and still gets recognized as "Ben" by some fans. 

"The scale was just tremendous and you felt it when you stepped on set, even as a kid," he told the New York Post. "It was challenging because I was a small kid who was working with these sort of megalithic actors at the time. It was quite intimidating. But it was a really wonderful experience. They were all tremendously nice."

Dakota Fanning is one of the biggest names here, but she makes it a point to keep her head firmly on her shoulders. Fanning has had no giant feuds, no arrests, no sloppy nights out — not even any public relationship drama. Not only did she avoid every child actor cliché but, like Natalie Portman and Emma Watson, she even attended college while her career was thriving. While she never ditched Hollywood for a normal job, Fanning graduated from New York University with a women's studies degree in 2016.

Fanning catapulted onto the scene in 2000, when she guest-starred in six popular TV series, including "Ally McBeal" and "ER." She continued to make regular TV guest appearances but hit another level of fame thanks to main roles in films such as "I Am Sam," "Uptown Girls," and "The Cat in the Hat." Needless to say, Fanning was a legit name by the time she stepped onto the "Friends" set in 2004. She played Mackenzie, a kid who befriends Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc).

In 2016, LeBlanc adorably surprised Fanning while she was being interviewed on an episode of "LIVE with Kelly." "I was on the last season of 'Friends' for an episode, and all my scenes were with Matt. I think I was 9 or 10, something like that," Fanning recalled. "I still remember it, and I remember talking to Matt in the breakfast area of the stage, like, on a rehearsal day."

Mae Whitman was not the only future star who appeared as a child actor in the 1996 "Friends" episode "The One Where Rachel Quits." It also featured Kyla Pratt, who later became famous as Breanna Barnes on the TV series "One on One," which ran from 2001 to 2006. Like Whitman, Pratt got her industry start before even hitting double digits. Her first credit was a 1993 guest spot on the show "Where I Live," and followed that with many other guest roles over the next handful of years. By 1996, Pratt had appeared on everything from "Living Single" to "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" to "ER."

Pratt was not given much to do in her single "Friends" episode, as she was one of many Girl Scout-like "Brown Birds" who went up against Ross Geller (David Schwimmer). While Whitman was more central — it was her character whose leg Ross broke, and for whom Ross had to take over selling cookies — Pratt did get to hurl an insult at the show's most annoying character. Or we think it was an insult, at least, because "scrud," as she called him, has not been an actual word since the Middle Ages. 

Pratt continued to make a slew of guest appearances after "Friends," and her film credits include "Love & Basketball" and "Fat Albert." From 2021 to 2023, Pratt starred opposite fellow child actor Mayim Bialik in the sitcom "Call Me Kat."

Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry were huge child stars thanks to their show "Sister, Sister," but their younger brother Tahj was also quite productive as a kid. Tahj Mowry got his start on a 1990 episode of "Who's the Boss?" and made guest appearances for years thereafter. Most notably, he gained notice for playing Teddy, a friend of Michelle Tanner, in 14 episodes of "Full House" between 1991 and 1995.

A year after that, Mowry made his guest appearance on the "Friends" episode "The One After the Superbowl: Part 1." He played a young student serenaded by Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) when a boyfriend enlisted her to sing for his class. While the parents weren't fond of Phoebe's inappropriate children's songs, Mowry's character showed up at Central Perk asking, "Is this where the singing lady is who tells us the truth?" "You wouldn't believe how many texts I get from people whenever that episode comes on," Mowry told TVLine in 2015.

Mowry got his own sitcom, "Smart Guy," in 1997, and went on to appear in 99 episodes of the series "Baby Daddy" as an adult. Still, "Friends" was a career highlight for him. 

"Being on Friends was awesome," he told "Today." "I was in a scene with all of the cast, which was really cool. I remember like, chatting it up with Courteney Cox. She said I was cute. I was like, 'Yo, that's fire'."

Allisyn Snyder is probably the least recognizable name on this list, but she has stayed active in Hollywood in the years since her "Friends" appearance. Most notably, she appeared alongside Glenn Howerton and Patton Oswalt in all 42 episodes of "A.P. Bio" from 2018 to 2021. Snyder's other adult credits include the TV series "Astrid Clover" and the short film "Seek." One reason some may not recognize Snyder? Her name change. Until "A.P. Bio," she was credited as Allisyn Ashley Arm.

Snyder's earliest roles were television guest spots, in shows such as "Strong Medicine" and "Judging Amy." Between those two appearances, Snyder popped up on "Friends" as Leslie Buffay, Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) niece — a.k.a. one of the triplets Phoebe carried for her brother and his much-older wife. It took six more years for Snyder to make a true mark in Hollywood, playing Zora Lancaster in the cast of Disney Channel's "Sonny with a Chance," in 2006.

Though she started her career at a young age, Snyder has said that acting never felt like a job so much as a hobby. "After school, my friends went to soccer practice, and I went on auditions," she said in an interview with the Polish blog Zycie Muzyka Pasje. "I think my authenticity helped me book so many jobs growing up. I was always having fun auditioning and being on set, and it showed in my work."