Joey Tribbiani's professional journey was unlike any of his friends. An actor's path to success is never a straight line, and he was no exception to the rule. At the beginning of Friends, Joey was a struggling actor with marginal credits to his name. Besides honing his craft (and atrociously lying on his resume), he also had to pay bills and feed himself along the way.
Chandler did his best to support Joey in whatever ways he could. He'd cover his share of the rent, electric, pay for his acting classes headshots, and more. But this didn't mean Joey could just live off his best friend until his big break. His resume boasts both notable acting jobs and part-time survival gigs and they are all interesting.
Wee One's Production Of Pinocchio
Rachel is introduced to Monica's friends in the show's pilot, and she is quite amused to know that they all have jobs. Chandler says he inputs numbers, Phoebe is a masseuse, Ross works at the New York Museum of Prehistoric History, and Monica is a sous-chef.
When it comes to Joey, he boastfully claims he's an actor, which prompts Rachel to ask if she has seen him in anything. At this exact point, Monica interjects and informs Rachel that Joey starred in Wee One's production of Pinnochio at the Little Theatre in the park. It's clear that "Wee One" is the name of a children's theatre company and Monica's talking about the city's Central Park. Joey's clearly not proud of that credit, but hey, it's better than nothing.
The Lead In Freud!
Joey played the lead German doctor in an off-Broadway musical named Freud! at the beginning of "The One with the Butt." He shared space with a woman, Eva, who lay on the examination table. The musical ran at the Cherry Lane Theatre in West Village.
Rachel was the most excited out of the group because she'd never seen one of Joey's plays before. As he sang the lyrics, "All you want is a dingle..." to Eva, the audiences dropped their jaws in utter disbelief. Joey was disappointed doing substandard plays for six years, but little did he know his big break was around the corner.
Al Pacino's Butt Double
Though fans call out Friends for various unrealistic situations, that doesn't take away from the fact that the show makers did their best to keep things pragmatic. One example of this is Joey's slow character transformation.
Every effort was made to depict the hardships that a struggling actor who'd flocked to one of New York's most expensive neighborhoods would face. Friends dedicated a whole episode ("The One with the Butt) in season 1 to let fans in on Joey's attempts to break into acting. He'd landed a part as Al Pacino's butt-double in a shower scene. Though he was fired for overacting with the part, the gang was there to comfort him.
Cologne Spritzer
The season 2 episode, "The One With The Breast Milk," taps successfully into Joey's emotions as a struggling actor. When his career expectations aren't being met, he turns to Chandler for comfort.
Joey works a day job as a cologne spritzer. It goes well until a new salesperson who calls himself "The Hombre Man" encroaches on his territory and steals his clients. The manager gives Joey a cowboy costume and expects him to follow in the new guy's footsteps. When he returns home disappointed, Chandler reminds him a day job isn't supposed to mean much in the life of an actor.
Dr. Drake Ramoray On Days Of Our Lives
A couple more awful plays later, Joey gets his big break as Dr. Drake Ramoray on the soap opera Days of Our Lives. His agent, Estelle, (who has some hilarious quotes on Friends) gets him the audition. Dr. Ramoray first appears in season 2's "The One With The Lesbian Wedding."
Joey learns a lot about acting on the sets but his gig is cut short soon after he tells a magazine he writes most of his lines. The writers put his character in a coma by dropping him down an elevator shaft. Joey is devastated and so are his fans.
Christmas Tree Salesperson
Joey also worked as a Christmas tree-seller in season 3's "The One Where Rachel Quits." He showed great enthusiasm until Phoebe pointed out the unsustainable practice of harvesting trees for Christmas. She showed up at his workplace and jeopardize his job by trying to sell dead trees to customers because she was convinced they were born to be Christmas trees.
Joey was working on a commission at the farm and Phoebe just wasn't being a helpful friend. While she wanted to see every dead tree sold, Joey was losing clients.
Gladiator At Caesar’s Palace
Joey gets a lead in an independent movie named Shutterspeed towards the end of season 5 in "The One with Joey's Big Break." The plot is flimsy, and he's not going to be get paid unless the movie makes money. Chandler rightly has little faith in the project and they run into an argument on their way over to the movie set. Joey drops him midway to start working on his new project.
Turns out, no one is willing to bankroll Shutterspeed and Joey is left high and dry outside of Las Vegas. He stays behind and works as a gladiator at Caesar's Palace to make ends meet. Joey is every bit frustrated with the new job and doesn't want the gang to know.
Central Perk Waiter
Joey faces a rough time in season 6 and is forced to take a waiter job at Central Perk. His logic is simple: he spends most of the day at the cafe, so he might as well get paid for it. With intentions like this and no determination whatsoever, he keeps making one mistake after the other.
Joey gives away free food to women he thinks are attractive, leaves work in the middle of the day, and spends time chatting with his friends. He's just as bad a waiter as Rachel and this stint doesn't last long either.
Rejoins Days Of Our Lives
Season 7 marks a turning point in Joey's career when his comatose Days of Our Lives character receives a brain from a female character named Jessica Lockhart.
Lockhart, played by fictional actress, Cecilia Monroe is fired from the show and entrusts her character to Joey. The man puts a great deal of effort into playing a woman in a man's body. Joey is nominated for a Soapie Award for his return as Dr. Drake Ramoray and fans love the new twist in the show.
A Soldier In A World War I Movie
Joey lands a World War 1 epic with the fictional actor Richard Crosby (played by Gary Oldman). It's the opportunity of a lifetime and he begins to grasp the true essence of acting from his co-actor. Viewers love seeing Joey hard at work, except once when he tricks the inebriated Crosby into thinking the filming has finished for the day.
Joey should have been fired from the job, but fans are prepared to let it slide on account of the Mondler wedding. Joey was supposed to be officiating the wedding and his director wouldn't stop filming as long as Richard was on the set and awake. Joey made the right choice and rushed to his friends' wedding instead.