13 Comedy Friendships That Go Way Back

13 Nick Kroll and John Mulaney

John Mulaney met Nick Kroll in college at Georgetown. Mulaney told CBS, "While I was here, I was doing improv comedy in an improv group called, 'The Georgetown Players Improv Group.' The director was a guy named Nick Kroll. He was a senior and he cast me in the group," Mulaney said. "Had I not met Nick that day -- and then met Mike Birbiglia, another incredible comedian who's helped me out so much -- it really would have been a different path. So while I always wanted to be a comedian, there were specific people and moments here that helped make that happen."

12 Andy Samberg and Chelsea Peretti

Chelsea Peretti and Andy Samberg have been great friends ever since they attended elementary school together. Peretti even says that she used to have a huge crush on her Brooklyn 99 co-star.

11 Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg

Seth Rogan and his long-time writing partner Evan Goldberg became fast friends when they met each other at Bar Mitzvah class when they were 12 years old.

10 Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston

Ever since their mega-hit 90s sitcom Friends, Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston have maintained a close relationship. Aniston is the Godmother of Cox’s daughter Coco and the two often accompany each other on family vacations to this day.

9 Snoop Dog and Cameron Diaz

Snoop Dog and Cameron Diaz have known each other much longer than you might expect. According to Diaz, “We went to high school together. He was a year older than me and you know, I remember him there. There were a lot of kids in our school, there’s like 3,500 kids, but I remember him, he was very tall and skinny, wore lots of ponytails on his head.” Diaz added, “Pretty sure I bought weed from him. I had to have.”

8 Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s friendship dates all the way back to 1977 when Fonda attended Tomlin’s one-woman comedy show “Appearing Nitley.” Fonda went backstage and the two met, although Tomlin was a fan of Fonda’s before they ever came face to face. Their friendship has spanned decades from working on 9 To 5 together with Dolly Parton and now starring in their show Grace & Frankie.

7 Amy Poehler and Tina Fey

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey met at Chicago’s ImprovOlympic theater in 1993. Poehler remarked in her book that ImprovOlympic co-founder told Amy, “there was another new improviser in another one of her classes whom she thought I would really like. Her name was Tina and she was like me but with brown hair.”

6 John Krasinski and B.J. Novak

John Krasinski and B.J. Novak have remarked on a few occasions that the two were actually friends since childhood. The two stars from The Office were a part of the same little league team when they were children, attended the same high school and Novak was the person who convinced Krasinski to pursue acting after John appeared in a play Novak had written. 

5 Jonah Hill and Adam Levine

Hill and Levine were best friends growing up, Hill told Howard Stern, “Our dads met in the principal’s office in junior high. We were in carpool. We lived at each other’s houses.” Jonah Hill even officiated the Maroon 5 lead singer’s wedding.

4 Maya Rudolph and Gwenyth Paltrow

During her 2001 SNL monologue, Gwenyth Paltrow revealed, “I hosted once before, but this week has been really extra-special to me because one of my best friends is on the show now, and I'm so proud of her. We've known each other since we were 7 years old, and she's super-funny and talented, and I'm so glad she's in the cast. Her name is Maya Rudolph."

3 Lisa Kudrow and Conan O'Brien

The pair, Conan O’Brien and Lisa Kudrow, were at one time improv comedy classmates and even dated for a short stint before realizing they were better off as friends. Conan says that Kudrow is the reason he ever pursued Late Night, as she pushed him toward it. Kudrow says that O’Brien is the reason she continued to pursue her dreams of comedic acting.

2 Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler

Before either of the two comedians had hit the big time, Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow shared a $900 dollar a month apartment in The Valley. Sandler and Apatow told The Hollywood Reporter that while the two weren’t very wealthy, they would go to Red Lobster once a month as their fancy dinner. 

1 Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi

The creators and stars of What We Do In The Shadows have been long-time friends and writing collaborators going all the way back to their time spent at Victoria University where they formed the comedy duo The Humorbeasts long before Flight Of The Conchords. Clement went on to star in Taika’s film Eagle Vs Shark and Taika directed four episodes of the HBO Flight Of The Conchords Series.

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Top Image: John Mulaney