While many co-stars become close friends after working together, there's something extra special about two BFFs getting the opportunity to work together after years of friendship. The chemistry between two real-life besties cannot be replicated.
Which is why people showed up at the box office year after year to see Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller star alongside each other in a dozen different movies, or why "Friends" fans were delighted to see Jennifer Aniston appear on her IRL best friend Courteney Cox's show "Cougar Town."
Most recently, longtime BFFs Michelle Williams and Busy Phillips finally got to reunite on screen — 15 years after the last episode of "Dawson's Creek," which they both starred in, aired.
Keep reading to see 18 pairs of friends-turned-co-stars that will have you reaching for your phone to convince your best friend to start working with you.
Michelle Williams and Busy Phillips have been BFF goals since their "Dawson's Creek" days, and have finally reunited on screen in 2018's "I Feel Pretty."
Williams described their heartwarming friendship best when she told People "I'm so in love with her [Phillips]. She's proof that the love of your life does not have to be a man! That's the love of my life right there." Phillips is even godmother to Williams' daughter Matilda.
The two met on the set of "Dawson's Creek" in 2001 and have been inseparable ever since. Williams appeared on Phillip's sitcom "Cougar Town" in 2013, but since then their friendship has stayed confined to social media and red carpets — until now. "I Feel Pretty," their big screen debut as besties, hits screens on April 20.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's bromance is one for the ages, spanning more than 30 years and six movies.
Affleck and Damon have been friends since they went to school in Boston together as kids. They came up together as actors, starring in "School Ties" and "Chasing Amy," before their big break came with "Good Will Hunting."
Even though the two have remained close friends, they've only appeared in two projects together in the 21 years since "Good Will Hunting;" they starred in "Dogma" and made a cameo appearance as themselves in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."
According to Damon, they're not opposed to working together again in the future. "I'd love to work with Ben," he said. "The problem with Ben is every time he directs a movie he gives himself the best role in it, so until he's willing to give up the best role to one of his friends we're not going to get on with it."
Julia Roberts and George Clooney met on the set of "Ocean's Eleven" and have been friends and regular co-stars since. They most recently appeared in 2016 thriller "Money Monster" together.
Clooney and Roberts met on the set of "Ocean's Eleven," in which they played husband and wife. Since then, the two have collaborated in "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," "August: Osage County," which Roberts starred in and Clooney produced, and were reunited as co-stars and on-screen love interests in "Money Monster."
Clooney said of his BFF, "We've been really good friends for a really long time and I just adore her."
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have been friends since they were both working the Chicago comedy circuit in the early '90s, and have been making us jealous of their friendship ever since.
Fey convinced Poehler to join her on "Saturday Night Live," which was the beginning of a hilarious two-year run as the first female "Weekend Update" hosts. The two have also appeared in "Mean Girls," "Baby Mama," and most recently "Sisters."
They also hosted the Golden Globes together three years in a row, successfully becoming the most iconic hosting duo ever.
Brad Pitt and George Clooney met on "Ocean's Eleven" and went on to play best friends in its two sequels.
After playing best friends in "Ocean's Eleven," the lines between fiction and reality blurred and the two became close in real life. Pitt even flew to Clooney's house to meet his new twins after a night of partying at a music festival — true friendship.
That said, they haven't appeared on screen together since then, besides Pitt's cameo in Clooney's directorial debut, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."
Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston met on the set of "Friends," and have continued to support each other on and off screen since.
These two may be the most famous BFFs in Hollywood. Not only is Aniston godmother to Cox's daughter Coco, Cox was maid of honor at Aniston's wedding to then-husband Justin Theroux.
Even though everyone would love to see a "Friends" reunion, you'll have to settle for Aniston appearing on both of Cox's post-"Friends" TV shows, "Dirt" and "Cougar Town."
Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph met at a bridal shower before they solidified their BFF status on "Saturday Night Live" and "Bridesmaids."
Wiig and Rudolph met 10 years before "Bridesmaids" (an ode to female friendship) was released — at a baby shower hosted by Melissa McCarthy (another "Bridesmaids" star).
The two established their BFF goals status on "SNL" before starring together in "Bridesmaids," and then again in another rom-com, "Friends with Kids," along with two other "Bridesmaids" co-stars, Jon Hamm and Chris O'Dowd.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire have been buds since they were kids, but only appeared in one big-budget movie together ("The Great Gatsby") in 30 years of friendship.
DiCaprio and Maguire, now both bona fide movie stars, met when they were just kids trying to break into Hollywood, at age 12. Their friendship has become notorious — the pair, along with two other friends, Lukas Haas and Kevin Connolly, became known as the "P---y Posse."
The two have stayed close: DiCaprio is even rumored to be the godfather of Maguire's daughter Ruby. DiCaprio's first move after being offered the part of Jay Gatsby in he 2013 film was to call Maguire and ask if he wanted to play Gatsby's only friend, Nick Carraway. While the two appeared in "This Boy's Life" and "Don's Plum," "The Great Gatsby" was the first big budget film the two starred in together.
Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman are one of Hollywood's best under-the-radar friendships — but they've appeared in five movies together.
When Aniston gave a speech at Bateman's star ceremony at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she got in a few good jabs, but mainly spoke about how lucky she was to have her "partner in crime" in her life. She said "he's one of the loveliest men to be around. He always gives you deep connection, full attention, authenticity, and some of the deepest belly laughs that I can remember. We are so very proud of you."
Aniston even made her first public appearance post-split from Justin Theroux to support her friend and co-star at the premiere of his new movie "Game Night."
The two have starred in "Horrible Bosses" and its sequel, "The Break-Up," The Switch," and "Office Christmas Party."
Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz met when Barrymore was 14 and Diaz was 16, and have stayed close since.
Though they were just teens when they met, their friendship has lasted over two decades. The pair first appeared on screen together in "Charlie's Angels," and reunited for the sequel, "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle."
They have been giving us friendship envy for years. The two were bridesmaids in each other's weddings, and Diaz is even godmother to Barrymore's daughter. Barrymore confirmed their tight bond, saying that Diaz would be her first call from jail.
Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato bonded when they were just 10 years old on "Barney & Friends," and went on to star in Disney Channel Original Movie "Princess Protection Program."
The beginning of their friendship is documented on "Barney & Friends," which is how they met. And while Gomez and Lovato both starred in their own Disney Channel hits, "Wizards of Waverly Place" and "Camp Rock" respectively, Disney couldn't wait to get them on screen together, which is why "Princess Protection Program" hit TV screens in 2009, along with a duet sung by the two called "One and the Same."
Through the ups and downs that both have had in the nine years since then, the two have always been vocally supportive of each other. Lovato explained "We've been through a lot together, we've had periods of times we here we grew apart and we just didn't really talk... she has a great soul, she's talented, she's beautiful and she will always be really, really close to my heart."
Seth Rogen and James Franco met as teenagers on "Freak and Geeks," and have starred in multiple comedy classics since.
Though the two starred in cult classic "Freaks and Geeks" in the late '90s, Rogen and Franco didn't become close until they played stoner best friends in "Pineapple Express" — and then went on to appear in some of the biggest comedies of the decade, including "This Is the End," "The Interview," "Sausage Party," and Oscar-nominated "The Disaster Artist."
When Franco was honored by IndieWire, Rogen shared a story about his friendship with Franco, and finished his speech by saying "he helped me be happier with my work, and myself in general. And he's just a great friend and makes good pie."
Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff met during their Broadway days when they both starred in musical "Spring Awakening." Groff then had a recurring role on "Glee" as Michele's on again/off again boyfriend.
These two met when they played Melchior and Wendla in the Broadway musical "Spring Awakening" in the mid-2000s. Even though they played love interests on the show, their real-life relationship is strictly platonic — Groff is openly gay. The pair are so close that they left "Spring Awakening" on the same night because they couldn't imagine acting with anyone else.
Michele told the New York Times that "I don't go a day without talking to Jonathan. I don't go a day without being in contact with him." So it made perfect sense that Michele would lobby for Groff to get a part on "Glee."
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are members of the "Frat Pack," but this dynamic duo alone has been in 13 movies together.
The Frat Pack was a name given to a group of comedians that starred in multiple films together in various combinations. While it included Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Vince Vaughn, Wilson and Stiller and have starred in a whopping 13 movies together.
Their working relationship began with "The Cable Guy" in 1996, and has led to movies ranging from the kid-friendly "Night at the Museum" series to the cult classic "Zoolander" — and its less-than-thrilling sequel 17 years later.
But the two had communicated before then. Wilson revealed that their first contact was in a letter Stiller wrote to Wilson complimenting his work in "Bottle Rocket," and hoping that the two would be able to work together soon. In Wilson's own words, "that sure came to pass."
Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart met on the set of "New Moon," and are extremely close. Fanning told Stewart, "I love you so f---ing much."
Fanning called her friendship with "New Moon" co-star Stewart "one of the most special bonds in my life" in her speech celebrating her friend at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards. Fanning spoke very highly of Stewart, detailing their beautiful friendship, which has lasted through three "Twilight" movies and the Joan Jett biopic "The Runaways."
Stewart ended her own speech at the awards ceremony with a promise: "I'm so proud of you... I'll do this for you really soon. Just ask me."
Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey were longtime friends before collaborating on screen in "True Detective."
Before becoming "True Detective" co-stars, the two worked together on "EDtv" and "Surfer, Dude" in 1999 and 2008 respectively. When talking about their working relationship, McConaughey said "One of the things [Woody] and I are good at [in] comedy is where I start and he ends and he starts and I end and we really get on a similar frequency and roll with it."
Even though "True Detective," continued without them, the pair are still giving the public heartwarming glimpses into their relationship, like when they reunited on the 2018 Oscars red carpet clasping hands and smiling at each other.
Cara Delevingne and Rihanna met at a fashion show and were close for five years before appearing in "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" together.
Delevingne recalled meeting Rihanna when "she came up to me and slapped me on the bum." And though the two have mainly been depicted as friends who just party together, Delevingne explained that their relationship goes much deeper than that, saying "no matter where either of us are in the world, we know we can just pick up the phone and unload on each other, and that we are always ready to listen or offer advice."
And when the two were given an opportunity to act in a film together, Delevingne told Glamour that "I’ve seen her work in the studio, in concert, in meetings. But to see her act was incredible."
Lena Dunham and Jemima Kirke have been friends since they were 11 — so it wasn't much of a surprise when Dunham cast Kirke in "Girls."
During an interview about the ending of "Girls," Dunham (the show's star and creator), revealed that Kirke had tried to quit during season two, and that Kirke even threatened to punch Dunham if she didn't leave her dressing room. But rest assured, the two worked it out. "Jemima and I fought sometimes because we've been close since we were 11, and that's one of the things you do when you're family," Dunham explained.
Kirke backed up Dunham's statement in the same interview, saying "It definitely caused us to get closer [after 15 years of friendship] and it caused us to fight. And then at the end of it, you know, [our relationship] was nicer."
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