Zendaya and Robert Pattinson Just Named the Best Friends Character — And It’s Not Who You Think

Here’s a truly 2020s thing: two of the biggest stars alive, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, taking a break from promoting their upcoming movie, The Drama, just to wade into one of the internet’s most pointless but persistent debates—who was the best character on Friends?

Wait, Zendaya's Never Really Watched Friends?

So, during a sit-down chat with LADbible Entertainment (yes, that’s an actual promo stop these days), the question dropped: is Phoebe, played by Lisa Kudrow, actually the show’s greatest character, as the online hive mind keeps insisting?

Here’s where it gets kind of funny. Zendaya—superstar, possible future Hollywood legend—has apparently seen exactly one episode of Friends. Not the whole run, not classic reruns at sleepovers, not even scattered highlights. Just one episode, recently. Let’s be honest, that’s probably more relatable for Gen Z than millennials would like to admit.

She was pretty honest about her lack of authority:
'Okay, this is going to be a little controversial, but I saw my first episode of Friends recently. Like full episode of Friends recently. I didn’t grow up with Friends.'

Zendaya said she genuinely enjoyed it (insert sigh of relief from sitcom fans), and, yes, she liked Phoebe. But with no real connection to the show, her verdict was basically, 'I did really like Phoebe. I did.' – sliding her vote to the 'agree' side but making it clear she wasn’t exactly a superfan.

Pattinson: The Joey Guy

Robert Pattinson, ever the agent of chaos in interviews, threw in a curveball of his own. He just boldly went with Joey as his favorite, flat-out disagreeing with the internet’s default Phoebe praise.

In classic Pattinson style, he gave almost no explanation, just: 'I’m more of a Joey person. I’m a Joey.'

After which, Zendaya promptly asked, 'Which one’s Joey?' That’s how little this debate means in the grand scheme of things, but hey, content is content.

What Else Do We Know About The Drama?

• The movie, The Drama, is set to hit theaters on April 3, 2026 (yeah, you’ve got plenty of time to rewatch Friends if you want to do some catching up).
• Alongside Zendaya and Pattinson, the cast includes Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, Hailey Gates, and Zoë Winters, among others—no word on any Friends cameos, though.

So, if you wanted a definitive answer on the best Friends character, you’re fresh out of luck—the stars are (mostly) as uninvested and baffled as anyone who wasn’t glued to NBC in the '90s. But at least we got a little peek behind the curtain at how these famous folks really process pop culture: Zendaya votes Phoebe, sort of, and Pattinson’s all-in on Joey. In other words: the debate will never die.