Frank Buffay Jr. is Phoebe and Ursula Buffay's half-brother. He was portrayed by Giovanni Ribisi.
Phoebe discovers Frank on one of her attempts to find her father Frank Buffay Sr., who walked out on her and her twin sister when they were children, and later also walked out on Frank Jr.'s family.
Frank Jr. has a punctured lung, was arrested for stealing birds' eggs, likes to melt things, and used to own a dog named "Tumor". He also believed that 'massage parlor' is a euphemism for brothel, wrongly presuming that his sister Phoebe was a prostitute.
Quick Answers
Who portrayed Phoebe Buffay's brother, Frank Buffay Jr., in Friends?
What was the name of Frank Buffay Jr.'s dog in Friends?
Why was Frank Buffay Jr. arrested in the Friends series?
How did Phoebe Buffay discover her half-brother Frank Buffay Jr.?
What is a notable misunderstanding Frank Buffay Jr. had about the term 'massage parlor' in Friends?
History[]
Meeting his sister[]
Frank Buffay Jr. was the result of his father Frank Buffay Sr.'s marriage to his second wife, whom he also abandoned. Frank didn't realize that he had two older half-sisters, Ursula and Phoebe Buffay.
In "The One With The Bullies", they meet when Phoebe returns his dog after she hit it and reveals to be looking for Frank Sr. but is told he ditched them. Frank Jr. talks with Phoebe and learns they are half-siblings through the same father. While Phoebe did not find her father, she found a brother and they bonded because of their similarities.
During "The One With Frank Jr.", he visits his sister in New York, however they seemed to have trouble connecting as they have little in common, and ends with him groping one of her co-workers at her massage parlor, mistaking 'masseuse' to mean 'hooker'. However, this is cleared up and they reconcile after.
Engagement[]
Frank starts dating his home-economics teacher, Alice (Debra Jo Rupp), in the third season. The relationship would have been a perfectly normal one were it not for the fact that she is 26 years his senior (she's 44, Frank Jr. is 18) and he often refers to her as Mrs. Knight instead of using her first name. Despite the age difference, the two are definitely attracted to each other.
He introduces Alice to Phoebe as his fiancée (in "The One With The Hypnosis Tape"), and reveals to his half-sister that he and his girlfriend are planning to marry and have kids right away. Finding the relationship disturbing, Phoebe does all she can to break them up, bemusing both of them with her daft comments throughout. But they're too much in love to listen to her, and Frank Jr. has difficulty listening to Joey and Ross when they try to talk him out of the relationship. During Ross and Joey's conversation with him, he inadvertently convinces them to support his decision when he counters Joey's argument about the limited amount of women he's slept with by asking if sex isn't better when it's with someone you really care about, prompting Ross to remember his past relationship with Rachel and Joey to express envy that he hasn't experienced a relationship like that, culminating in Joey agreeing to be Frank's best man and Ross to be the ring bearer (Although neither were needed in the end).
Marriage and kids[]
They get married in "The One With Phoebe's Uterus"; while giving Phoebe the good news, they ask her a favor: they wish her to carry their child. Phoebe discusses this with her birth mother and decides to be Frank and Alice's surrogate. One episode later, Phoebe has the embryos implanted in her womb and she gets pregnant. The pleasant surprise gets even better for Frank and Alice when they learn that Phoebe's pregnant with triplets.
The pregnancy marks Phoebe's life in several ways. She becomes dismayed when she, a vegetarian, begins craving meat, warring between her principles and her cravings, moving Joey to give up meat because then the same amount of animals must die. Phoebe accepts this and eats Joey's share of meat. ("The One With The Fake Party") She unleashes her hormonal anger on Monica and Rachel ("The One With The Worst Best Man Ever") and she misses Ross' wedding in London due to not being able to travel by airplane in her third trimester.
In "The One Hundredth", Phoebe reveals that she wants to keep one of the kids for herself, and asks Rachel to ask Frank Jr. for the favor. Rachel is reluctant to do so and after learning Frank is happy to be an immediate father of three, tells Phoebe instead that Frank and Alice want all of their children. Phoebe eventually gives birth to the triplets: Frank Jr. Jr. (named by Frank Jr.); Leslie (named by Alice); and Chandler (named by Phoebe), who turns out to be a girl, but Frank Jr. and Alice name her Chandler anyway.
Parenting life[]
Frank shows up in the tenth season in "The One Where Ross Is Fine". He admits to Phoebe that he and Alice are finding it hard to raise their three children (he says he hasn't "slept in four years"), and asks Phoebe if she wants one of his kids. However, it's impossible for him to get rid of any of his kids. Phoebe understands the position he and Alice are in and explains to Frank that she'll always be available for baby-sitting should the need arise.
Age and birthday[]
When staying with Phoebe, he says that his birthday is October 25, but the year was never specified. In "The One With The Hypnosis Tape", it’s said that he was 18 and his fiancé was 44. Based upon that episode, which takes place in early 1997, he was born on October 25, 1978 meaning that he would be 19 later that year, and his fiancé would be born c. October 1952.
Trivia[]
- Giovanni Ribisi also appeared in "The One With The Baby On The Bus" as "Condom Boy," a man who drops a condom in Phoebe's guitar case when she is playing "Smelly Cat" on the street. He comes back for the condom because he needs it "for an emergency." Later in the same season, Giovanni appears as Frank Jr. -- although it is not confirmed whether the two characters are one and the same -- and Frank Jr. says in his next appearance that it is his first time visiting New York City. Ribisi also plays Frank with a pronounced New York accent which was absent in his first appearance as "Condom Boy."
- It's not clear if Phoebe calls Frank after finding their father in "The One With Joey's Bag" because she is seen calling Ursula.
- It is unknown if he is aware of Ursula.
- He has a tendency to add "you know" to many of his sentences, much like Phoebe.