Friends - The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion - 03:20 am Thursday, February 19 on 5 HD

Jennifer Aniston (Actor) .. Rachel Green

Born: February 11, 1969 in Sherman Oaks, California

Best Known For: Playing Rachel in Friends.

Early-life: Jennifer Joanna Aniston was born on February 11, 1969, in Sherman Oaks, California, the daughter of actor John Aniston and his wife Nancy. Telly Savalas was her godfather. Her parents divorced when she was nine. Following a spell in her father's native Greece, she was raised in New York, where she joined a drama club. Despite being a talented artist, Aniston decided to concentrate on theatrical pursuits when she enrolled at the famous New York School of Performing Arts.

Career: On graduating, she appeared off-Broadway in various productions. In 1990 she made her TV debut in Molloy, following it up with a part in movie spin-off Ferris Bueller. Neither show, nor her first movie, Leprechaun, had much of an impact. She made various guest appearances in TV series until landing the part of poor little rich girl Rachel Green in Friends in 1994. The sitcom made her a household name across the globe. Since then, she's made several films, including The Good Girl, Bruce Almighty, and Along Came Polly. Other hits include Derailed, Rumor Has It, Horrible Bosses and Wanderlust.

Quote: "When somebody follows you 20 blocks to the pharmacy, where they watch you buy toilet paper, you know your life has changed."

Trivia: She has a fear of flying.

Matthew Perry (Actor) .. Chandler Bing

Born: August 19, 1969 in Williamstown, Massachussetts

Best Known For: Playing Chandler in Friends.

Early-life: Matthew Langford Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachussetts, on August 19, 1969, but was raised in Ottawa, Canada. His father is actor John Bennett Perry, while his mother was the press agent for Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s and 1980s. His parents split when he was a baby, and his mother remarried a newsreader. He has several half-siblings. As a teenager he was ranked 17 in national junior tennis competitions. He moved to Los Angeles to live with his father at 15, and gave up sport for acting.

Career: Perry gave up a place at the University of Southern California when he took a leading role in short-lived TV series Second Chance in 1987. Early films included A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon and She's Out of Control. He didn't become a star until Friends in 1994. Since then, he's attempted to boost his movie career, but unfortunately has made mostly lacklustre films, such as Fools Rush In, Almost Heroes and Three to Tango. He returned to TV in 2006 in Aaron Sorkin's short-lived drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. In 2011 he appeared in US sitcom Mr Sunshine, but it was cancelled after one series. The same thing happened to his latest TV project, Go On.

Quote: "I learned to fall down early in life - I was like six - because I realised it was a way to make girls laugh."

Trivia: Is the youngest cast member of Friends

Lisa Kudrow (Actor) .. Phoebe Buffay

Born: July 30, 1963 in Encino, California

Best Known For: Playing Phoebe in Friends.

Early-life: Lisa Marie Diane Kudrow was born on July 30, 1963, in Encino, California, to Lee, a doctor, and Nedra, a travel agent. At school she was a talented tennis player, but decided to concentrate on more academic studies, and originally intended to become a scientist. She attended the famous Vassar College and graduated with a biology degree. However, the acting bug bit after Kudrow was inspired to perform by her brother's friend, comedian Jon Lovitz.

Career: Started out with Los Angeles improvisational theatre group The Groundlings, and her first big TV break came in the sitcom Mad About You, playing feisty waitress Ursula. Since then, Friends has made her a familiar face to millions across the globe. She has also appeared in several movies, including Analyze This, and the sequel Analyze That, with Billy Crystal and Robert De Niro, and The Opposite of Sex, which won her a prestigious New York Film Critics Award. In 2005, she appeared in short-lived sitcom The Comeback.

Quote: ""I think I'm still Phoebe to people and it would be hard to convince them otherwise."

Trivia: Kudrow was originally cast as Roz Doyle on Frasier, but the producers and writers decided they were changing the character too much to fit Kudrow's personality.

Matt LeBlanc (Actor) .. Joey Tribbiani

Born: July 25, 1967 in Newton, Massachusetts

Best Known For: Playing Joey Tribbiani in Friends.

Early-life: Matthew Steven LeBlanc was born on July 25, 1967, in the working-class town of Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in a small apartment with his single mother. After receiving his first motorcycle at eight, LeBlanc participated in various competitions with hopes of racing professionally until his mother persuaded him to find a different outlet for his talents. He trained as a carpenter, and after graduating from high school, moved to New York with $3,000 raised from selling his truck.

Career: LeBlanc tried modelling, but didn't enjoy it. Instead, he appeared in several adverts and, in 1988, began formal acting training. Within a year he had a starring role in the TV 101 series. He followed that with Top of the Heap and small-screen movie Anything to Survive. In 1994 he struck gold when he was cast as Joey Tribbiani in hit sitcom Friends. The same year, LeBlanc made his film debut in The Killing Box. He has also starred in Lost in Space, Charlie's Angels and All the Queen's Men. After Friends he played the title role in spin-off series, Joey, but it failed to resonate with audiences and was axed after two seasons. In 2011 he began playing a version of himself in the critically acclaimed Episodes.

Quote: "If I'm ever again involved in a project whose path is as golden as Friends is, it'll be a miracle."

Trivia: Is the only cast member of Friends not to have appeared on Saturday Night Live.

David Schwimmer (Actor) .. Ross Geller

Born: November 02, 1966 in New York

Best Known For: Playing Ross in Friends.

Early-life: Born on November 2, 1966 (his mother's birthday), in Astoria, Queens, New York, he is the younger of two children - sister Ellie was born a year before. Raised in Los Angeles by his lawyer parents, he was apparently never tempted to follow in their footsteps. His first taste of acting was in high school, where he was encouraged to take it up seriously by a teacher. Graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Speech and Theatre and founded Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company with friends - it's still going strong today.

Career: He made his TV debut in The Wonder Years, and went on to appear in various TV shows and movies, including Blossom, LA Law and Wolf before landing the role of Ross Geller in Friends in 1994 - he was the first member of the cast to be picked. The comedy became a huge global success, making him a household name. Despite this, his big-screen career has struggled, with The Pallbearer, Kissing a Fool and Hotel all largely forgettable. He had success with small roles in Apt Pupil, Six Days and Seven Nights and TV's Band of Brothers, but has had arguably his biggest non-Friends success voicing Melman the giraffe in the animated Madagascar series of films. Schwimmer has also appeared on stage in various projects and directed two films, including the Simon Pegg vehicle Run Fatboy Run.

Quote: "The fame thing is like a jacket that doesn't quite fit. To go along with the metaphor, I'm still having it altered, mostly because the privacy issue is huge for me. I'm fiercely private."

Trivia: Schwimmer is a director of the Rape Treatment Center in Santa Monica.

Courteney Cox (Actor) .. Monica Geller

Born: June 15, 1964 in Birmingham, Alabama

Best Known For: Being part of Friends.

Early-life: Courteney Bass Cox was born on June 15, 1964, in Birmingham, Alabama. She has two older sisters and an older brother. Her father was an affluent businessman. A daddy's girl, she was devastated by her parents' divorce in 1974. She was a cheerleader at Mountain Brook High School, and excelled at tennis and swimming. Cox began modelling during her final year at school. She later studied interior design at Mount Vernon College but dropped out a year into the course to concentrate on modelling.

Career: Cox appeared in numerous adverts and starred in Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark video. After studying acting she made her TV debut in a 1984 episode of soap As the World Turns. Her big break came when she was cast as Michael J Fox's girlfriend in the sitcom Family Ties. She landed a leading role in sitcom The Trouble with Larry, but it flopped. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective followed in 1994 - the year she joined sitcom Friends. Now a household name around the world, Cox has also appeared on the big screen in the Scream franchise, 3,000 Miles to Graceland, and Bedtime Stories. On the small screen, she starred in two seasons of drama Dirt, and has been playing the role of Jules Cobb in sitcom Cougar Town since 2009.

Quote: "I don't have time for superficial friends. I suppose if you're really lonely you can call a superficial friend, but otherwise, what's the point?"

Trivia: In 2012, Cox directed TV movie Talhotblond.

Jon Favreau (Actor) .. Pete Becker

Born: October 19, 1966 in Flushing, Queens, New York

Best Known For: Acting, writing, and directing.

Early-life: Jonathan Kolia Favreau was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, on October 19, 1966, the only child of two teachers. His mother died of leukemia in 1979. Jon attended Queens College but dropped out a few credits short of completing his degree. In the summer of 1988, he moved to Chicago to pursue a career in comedy. He performed at the ImprovOlympic and Improv Institute.

Career: Favreau's first film role was alongside Sean Astin in Rudy (1993). A year later he appeared in an episode of Seinfeld. In 1996, he wrote and starred in Swingers (1996) alongside Vince Vaughn. In 1997 he had a recurring role as Monica Geller's boyfriend Pete Becker in Friends. In 2001, he teamed up again with Vince Vaughn in Made (2001), Favreau's directorial debut. Two years later, he enjoyed his first big success as a director for Elf. Since then, Favreau has continued to act, write and direct. He went on to direct Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), and Cowboys & Aliens (2011). More recently, he wrote, directed and starred in Chef (2014).

Quote: "I've always wanted to call the shots because I would rather fail than not have a chance to figure it out on my own."

Trivia: He voices the character Pre Vizsla in animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Billy Crystal (Actor) .. Chris

Born: March 14, 1948 in New York

Best Known For: When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers.

Early-life: William Edward Crystal was born in New York on March 14, 1948. His father was a concert promoter. Billy attended New York University, where he studied film and TV direction. After graduating, he worked as a substitute teacher until he was able to get gigs as a stand-up comedian.

Career: In 1976, Crystal moved to Hollywood and his big break came a year later when he landed the role of gay character Jodie Dallas in the sitcom Soap, which ran for four seasons. After the show ended, Crystal continued to do his stand-up routine and became a regular on Saturday Night Live in 1984. This led to appearances on the big screen in Running Scared (1986) and Throw Momma from the Train (1987). Roles in When Harry Met Sally (1989) and City Slickers (1991) established him as a Hollywood star. He went on to have further success in Analyze This (1999) and America's Sweethearts (2001), but also appeared in a number of flops, including Fathers' Day (1997), My Giant (1998) and Parental Guidance (2012). In 2005, he won a Tony Award for his one-man play, 700 Sundays.

Quote: "In high school, I was the class comedian as opposed to the class clown. The difference is, the class clown is the guy who drops his pants at the football game, the class comedian is the guy who talked him into it."

Trivia: Crystal hosted the Academy Awards for the first time in 1990, a role he has performed several times since. He provides the voice of Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc (2001) and its sequel Monsters University (2013).

Robin Williams (Actor) .. Tomas

Born: July 21, 1952 in Chicago

Best Known For: Being one of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Early-life: Robin McLaurin Williams was born in Chicago on July 21, 1951, but raised in Detroit. His father was a Ford Motor Company executive and his mother a model. The family was comfortably off. After graduating from high school he studied political science at Claremont Men's College, but quit to tackle drama at the renowned Juilliard School in New York, where he became friends with Christopher Reeve. He earned extra money performing mime.

Career: Williams started out as a stand-up comedian, making his TV debut in 1977 on The Richard Pryor Show. His big break came playing the alien Mork in Happy Days, and its hugely successful spin-off Mork and Mindy. Movie success was difficult to come by, despite starring roles in Popeye and The World According to Garp. His first box-office hit was 1987's Good Morning Vietnam. Success in Dead Poets Society, The Fisher King, Awakenings and Mrs Doubtfire followed. He was also the voice of the genie in Disney's popular animated film Aladdin. He went on to win an Academy Award for Good Will Hunting in 1997. He followed that up with critically acclaimed fare such as Insomnia and One Hour Photo, and a one-man Broadway show. His other film credits include the Night at the Museum franchise. He returned to TV in 2013 in the sitcom The Crazy Ones. After a long battle with depression, he took his own life on August 11, 2014, at the age of 63.

Quote: "You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."

Trivia: To go with his Academy Award, he won two Emmys, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammys.

Christine Taylor (Actor) .. Bonnie

James Hong (Actor) .. Hoshi

Sam McMurray (Actor) .. Doug

Steve Park (Actor) .. Phil

Joe O'Connor (Actor) .. Stevens

John McCarthy (Actor) .. Referee

Robby Benson (Director)

Scott Silveri (Writer)

Shana Goldberg-Meehan (Writer)

Mark J Kunerth (Writer)

Pang-Ni Landrum (Writer)

Friends: The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion

03:20 am - 03:50 am, Thursday, February 19 on 5 HD (105)

About this Broadcast

The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion
Season 3, Episode 24

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