Upon being cast as Rachel in Friends – her sixth sitcom effort – actress Jennifer Aniston was nearly recast due to her involvement with another developing sitcom, Muddling Through, at the time. The producers had originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica.
Cox had originally been offered the role of Rachel but declined in favor of playing the character's best friend Monica because she was drawn to her strong personality.
Reportedly the first choice for the role, Leoni ultimately passed on Friends to star in another sitcom for NBC, The Naked Truth, which aired for three seasons.
McCormack auditioned to play Ross Geller, and, in fact, he was among the actors that made it the farthest in the casting process along with Mitchell Whitfield before Schwimmer secured the role.
It's hard to think of anyone else in the role of Phoebe other than Kudrow. That was also the case since the producers' first choice for Phoebe was Ellen DeGeneres, but the comedian turned down the role to star in her own NBC series.
Craig Bierko (Cinderella Man) was the first choice for Chandler but he turned it down, oddly enough to film a different pilot called Best Friends which never made it to air.
Courteney Cox turned down the role of Rachel Green and took a chance by opting for Monica Geller instead, a decision that ultimately worked out for her. Other actresses, such as Leah Remini and Nancy McKeon, were considered for the role of Monica, but Courteney Cox ultimately secured the part.
Louise Redknapp has claimed she was almost cast as Ross Geller's wife Emily Waltham in Friends – but her pop career ambitions derailed her casting. The 45-year-old singer – and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant – claims she was to play the character made famous by 50-year-old actress Helen Baxendale.
In the second episode of Friends season 9, "The One Where Emma Cries," Chandler fell asleep during an important meeting at his workplace and accidentally accepted an offer to move to Oklahoma to run a division of the company in Tulsa.
Who was supposed to be the main character of Friends?
Annnnnd it was Ross. Writing in their blog, Yashu explained how they worked it out, "To determine an answer to this question, I downloaded transcripts of the ten seasons...
According to E! News, Jane Krakowski also auditioned to play Rachel alongside Gertz and Cox. Krakowski went on to star in two comedic ensemble shows, 30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt.
Remini made it to the final round of auditions for Monica Geller, but the second she crossed paths with Courteney Cox in the parking lot, she knew she had lost the part, according to The U.S. Sun.
This goes hand in hand with the entry above - and while there is nothing wrong with a woman having a loud voice, Monica's voice went from fairly normal to shrieking, for no real reason. It was all part of the desire to exaggerate her high-strung nature, and make her seem even more intense...
She admitted that she has a “bad memory” and doesn't remember many things from her life beyond shooting the iconic sitcom. “It's really basic,” she laughed. “I don't remember any trauma in my childhood, but I have, like, three memories. I don't know.
This is where it is obvious that Courtney Cox s not playing Monica Geller-Bing, instead it is someone else peeking into screen space! But let's not be judgmental and blame it all on crappy camera work. The fact is that when F.R.I.E.N.D.S was released in the '90s, the sitcom was shot in square frames.
“My weight varied between 9st 2lb (58kg) and 16st 1lb (102kg) during the Friends years.” He said his thin frame - most notable at the beginning of season seven - was due to the opioids, a drug that can suppress a user's appetite and cause vomiting.
Yes, it was quite noticeable that Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry, lost a significant amount of weight after the sixth season of Friends. Matthew Perry himself has been open about his struggles with addiction and how it affected his health and weight during the show's run.
All three confront Phoebe about this, and it is decided that Joey will remain Phoebe's backup, while Ross becomes Rachel's. Joey tells Chandler how his plan has backfired on him and he is now in serious danger of losing Monica for good, and he leaves on a frantic search intending to propose when he finds her.
In the end, the only saving grace for Baxendale was the tight shooting deadlines for the series. “Often, you can't recast, because of tight shooting deadlines or other logistical considerations,” he writes.
Ross and Emily's marriage was going to last for a long time. However, actress Helen Baxendale was expecting her first child with husband David L Williams at that time. Hence, she decided to quit the show. But Helen has been vocal that she doesn't regret quitting FRIENDS as she chose her family over fame.
Why was Emily removed from Friends? Burrows cited the performance of actress Helen Baxendale as why Emily was written out of Friends. Saying, “She was nice but not particularly funny.” According to Deadline, Burrows' recollections came as part of his memoir Directed by James Burrows.
Why does Rachel always clear her throat in Friends?
That "verbal tic" that Jennifer Aniston has in Friends? Yeah, no, that's called acting. She clears her throat when her character is uncomfortable with what she is saying (because it's a lie, or awkward, etc).
Rachel and Joey's relationship was not meant to last. Not because the characters were incompatible, but because the creators never gave them a fair shot in the first place. Joey and Rachel's relationship was created with the intent of being a short-lived dynamic, regardless of if it had the potential to be more or not.
Why did Courtney Cox turn down the role of Rachel?
“However, she explained to us why she didn't think she was a Rachel—and why she herself was more of a Monica,” said Kauffman. Cox candidly explained her choice, saying, "For some reason, I thought I related more to Monica, which is maybe because I do."
