Friends: Why Joey Is Actually The Show’s Main Character
The lovable Joey Tribbiani had a complex character arc and was often a struggling actor with a few regional credits to his name. It took time, but by the end of Friends, Joey was doing well for himself. He had been nominated for a Soapie Award for his work in Days of Our Lives and co-starred in a World War I movie with famed actor, Richard Crosby (played by Gary Oldman).
Joey was known mostly for loyalty, trustworthiness, and for valuing friendship more than anything in the world. These character traits and a couple more made him the most iconic person on a show essentially about friendship.
10 Survived In The Challenging Acting Business
Not a single member in the group has a story nearly as dynamic as Joey's. He knew there was more to life than paying bills. So, instead of caving to family pressure and going into his father's pipe-fitting business, Joey pursued the field he was actually passionate about. A struggling actor in New York, he had to work a number of survival jobs before he caught his big break.
Joey worked as a cologne sampler, an acting teacher, Christmas tree salesman, museum tour guide, and briefly as a waiter at the gang's hangout spot, Central Perk. The dry spell didn't seem to bog him down, especially because he had cultivated a strong friendship with Chandler who looked out for him.
9 Compelling Character Arc
Joey's slow transformation is the biggest testament to the strength of his character. He didn’t get to promptly work as an actor but nevertheless persevered. He was home in the middle of the day while his friends were hard at work.
Joey's big break came when he was cast as Dr. Drake Ramoray on Days of Our Lives. The stint however didn't last long because he angered the writers by claiming he made up his own lines.
Joey was able to get his Days of Our Lives part back in season 7 of the show. Thereafter, he was shooting a movie with Richard Crosby and throwing soap opera parties on his roof.
8 Astute Remarks
Chandler may be hailed as the king of sarcasm, but sometimes his witty one-liners paled into insignificance when compared with Joey's astute observations. In "The One with the 'Cuffs," while speaking to an encyclopedia salesman, Joey rightly remarked there were a few things in life that couldn't be learned from books.
Joey also gave clever pieces of advice to his friends, such as when he reminded them their bosses disliked them because they were hanging out at a coffee shop in the middle of a workday.
In the show's pilot, after seeing Paul the wine guy walk out of Monica's bedroom and apartment, Joey made fans laugh when he sarcastically contradicted Monica's earlier statement by asking, "What the hell do you do on a real date?"
7 The Loved One
Joey was unquestionably the adorable one among the group.
Things would many a time turn sour between the friends. Ross and Rachel's on/off relationship inevitably led to conflict and the first time they split, they couldn't stand being in the same room as each other. Ross angered Chandler by fooling around with his mother. The Chandler himself crossed the line when he kissed Joey's girlfriend behind his back. The brother-sister duo, Monica and Ross either bickered about the latter's constant presence in her apartment or blurted out each other's secrets.
Joey was the least catty person of the six. He kept people's secrets and willingly gave up meat during Phoebe's pregnancy.
6 The Man Behind The Famous Pick-Up Line
When Joey wasn't goofing around with Chandler, drinking coffee at Central Perk, or eating his fill at Monica's, he was spending time with the ladies. Chandler and Ross seemed to have the worst luck with women, whereas Joey was quite the charmer.
According to Joey, he would just look a woman up and down say, "Hey, how you doin'?"
Only Matt LeBlanc's Joey could deliver the line with absolute charm. None of the friends could speak in Joey's cadence, much less be able to bowl people over with the iconic catchphrase.
5 Good At Giving Advice
Joey almost always made sense to his pals, even when he uttered gibberish. A case in point is the 'moo point' moment in “The One where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs."
As Rachel sought advice from Monica and Phoebe on whether or not she should make a move on her assistant Tag, Joey gave her good advice.
"All right, Rach. The big question is, "does he like you?" All right? Because if he doesn't like you, this is all a moo point," he told her.
Though for a short while the girls look bewildered, it made some sense when Joey explained what a moo point actually was.
“It’s like a cow’s opinion. You know. It just doesn’t matter. It’s moo.”
However bizarre the word 'moo' may have sounded, even Rachel had to admit it made sense not to waste any efforts over a person who didn't like her back.
4 Most Selfless Friend
Joey would oftentimes go out of his way to make life better for all of his friends. He showed genuine concern for Rachel and Phoebe upon hearing they were to become single parents. Without any hesitation, he offered them marriage saying people who shared special bonds could marry to raise a child together.
Joey put his feelings aside to let Chandler date Kathy. He also covered for Chandler and Monica at the expense of his reputation for a long time. Admittedly, it made him look like an idiot but he did everything he could (including shaving his legs) only because his friends weren't ready to make their relationship public.
3 A Truly Good Person
Joey was a good human being, as he was compassionate and empathetic towards the people around him. In "The One with The Birth," he offered his support to a single pregnant woman while she delivered her baby.
Although Joey was forced into becoming Treeger's dancing partner in "The One with the Ballroom Dancing," he eventually came around and started to enjoy it too.
The defining features of Joey's character were treating people with kindness and warmth.
2 The Famous One
As Friends reached its conclusion, the gangs' respective careers panned out the way they wanted or hoped to. Joey's path wasn't nearly as smooth, and he had his fair share of struggles. But the fact remains, no one amongst a group of well-educated adults ended up becoming famous like him.
Because Joey was in the acting business, a great number of people knew about him. He was once the three-down clue for a crossword puzzle in the Soap Opera Digest, earned a Soapie nomination, and rightly called himself a soap opera star before lending $2000 to Monica in, "The One With the Boob Job."
1 Officiated Two Weddings
Monica and Chandler couldn't have found a better minister than Joey to officiate their wedding. On the day of the wedding, Joey had a full plate but managed to arrive just in time to lead the wedding ceremony. He kept the officiant speech sweet and told a room full of people he couldn't imagine two people more perfect for each other.
Joey also performed Phoebe and Mike’s ceremony. Earlier, she'd asked him to walk her down the aisle but seeing that their minster was snowed-in, he offered to officiate.
The fact that Joey performed two of his closest friends' weddings proves his friendship was important to them.
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