Adam Sandler’s friends and the films they’ve starred in opposite the actor

Adam Sandler is known for appearing in his own comedic flicks, many of which star his band of famous friends, too.

Several friends of Sandler's were relationships born out of "Saturday Night Live," where he and many of his actor friends kicked off their careers in Hollywood.

Here are some actors that are part of Sandler's circle and have joined him on screen time and time again.

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Drew Barrymore is often a love interest of Sandler's in comedies and is also a close friend of the actor.

"50 First Dates" is a 2004 rom-com starring Sandler and Barrymore. In the film, Barrymore's character Lucy has short-term memory from an accident she endured. This causes her to forget the many different times she meets Sandler's character, Henry.

This film is one of the many starring Sandler and his close friend Barrymore. In addition to "50 First Dates," the two have been in "The Wedding Singer" (1998) and "Blended" (2014) together.

"We're so close. We text all the time. We see each other. We text," Barrymore told "Entertainment Tonight" in February 2024. 

Jennifer Aniston also frequently stars alongside Sandler.

The friends met back in 1990, when Aniston was dating one of Sandler's friends. During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, the friends said they met at Jerry's Deli in Los Angeles where they had breakfast.

"We must have been real family in another life," Aniston said during the show. 

The two worked together on the 2011 movie "Just Go with It," in addition to "Murder Mystery" (2019) and "Murder Mystery 2" (2023).

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According to Barrymore, she, Aniston and Sandler may all share the screen in the future. 

"I'm so busy talking to him and Jennifer Aniston about doing a threefer, if you will," Barrymore told "Entertainment Tonight." "I really want to make it happen. Timing is everything."

Rob Schneider met Sandler in the 1980s when they were both working to become comedians. 

Schneider appeared alongside Sandler in "50 First Dates" where he plays Ula, a friend of Henry's. In addition to this, the friends starred in "Grown Ups," "Big Daddy," "Mr. Deeds," "Waterboy," "Hubie Halloween" and many more. The duo has appeared in at least 15 films together.

Schneider also starred in Sandler-produced movies, including "The Hot Chick" and "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo".

The 2007 movie "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry" brings together famous friends, Sandler and Kevin James, as the two main characters. 

In the film, the two portray a couple pretending to be married. 

The movie also stars Jessica Biel and Rachel Dratch. The comedy romance movie was the first James and Sandler starred in together, but it was not the last. 

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Other films have included "Grown Ups" (2010) and "Pixels" (2015). They have also voiced numerous animated films together, like multiple "Hotel Transylvania" movies.

Sandler has produced numerous movies starring James, like "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" (2009) and the movie's 2015 sequel, as well as "Zookeeper" (2011).

Maya Rudolph, a fellow "SNL" alum, is another actress that has starred in a handful of movies with Sandler.

In 2000, Rudolph became a regular on SNL, where she met Sandler.

During a 2020 interview, Rudolph told an A.V. Club reporter that Sandler really makes her laugh. 

"That's obvious," she said.

She went on to say the friends play a game where they make fun of Rudolph's wife together, which she particularly enjoys.

She appeared in "Grown Ups," "Grown Ups 2," "Zookeeper," "50 First Dates" and "Hubie Halloween."

David Spade was another one of Sandler's comedian friends who got his start on SNL alongside the actor.

The friends have starred in "Grown Ups," "Grown Ups 2," "The Do Over" and "Jack and Jill."

In 2023, when Sandler received the Mark Twain Prize, Spade gave a memorable speech where he said "Let's start with Adam is a very generous guy."

"He has hired his whole family tree to work for him," he said. "I first saw Adam at the Improv." 

Spade added, "His style was so different, and it caught my attention right away." He continued to joke that he was nervous about how much funnier Sandler was upon being hired at SNL.

"He's better than me already," he said.

Tim Meadows was a long-running cast member of SNL in the 1990s when he met Sandler.

Meadows has starred in "Grown Ups," "Grown Ups 2," "Jack and Jill" and "Hubie Halloween." 

During the same 2020 interview with Rudolph and an A.V. Club reporter, Meadows explained a few days in a row where he and Sandler laughed constantly with one another. He said Sandler detailed a story where his neighbor in Los Angeles had a goat, and Sandler came up with the would-be voice of the animal. 

The friends continued speaking to one another in the goat's voice for days.

"He's made me laugh so much," Meadows said. "He's so funny."

Steve Buscemi is very well-known for his memorable appearances and bizarre characters in movies both starring and produced by Sandler.

He has acted in "Billy Madison," "Airheads," "The Wedding Singer" and "Mr. Deeds," just to name a few.

During a speech provided to an audience the evening Sandler received the Mark Twain Prize in 2023, Buscemi said, "When they asked me to say a few first about my friend Adam, I immediately said ‘Whatever’."

"I never get cast in his movies in Hawaii or South freaking Africa," he went on.

Nick Swardson started his comedy career much later than other friends of Sandler's. Following his first appearance on Comedy Central, Swardson was contacted by Sandler.

Swardson had previously told reporters that Sandler caught the special with his wife and inquired about him later.

Since then, he has appeared in "That's My Boy," "Just Go With It," "The Do-Over," "Grown Ups" and "Grown Ups 2," among others.

Kevin Nealon and Sandler have been friends since their days at SNL.

Nealon has starred in some of Sandler's older films, including "Anger Management," "Happy Gilmore," "Little Nicky," "The Wedding Singer" and more.

He has also appeared in more recent films like "Just Go With It" and "Blended."

During a 2013 interview with Conan O'Brien, Nealon told the former talk show host, "I've done quite a few Adam Sandler films."

"It's always very embarrassing and humiliating parts," he added. Nealon starred in the film as the Gatekeeper, who had breasts on his head.

 

In June 2003, Sandler and his wife, Jackie Titone, now Jackie Sandler, married in Malibu, California.

The couple share two daughters together, Sadie and Sunny.

Sandler's wife has appeared in many films alongside her husband, including "Big Daddy," "50 First Dates," "Grown Ups," "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," "Just Go With It" and many more. Most recently, the entire Sandler clan appeared in "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah."