10 Ways Friends Was Almost Completely Different

1. Courteney Cox Was Meant To Play Rachel

Courteney Cox Friends Monica Rachel
FOX

In a strange twist of fate, Courteney Cox was originally not in the running to play Monica Gellar. In fact, the Friends producers were at one point adamant that they wanted Cox to play Rachel Green - the role that would shoot Jennifer Aniston to the status of mainstream pop culture icon.

Despite the wish of the producers, Cox wasn't interested in playing Rachel, feeling that she had far more in common with the character of Monica. It was Jurassic Park III's' Téa Leoni who was the first choice for Rachel, and then it appears that Courteney Cox was the next choice for the gig.

After convincing the producers to let her try out for Monica, Cox impressed so much that she was offered that role.

The actress herself has talked about how Monica appealed to her more and how she had more in common with that character, and Friends' co-creator Marta Kauffman even detailed to the Los Angeles Times how Courteney Cox was the same sort of intense 'neat freak' as Monica - to the point that Cox would constantly tidy and clean the dressing rooms of her castmates.

Additionally, there are also stories out there that Jennifer Aniston actually originally wanted to play Monica before she landed the Rachel gig.

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