Entertainment

Why Is Rachel Bilson On The 'Friends' Set?

by Courtney Lindley

Rachel Bilson, everyone. She's a Friends fangirl just like the rest of us. Bilson visited the set of Friends and (naturally) Instagrammed a picture of herself on the famous Central Perk couch — with a huge mug o' coffee in hand to boot. The only thing missing was a disgruntled Gunther and the rest of the crew, even though there was really only one cast member on Bilson's mind: Ross. Yeah, Bilson seems to be aware of the fact that she shares a name with Ross' lobster — the other Rachel (Rachel Green) — since she captioned her pic, "Ross?"

Not only does Bilson share a name with this character from Friends, but she looks like a total natural on that couch. I might have even have assumed that she used to work at this coffee shop. It got me thinking: What if Rachel Bilson was Rachel Green instead of Rachel Green (or, Jennifer Aniston, I guess) being Rachel Green, you know? Think of how much different Friends would have been.

Bilson was obviously a bit too young to have played Green at the time of the show (she was only 13 when Friends premiered), so yes, this is a stretch. Though she could have played someone's younger sister along the way, Bilson was never a part of Friends. However, that doesn't mean we can't speculate what the actress might have looked like as Rachel Green. You know, just for kicks. Here's one option...

It totally would have worked, right? I mean, I'm glad Aniston snagged the part of Rachel Green because she truly became that character, but it's always fun to toy around with ideas of how your favorite sitcoms could have gone differently. And with the picture of Bilson sitting on that couch all alone, it's just too perfect not to dream about the possibilities. That being said, I stand by the theory that Bilson could have made a killer Rachel Green, considering her part as Summer Roberts on The O.C. was a similar character. As in, one that started off privileged and unlikable but turned out to become one of the most likable and rooted for people on the show. It totally would have worked!

But. In all seriousness. I wonder what Ross would think?

Images: Warner Bros Television (2); FOX; The CW; Courtney Lindley/Bustle (2)