Joey Tribbiani was a favorite among Friends fans, and throughout the series viewers followed him through a number of acting roles that went from soap operas to Japanese commercials. Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Friends premiered on NBC in 1994 and came to an end in 2004 after ten seasons, although Joey's story did continue in a short-lived spin-off.
Joey (Matt Le Blanc) was portrayed as a stereotypical actor: under-educated, promiscuous, and always looking for a job. That meant he often had to take other part-time work while trying to land roles, with his various jobs on Friends including being a waiter at Central Perk, a tour guide at the Museum of Natural History, a Christmas tree seller, and a cologne sampler.
Still, he’s mostly remembered for his acting roles, and he did eventually find quite a lot of success in that area, going from being regularly broke to one of the more well-off members of the Friends group. These ranged from being the star of a popular daytime soap opera to more obscure film and stage performances, and here's all of the roles Joey had on Friends.
Dr. Drake Ramoray in Days of Our Lives: Joey’s biggest acting role was that of Dr. Drake Ramoray in the serial drama Days of Our Lives. Ramoray was a neurosurgeon and had an evil twin, Stryker. Joey was fired from Days of Our Lives after stating in an interview that he wrote many of his own lines, which was obviously not true. This angered the writers and his character was ended by falling down an elevator shaft and left in a coma. Drake had such serious brain damage that the only person who could treat it was Drake himself. Joey went back to the show in season 7 when Drake was brought back thanks to a brain transplant (the brain was from the character Jessica Lockhart, played by Susan Sarandon), and kept playing the role until Friends was over.
Mac in Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E: Joey played the lead role in a short-lived TV show titled Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E, alongside a robot. His character, Mac Machiavelli, was a detective who along with C.H.E.E.S.E (Computerized Humanoid Electronically Enhanced Secret Enforcer) solved crimes and went on different adventures. The series was cancelled halfway through its first season due to a poor script and bad performances.
Corpse in Law & Order: Joey got a role in another big TV show, Law & Order, but it didn’t turn out as he was expecting. He was so excited about this role that he invited his grandma to Monica’s apartment to watch the episode, only to discover that his role had been cut, and he only appeared as a corpse in a body bag.
Commercials: Joey appeared in an infomercial for The Milkmaster, and in a Japanese commercial for “Ichiban! Lipstick For Men”. Although not exactly a commercial, Joey was a model for a venereal disease poster, which was an obstacle when meeting women at the subway. He was also fired from a Burger King commercial.
Stage Work: Joey also did some stage work, which appeared (although sometimes briefly) in the series. He played Sigmund Freud in the off-broadway musical Freud!, had the lead role in a play called Boxing Day, and had a role in a production of Macbeth. He was also shown auditioning for Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet under the pseudonym “Holden McGroin” – it didn’t go well.
Film Roles: Joey was an extra in a Jean-Claude Van Damme film and was cast as Al Pacino’s butt double, but lost it because he “acted too much”. He got a role in the independent film Shutter Speed, but it was shut down before filming began. His biggest role on the big screen was in Over There, Private Tony, a film about soldiers in World War I, where he worked alongside the famous Richard Crosby (Gary Oldman).