It might seem inconceivable now, after 10 extraordinarily successful seasons and 236 episodes, but Friends might have looked significantly different had casting directors gone in a slightly different direction. The network forced showrunners Marta Kauffman and David Crane to cast Matt LeBlanc, as the two werent sure about him before then: they had seen Joey going in a different direction. Former child star and teen movie icon Jami Gertz was offered the role of Rachel Green before Jennifer Aniston landed it in her fifth attempt at television stardom youll remember her most as Star in The Lost Boys, and Blair in Less Than Zero. The part of Ross Geller was actually written with David Schwimmer in mind hed previously auditioned for a pilot that Kauffman and Crane had put together, and they remembered him from before, developing the part with his voice in their heads. He took a little convincing to play the part, however at one point, Eric McCormack, later famous as the uptight gay lawyer Will in Will & Grace, auditioned for the role. Had McCormack actually landed the part of Ross, Will & Grace would have looked completely different too, especially if Megan Mulally had landed the part of Phoebe Buffay when she auditioned for it. US comedy legends Jane Lynch and Kathy Griffin also went for the role of Phoebe before they later became famous, but before any of them were considered, Ellen DeGeneres was actually offered the part and declined it. Apparently, future Two And A Half Men star and eighties teen movie icon Jon Cryer auditioned for Chandler, but he was working in England and the video package he put together didnt make it to the casting didnt make it there in time. Scuttlebutt (like gossip, but played by a younger actor) is that Jon Favreau, now a famous movie director responsible for the success of the first two Iron Man movies (and, potentially the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a result) also auditioned unsuccessfully for the part of Chandler. He would recur as Monicas super rich boyfriend Pete for several episodes after hed already hit the big time with Swingers, opposite Vince Vaughn.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
