Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Jane Krakowski
Over a decade after the Friends finale aired, Krakowski revealed at the 2015 Emmys that she once auditioned to play Rachel Green. “I, like almost every actor in the world, auditioned for Friends,” she told E! News’ Giuliana Rancic. “I wish I had gotten that one. I actually auditioned for Rachel and didn’t go very far.”
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images
Tom Hanks
Although he wasn’t considered for a major role, Tom Hanks was almost cast on the sitcom as Sandy, the nanny Ross and Rachel hired to look after their daughter Emma. Ultimately, Freddie Prinze Jr. snagged the part. “I wasn’t even supposed to be Sandy, that was originally offered to Tom Hanks, but he wasn’t gonna make it back from his film on time,” Prinze Jr. told Entertainment Weekly. “And so my agent called me and said, ‘Do you want to be on Friends? And I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do an episode of Friends. That’ll be great.’”
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Eric McCormack
Did you know that McCormack auditioned to play Ross? “I needed to start pulling at this other sort of funnier, lighter side. So I auditioned for everything,” the actor told HuffPost, explaining that he was mostly cast in dramas. But even though he lost the role to David Schwimmer, he broke into comedy just a few years later when he starred in Will & Grace.
Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Ellen DeGeneres
Before becoming a world-renowned host, DeGeneres was reportedly the producers’ first choice to play Phoebe Buffay. And although many corners of the internet claim that she turned down the role, DeGeneres told Howard Stern in 2015 that that never happened.
Amy Sussman/BBMA2020/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Jane Lynch
If Lisa Kudrow didn’t play Phoebe, the role could’ve potentially gone to Jane Lynch. There have been rumors circulating on the internet for years that the Glee star auditioned for the part, but in a 2020 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the actor completely denied it. “I’ve seen that before, but that never happened,” she said.
Jason Merritt/TERM/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Kathy Griffin
Jane Lynch, Ellen DeGeneres, and Lisa Kudrow weren’t the only stars considered for the role of Phoebe. In fact, Griffin was reportedly a top contender for the part. But let’s be real: The comedian could never sing “Smelly Cat” at Central Perk as convincingly as Kudrow did.
NICK AGRO/AFP/Getty Images
Jon Favreau
Die-hard Friends fans will recall that Favreau played Pete Becker, one of Monica’s boyfriends, in several episodes of the third season. However, he was another actor who almost played a lead character. Favreau was offered the role of Chandler, but he decided to turn it down and focus on other projects.
Daniel Zuchnik/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Leah Remini
Remini made an appearance on the hit series in 1995 when she played a pregnant woman named Lydia, who gave birth with the help of — drumroll, please — Joey. But a year prior, Remini was actually considered for a much larger role. Turns out, she auditioned to play Monica but lost the part to Courteney Cox.
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Hank Azaria
“I went and auditioned for Joey and got rejected,” Azaria told HuffPost. However, he didn’t give up that easily. “This was the first and only time I’ve done this — I asked to go back in. I said, ‘I know you said ‘no’ to me once, but I just want to try it again, because I like that show that much.’ And I went back in … and I got another very quick ‘no.’ As quick as the first time.”
Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Tiffani Thiessen
After six years of playing Kelly Kapowski on Saved By the Bell, Thiessen was ready for her next big role. “Did you know I tested for Friends, for Jennifer Aniston?” she said on SiriusXM’s You Up With Nikki Glaser in 2018. “I was just a little too young. I was a little too young to the pairing of the rest of them.”