10 Actors You Won't Believe Were Nearly Cast In Friends

5. Craig Beirko - Chandler

You don't even know who this is, do you? You do? Oh, well congratulations. Believe it or not, then, Mr. Craig Beirko - who appeared alongside Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man - was originally offered the role of Chandler Bing. As in, they said: "Here, you can have this part. It's yours. Take it, Craig Beirko. Take this incredible opportunity. We're actually giving it to you." As you probably guessed from the overtly sarcastic and hyperbolic way in which that was written, Craig Beirko declined and shot a pilot for another show called "Best of Friends" instead. You'll agree that that move is probably one that he regrets. If you've seen the man acting, you can picture how he might've made Chandler work, though. Creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman noted that, had Beirko taken the role, the character would have been entirely different, somebody audiences would have "loved to hate" as opposed to just love, what was the case with Matthew Perry's less angry take on the character. Still, Craig's doing okay these days - don't feel too bad - and was last seen... playing Miss Trunchball in Matilda on Broadway? Oh, okay.