Why Julie From Friends Looks & Sounds So Familiar

Ross Geller's (David Schwimmer) girlfriend Julie is one of the most pivotal supporting characters in the early seasons of "Friends," both because she's one of the major hurdles in the budding romance between Ross and Rachel Greene (Jennifer Aniston) and because it's hard to ignore what a raw deal she gets during her tenure in the show's season 2. Julie eventually finds out about Ross' true feelings toward Rachel via an answering machine message, and the couple goes through a fairly acrimonious breakup. Fortunately, Julie eventually finds peace with Ross' doppelganger, Russ (Schwimmer).

Julie is portrayed by Lauren Tom, who found out firsthand that even though her character did absolutely nothing wrong in the show, fans weren't pleased with a secondary character "stealing" Ross away from the long-teased romance with Rachel. "I wasn't prepared for the amount of venom I was about to receive in a live audience where they actually booed my character," she told The Huffington Post in 2019. "Of course, I was trying very hard not to get my feelings hurt. So I had to get used to that. But I did understand intellectually that, you know, the audience was meant to be rooting for Rachel. Even I was rooting for Rachel, on some level, 'cos I was a fan of the show."

Fortunately, Tom has enjoyed a long career in television and movies, and she's had plenty of better experiences than what fans gave her during her time in "Friends." Let's take a look at some of her best-known roles.

Lauren Tom started her screen acting career in the 1980s. After a series of relatively minor roles most actors go through in the early stages of their career, she landed a huge gig in 1993 as part of the ensemble cast of "The Joy Luck Club," Wayne Wang's film version of Amy Tan's novel of the same name.

Appreciated by critics and audiences alike, "The Joy Luck Club" is an uncompromising look at the relationships between Chinese immigrant mothers and their daughters who've grown up in the U.S. Their stories are told in various flashbacks that are built around a present-day farewell party and are invariably hard-hitting, yet not without hope and happy endings.

Tom plays one of the daughters, Lena St. Clair. Her plot involves dealing with an unhappy marriage with the help of her mother, Ying-Ying (France Nuyen), who knows a thing or two about such things. Much like Tom was the first prominent Asian character in "Friends," she blazed the trail in "The Joy Luck Club," which was a significant step in the representation of Asian culture in Hollywood. 

"'The Joy Luck Club' really was a pivotal point in my career," Tom described the experience to Resonate. "I can't believe it was already 25 years ago. It was such a beloved book and such a high-quality project to be involved in with an all-Asian cast. The director was Asian. It just gave me a level of confidence that helped me move on in my career from that point."

Apart from her work in front of the camera, Lauren Tom has built an extensive résumé as a voice actor. In 1997, she started one of her most prominent projects on this front when she joined the voice cast of the legendary Mike Judge animated show "King of the Hill."

Tom pulls double duty as the voices of both Minh Souphanousinphone and her daughter, Connie. Interestingly enough, the characters themselves could not be more different. Minh is an overbearing and snarky housewife who has no problem being unpleasant to her neighbors — whom she views as inferior — but who nevertheless has certain hidden depths, such as her immaculate shooting skills. Meanwhile, Connie is a nice, smart person who speaks perfect English as opposed to her mother and is on extremely good terms with the Hills ... particularly Bobby, whom she's great friends with and even dates at one point.

When speaking of Lauren Tom's voice roles, it's impossible not to mention the one she's been playing since 1999. "Futurama" has returned from the dead many times over the years ... and whenever it does so, Tom does as well, since she's part of the main voice cast as Amy Wong.

Much like Billy West's Dr. Zoidberg, Amy starts out as a supporting figure but is promoted to main character status in Season 5 and has never relinquished that status since. A Planet Express employee like most other central characters, Amy is a deceptively complex character behind her ditzy party-girl facade and plays a pivotal role in many adventures.

In an interview with Syfy, Tom reflected on "Futurama's" repetitive resurrections, and what her lengthy tenure as Amy feels like. "Coming back feels like slipping into a cozy pair of pajamas," she said. "It's been so wonderful just to be with your family, and then just to be able to pick up where we left off."

Incidentally, if you've noticed a change in Amy's voice in later seasons, you haven't imagined it. Because of natural changes in her voice over two decades, Tom felt somewhat concerned about whether she'd be able to accurately portray Amy in the later seasons. Fortunately, co-creator David X Cohen was quick to put her at ease. "I said to David X Cohen, 'I'm worried because my voice is so much higher then than it is now'," Tom said. "But he said, 'We don't worry about that because we feel like the characters settle into where they should be, eventually, and it ends up being usually a little bit closer to who you are.' So my natural tone right now is about where Amy is right now."

Tom also voices several additional characters in the show, most prominently Amy's mother Inez.

The CW's "Supernatural" features many ordinary characters who get put through an absolute paranormal wringer, but apart from Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), few of them have gone through weirder stuff than Linda Tran. During her tenure in the show, she finds out that her son, Kevin (Osric Chau), is a Prophet of the Lord, and proceeds to jump headfirst into all things supernatural to make sure that no one messes with the kid. Along the way, she holds her own against various demonic threats, gets abducted and tormented, deals with witches, and generally acts in a way that makes even the seasoned Winchester brothers respect her.

Originally portrayed by Khaira Ledeyo, Lauren Tom took over the role of Mrs. Tran for "Supernatural" Seasons 8 and 9. The show has a pretty dedicated fanbase, and if Tom caught negative attention from "Friends" fans, the experience here was far more positive. "I have never felt so much love from fans before!" she said in an interview with the Supernatural Tentation fansite. "I think the producers of the show know what the fans like, so they created a very strong female character instead of a weak one."

Tan's arguably most memorable moments in the show are related to the demon Crowley (Mark Sheppard), whom she punches at one point and who possesses her in another. She found these moments particularly memorable and said she's even been able to use Mrs. Tran's toughness to her benefit in her everyday life.

"Mark Sheppard helped me with the rhythm of his voice and how Crowley might sound saying those lines," she said. "I've never been asked to punch someone in the face before. I am tiny so I usually don't get cast in badass roles! Playing this part has made me tougher when I am walking my dog who is blind. Sometimes a big dog will come charging at him, and now I scare them off with my big, low voice, and I yell, "Hey, hey, BACK OFF" in a very Mrs. Tran voice."