An Alternate Circle of Friends

I'll be there for you ... in every universe.

Something that has gained popularity in recent years is the concept of the multiverse—the theory that there are an infinite number of universes all coexisting at the same time, either adjacent to our own or overlapping with our own but operating at a different frequency.  A story element regularly found in comic books—going all the way back to “The Flash of Two Worlds,” from The Flash #123 (September 1961)—the concept of the multiverse is actually much older, with early hypotheses found in Ancient Greece and the Middle Ages.  If proven true, the implications of such a discovery would be staggering—throwing our concepts of science, religion, and even free will into question—but whether the parallel Earths we discover are one where the Roman Empire never fell or one where the Cold War never happened, there are other, smaller things on those worlds that would be of interest.

For example, say someone from our reality creates a device that allows us to cross the dimensional divide to another Earth, in a manner similar to Rick and Morty or the 1990s series Sliders.  They are able to travel to fixed points on this parallel Earth (not embedded in a wall or suffocating in the vacuum of space), and the environment is similar (appropriate oxygen levels and gravity, it’s not a universe where everything’s made of paint, etc.).  Once we determine that this planet is safe to travel to, I say we should bring over more than historians and anthropologists.  For example, if I got a golden ticket to accompany them, I’d pull out my laptop, connect to the WiFi at a parallel Starbucks (assuming they exist), and attempt to connect to this world’s iTunes.

No, make that Pirate Bay.  I’d have no way of knowing if my currency would be good on the other side.  Or if my computer would be able to connect with my bank account back home.

One of the beliefs about the multiverse is that every time we make a decision our universe branches into two, meaning there is now a universe where we did the thing, and one where we didn’t.  And while this would affect the macrocosm of a world (for example, an Earth where the Bay of Pigs Invasion was successful), it would also affect the microcosm as well.   Consider:  in our universe, we had the benefit of Jack Nicholson playing the Joker in the 1989 movie Batman, but other actors considered for the role included John Lithgow (Vaux) and Robin Williams (Kennedy).  What if the film went forward with one of these alternate choices?  Speaking of Nicholson, it is worth mentioning that Bill Murray was the original choice for the character of Daryl Van Horne in 1987’s The Witches of Eastwick, but the role went to Jack when Murray dropped out (Evans).  For that matter, Murray was also the first choice to play Eddie Valiant in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit? but lost the role to Bob Hoskins when he was unreachable by the production team (to his credit, Murray regrets missing this one; Evans).  What if, on another Earth, he took those roles and knocked them out the park?

This is not to say that Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Daryl Van Horne and Bob Hoskins as Eddie Valiant were not excellent.  What I’m saying here is, what if we could have seen cuts of those films from another world where the opposite casting choice occurred?

Imagine a world where John Lennon was not assassinated by Mark David Chapman, allowing the Beatles to possibly reunite and continue making additional albums for several decades, or one where the never-released Tori Amos and Michael Stipe duet, “It Might Hurt a Bit,” was released on the 1994 soundtrack for Don Juan DeMarco instead of the song it was replaced by, Bryan Adams’ “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?”  Moving back to frequent topics of this website, what if Fox Kids aired Catwoman:  The Animated Series rather than The Adventures of Batman and Robin, or what if Tim Curry remained the voice of the Joker—rather than being replaced by Mark Hamill—and, as a result, Harley Quinn never became the iconic character she is today?  The speculations are endless.

This time, though, I want to focus on the seminal television series Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004 on NBC.  Sure, we all are familiar with the show, but what if—on a parallel Earth—there was a different group of friends who were there for us?

“So No One Told You Life Was Gonna Be This Way…”

Even though the casting of Friends should be considered common knowledge at this point, I will humor those who deliberately chose to avoid NBC’s Must See TV programming block.  The main group of actors were as follows:

Top left to right:  Jennifer Aniston as the character of Rachel Green, the late Matthew Perry as the character of Chandler Bing, and Lisa Kudrow as the character of Phoebe Buffay; bottom left to right:  Matt LeBlanc as the character of Joey Tribbiani, Courteney Cox as the character of Monica Geller, and David Schwimmer as the character of Ross Geller.

Though some changes were made as the series found its shape—original plans were for there to be four main characters, with Chandler and Phoebe as supporting roles; Monica and Joey were supposed to be love interests (“Did You”)—the show originally called Insomnia Café (“Did You”) eventually settled on a primary cast of six characters.  Pulling from a veritable who’s who of iconic ‘90s talent, one can’t help but imagine how the series might have changed had co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane chosen any of these alternate actors for the roles:

Rachel Green

Apparently the character of Rachel was considered a hot role in the series, as quite a few name actors vied for the part.  Surprisingly, the first choice for Rachel was Téa Leoni (“You”), but she turned down the role to star in ABC’s The Naked Truth (which relocated to NBC after its first season).  Another top choice was Courteney Cox, who declined the offer to instead play Monica, whom she related to more closely (Lee).  The role was also pursued by Saved By the Bell alumni Elizabeth Berkley and Tiffani Amber Thiessen, who were both considered too young to fit in with the slightly older cast (Kelly; Lynne).  Also considered were Jane Krakowski—who would go on to star in series such as Ally McBeal and 30 Rock (Lynne)—and Jami Gertz, star of 1980s films The Lost Boys and Less Than Zero (Barker and Abel).

Chandler Bing

Initially, both Perry and Craig Bierko were favorites for the role of Chandler Bing.  Unfortunately, Perry was committed to an ABC pilot called LAX 2194, which was about airport baggage handlers in the future, so he graciously coached Bierko, whom he worked with alongside Valerie Bertinelli on the 1990 CBS mid-season replacement series Sydney, for the audition (Barker and Abel; Ryan).  However, after 1) Bierko passed on the role and 2) the ABC pilot fizzled out, Perry was back in the running.  Also in the mix was Jon Favreau, who would later play Monica’s tech millionaire boyfriend during a memorable Friends arc, but he turned down the role, as he was busy working on the 1996 movie Swingers (Barker and Abel).  Fortunately, it worked out for him, igniting an acting and directing career that would include such projects as Elf (2003), the first two Iron Man films (2008, 2010), and The Mandalorian (2019-present).

Another potential Bing was actor Jon Cryer, who was best known at the time as Duckie from Pretty in Pink (1986), but he missed out in the most Chandler way possible.  He was contacted about the role while he was doing a play in London and, after reading the script, sent a taped audition to the network (Kelly).  Sadly, Cryer later found out that his international mailed package was held up in customs and didn’t make it in time for the network to see (Barker and Abel; Kelly). Fortunately, Cryer would later play a similar role as the hapless Alan Harper in the CBS series Two and a Half Men (2003-2015).

Phoebe Buffay

While reportedly the first choice for the role (Kelly), Ellen DeGeneres revealed in a 2015 Howard Stern interview that she never auditioned for or passed on the role (“You”).  It is unclear how this myth began, especially considering that her own sitcom, Ellen (originally called These Friends of Mine, coincidentally), was already on the air, having premiered on March 29, 1994 on ABC (Friends premiered on September 22, 1994) and would remain on the air until 1998.  That said, considering her coming out in 1997 (as well as her character on the show), it would have made for an interesting story arc had she been cast.

Another Friends legend is the claim that Jane Lynch (Glee) was up for the role, but as she said in a 2015 interview on HuffPost Live, “I would have loved that audition, [but] at that time in my life I wasn’t getting that level of audition” (“You”).

As for actors who legitimately auditioned for Phoebe, they included the aforementioned Jane Krakowski, who was allegedly considered after trying out for Rachel (Kelly), and Kathy Griffin (Barker and Abel), who would later make a name for herself on NBC’s Suddenly Susan (1996-2000) and the Bravo reality show Kathy Griffin:  My Life on the D-List (2005-2010).  It appears that Lisa Kudrow was a lock, as the casting director, Ellie Kanner, saw her as a “no brainer […] from the ‘very first casting session’” thanks to her previous work on Mad About You and the L.A. improv company the Groundlings (Van Luling).

Joey Tribbiani

Really, is there a more perfect Joey than actor Matt LeBlanc?  Some may remember his first big break as Kelly Bundy’s dull-witted boyfriend Vinnie Verducci on Married with Children (1987-1997) who, after several appearances in Season Five, spun off into his own show, Top of the Heap (starring a pre-Chasing Amy Joey Lauren Adams; 1991).  And even though the show didn’t last, Fox must have realized his talent, as they attempted another spin-off with the same character in Vinnie & Bobby (1992).  However, that didn’t pan out either, and he reportedly was “down to his last $11” before landing the role on Friends (Whiteman).

That said, he had some fierce competition for the role, including a pre-fame Vince Vaughn, who was described as “handsome and tall” and “a good actor,” but not what they were looking for (Van Luling).  Another potential Tribbiani included Louis Mandylor (Nick Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding), who resembled LeBlanc so much that, in a Season Six Friends storyline, he played Carl, a lookalike Joey hired to play his twin brother in order to participate in a medical study for identical twins.

Another actor who auditioned for Joey was famed Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria, who is also known for his character acting roles, such as in Godzilla (1998), Mystery Men (1999), and Tuesdays with Morrie (1999).  Around this time, he was appearing in the Fox sitcom Herman’s Head (1991-1994) and, possibly seeing the show’s impending demise, Azaria fought aggressively for the role.  “That’s the only job I ever auditioned for twice,” he said, adding, “I thought it was so good—they had rejected me once—I said, ‘I’m going back, I’m gonna do it again, I’m gonna try it again” (“Hank”).  And while he didn’t get the part, he did acquire a recurring role as Phoebe’s love interest David in several episodes.  And while he would have brought an interesting energy to the role it’s probably just as well as—twenty-seven years later—Azaria would most likely be publicly shamed for the crime of a Sephardic Jew playing an Italian Catholic.

Monica Geller

As previously stated, the casting team wanted Courtney Cox to play Rachel, but after she did a read for Monica she “nailed it” (Van Luling).  Of course, she had competition from Nancy McKeon (Jo from The Facts of Life, 1979-1988), who gave a “terrific performance,” but eventually Producers David Crane and Marta Kauffman decided it had to be Courtney after a stroll around the studio parking lot (Littlefield; Ryan).  Other unsuccessful candidates for Monica included Kristin Davis (Sex and the City; Towers) and Leah Remini (The King of Queens; “You”), who did eventually have a small role in an early Friends episode as Lydia, a pregnant woman Joey helps during the birth of Ross’ son.

And while there is no evidence of her ever auditioning, it is worth mentioning that Crane and Kauffman admitted in a 2012 Vanity Fair interview that when they originally wrote the part of Monica, “we had Janeane Garofalo’s voice in our head” (Littlefield).  Referring to this earlier draft as “darker and edgier and snarkier,” this was abandoned when Courteney got the part.  I can’t help but wonder what a Janeane Garofalo Monica would be like.  Perhaps this would have given the series the Gen X bonafides that some critics feel it was lacking.

Ross Geller

According to a 2012 Vanity Fair article, David Schwimmer had a “bad experience on a short-lived [television] series” [possibly the Fox series Monty, which was cancelled after only six of the thirteen episodes aired in January / February 1994] and “vowed never to work in TV again” (Littlefield).  Content to do theater, he was busy performing in The Master and Margarita in Chicago when Crane and Kauffman, who had auditioned Schwimmer for an earlier pilot, reached out to his agent about Friends (Littlefield).  So eager to cast him as Ross Geller, they wrote the part with him in mind (Barker and Abel; Littlefield).

This wasn’t to say, however, that there were no other actors auditioning.  Eric McCormack “got a couple of auditions in” but was eventually let go (fortunately for him, he would later be cast as Will Truman on Will & Grace; originally 1998-2006).  Another option was Mitchell Whitfield, best known for playing defendant Stan Rothenstein in My Cousin Vinny (1992), who came very close to nabbing the part: 

I was brought in to audition for Ross and Chandler.  I went back multiple times, and then they realized Ross was the role for me.  I got down to the very end and was testing for the show.  At the last minute, they said, “We’re bringing in one more guy to read.”  That guy turned out to be David Schwimmer. (Kale)

Whitfield would later join the show as Rachel’s orthodontist ex-fiancé Dr. Barry Farber on the series.  Still, the event lingers; as he recalls, “[m]y wife, she cringes a little bit because if I had ended up getting the part of Ross, I’d have made tens of millions of dollars, but I never think about that” (Kale).

What’s a Long-Term Sitcom Role Among Friends?

This breakdown was only scratching the surface.  According to Casting Director Ellie Kanner, over five hundred actors auditioned for the six leading roles, and they “were always open to ethnicity,” but in the end “tried to find just the funniest people no matter what ethnicity” (Van Luling).  Among the actors up for undetermined parts were Jane Sibbett (who eventually replaced Anita Barone as Carol, Ross’ first ex-wife; Kale) and Cree Summer (based on her performance as Freddie on A Different World [1987-1993], my money’s on her auditioning for Phoebe; Van Luling).

Considering the number of possibilities here is unfathomable.  For example, imagine a universe where the cast of Friends featured Téa Leoni, Jon Cryer, Ellen DeGeneres, Louis Mandylor, Nancy McKeon, and Eric McCormack.  Would it have become the same zeitgeist-shattering tour de force that is was in our reality?  Perhaps not, but I would still binge watch a season or two to try it out.

Works Cited

Barker, Stephen and Amanda Abel.  “Friends:  15 Actors Who Were Almost Cast in the Show.”  ScreenRant.  ScreenRant.com.  17 Nov. 2023.  <https://screenrant.com/friends-actors-who-were-almost-cast/#eric-mccormack>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

“Did You Know the Original Story was About 4 F.R.I.E.N.D.S.?  25 Lesser-Known Facts About Our Beloved Show.”  WION.  N.p.  19 Sept. 2019.  <https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/did-you-know-the-original-story-was-about-4-friends-25-lesser-known-facts-about-our-beloved-show-friends-250545>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

Evans, Bradford.  “The Lost Roles of Bill Murray.”  Internet Archive.  Internet Archive.  30 Oct. 2018.  <https://web.archive.org/web/20181030051950/https://www.vulture.com/2011/02/the-lost-roles-of-bill-murray.html>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

“Hank Azaria Once Thought He Would Be a Funnier Joey on Friends.”  Huffington Post.  BuzzFeed, Inc.  23. Jan. 2014.  <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hank-azaria-friends-joey_n_4652269>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

Kale, Sirin.  “’Jennifer Aniston Cried in My Lap’:  The Inside Story of Friends.”  The Guardian.  Guardian News & Media, Ltd.  6 Feb. 2019.  <https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/06/jennifer-aniston-cried-lap-inside-story-friends>. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

Kelly, Emma.  “From Tiffani Thiessen to Eric McCormack—Who Was Almost Cast in Friends?”  Metro UK.  Associated Newspapers, Ltd.  11 Feb. 2019.  <https://metro.co.uk/2019/02/11/tiffani-thiessen-eric-mccormack-almost-cast-friends-8492876/>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

Kennedy, Michael.  “Batman:  Robin Williams Almost Played Joker & Riddler (Why He Didn’t).”  ScreenRant.  ScreenRant.com.  29 Jan. 2021.  <https://screenrant.com/batman-movies-joker-riddler-robin-williams-not-play/>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

Lee, Ben.  “Courteney Cox Reveals Why She Turned Down Rachel Green Role in Friends.”  Digital Spy.  Hearst UK Entertainment Network.  6 Apr. 2017.  <https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a825331/courteney-cox-why-she-turned-down-rachel-friends/>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

Littlefield, Warren.  “With Friends Like These.”  Internet Archive.  Internet Archive.  9 Nov. 2020.  <https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041708/https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/05/friends-oral-history-top-of-the-rock>. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

Lynne, Amanda.  “The Saved By the Bell Star Who Almost Played an Iconic Role on Friends.”  The List.  Static Media.  14 Jun. 2021.  <https://www.thelist.com/437119/the-saved-by-the-bell-star-who-almost-played-an-iconic-role-on-friends/>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

Ryan, Joel.  “20 Stars Who Almost Played Iconic TV Characters.”  TV Guide.  TV Guide.  5 Mar. 2020.  <https://www.tvguide.com/galleries/stars-who-almost-played-iconic-tv-characters/>. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

Towers, Andrea. "Before She Played Charlotte, Kristin Davis Auditioned for the Role of Monica on Friends." Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. 17 Dec. 2021. <https://ew.com/tv/kristin-davis-auditioned-for-monica-friends/>. Accessed 28 May 2024.

Van Luling, Todd.  “5 Stories You Didn’t Know About Friends, As Told By the Casting Director.”  Huffington Post.  BuzzFeed, Inc.  6 Dec. 2017.  <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/friends-stories-know_n_7192106>. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

Vaux, Robert.  “How John Lithgow Sabotaged His Place in Batman History.”  Comic Book Resources.  Comic Book Resources.  31 May 2023.  <https://www.cbr.com/why-john-lithgow-turned-down-joker-role/>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

Whiteman, Bobbie.  “Matt LeBlanc Reveals He Was Down to His Last $11 Before He Landed the Role of Joey Tribbiani in Friends.”  Daily Mail.  Associated Newspapers, Ltd.  1 Feb. 2019.  <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6659249/Matt-LeBlanc-reveals-11-landed-Friends.html>. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

“You Won’t Believe All the Stars That Were Almost Cast on Friends.”  E! News.  E! Entertainment Television, LLC.  18 Sept. 2021.  <https://www.eonline.com/photos/32715/you-wont-believe-all-the-stars-that-were-almost-cast-on-friends>. Accessed 4 Feb. 2024.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, and the respective actors.