Making friends in school was easy.
But once you’re all grown up, it gets way harder — especially if you’ve just moved to a new city.
Thankfully, social science has figured out a few of the ways that adult friendships form.
Samantha Lee/Business Insider
This article originally appeared on Business Insider
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31 Famous Friends Cameos
Brad Pitt – While he was still married to Jennifer Anniston, Brad Pitt played Ross' old high school friend who hated Rachel
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George Clooney – Spoofing his E.R. fame, Clooney plays a dreamy doctor who takes care of Rachel's sprained ankle
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Adam Goldberg – After Joey moved out, Adam Goldberg played Eddie, Chandler's creepy roommate
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Aisha Tyler – The Archer star played Charlie, a paleontologist who first dates Joey and then Ross
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Alec Baldwin – Alec Baldwin guest-starred as Pheobe's way-too-enthusiastic date
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Anna Faris – Anna Faris had a season-long role as Erica, whose twins Chandler and Monica adopt
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Ben Stiller – Ben Stiller appeared as Rachel's date who angrily yells at everyone
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Billy Crystal – Crystal plays one of two crazy strangers (with Robin Williams) whose conversation the friends overhear at Central Perk
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Robin Williams – Williams plays that other crazy guy in Central Perk
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Brooke Shields – Joey ends up regretting going on a date with his crazy stalker played by Brooke Shields
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Bruce Willis – Things get complicated when Rachel starts dating Paul Stevens (Bruce Willis), the father of a student Ross is dating
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Christine Taylor – Rachel convinces Christine Taylor's Bonnie to shave her head so that Ross will break up with her
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Christina Applegate – Along with Reese Witherspoon, Christina Applegate played one of Rachel's spoiled sisters
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Dermont Mulroney – Gavin, played by Dermot Mulroney, fills in for Rachel while she's on maternity leave and later becomes a love interest
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Charlie Sheen – When Charlie Sheen's Navy man visits Phoebe for an erotic weekend, they both come down with chicken pox
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Charlton Heston – Charlton Heston plays himself and gives Joey some acting advice
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Dakota Fanning – Dakota Fanning offers Joey some advice on how to handle Chandler and Monica moving out of Manhattan
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Danny DeVito – Danny DeVito plays a stripper at Phoebe's bachelorette party
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Freddie Prinze Jr. - Freddie Prinze Jr. is perfect as a sensitive male nanny who takes care of Ross and Rachel's daughter
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Helen Hunt – In a confusing crossover, Hunt (a Mad About You star) mistakes Phoebe for her twin sister Ursula (a real character played by Lisa Kudrow in both Friends and Mad About You)
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Hugh Laurie – The stranger sitting next to Rachel on her flight to England (Hugh Laurie) mocks her plan to break up Ross' wedding
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Jay Leno – Leno plays himself interviewing Chandler's mom, an erotic novelist, on The Tonight Show
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Jon Favreau – Jon Favreau spent almost a whole season as Monica's super-rich boyfriend who wants to become an Ultimate Fighting Champion
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Jon Lovitz – Jon Lovitz guest-starred as a restauranteur in season one and a blind date for Rachel in season 9
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Julia Roberts – Julia Roberts plays "Susie Underpants," a girl whose skirt Chandler pulled down on stage in elementary school
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Kristin Davis – The Sex and the City star is befriended by Rachel and Phoebe after she starts dating Joey
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Reese Witherspoon – Reese Witherspoon guest-stars as Rachel's younger sister who goes on a date with Ross
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Sean Penn – Phoebe must tell her twin sister Ursula's fiancée, played by Sean Penn, that Ursula has been lying to him about her past
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Susan Sarandon – In a plot line on Days of Our Lives, Joey gets Susan Sarandon's character's brain
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Tate Donovan – Real–life couple Jennifer Anniston and Tate Donovan played a couple on the show, too
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Tom Selleck – Tom Selleck's mustachioed Dr. Richard Burke dates Monica on-and-off for several seasons
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