Friends auditions: How were the actors cast in the hit sitcom?

Beloved NBC sitcom Friends has been ruling the hearts of numerous fans from all around the globe till today. Over its successfully-run 10 seasons, the sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, has built a massive fandom of its own and influenced an entire generation.

In quite a similar fashion, the fan-favorite sitcom of the 90s has also impacted the career trajectory of all six lead cast members.

The sitcom revolved around the remarkable friendships between Rachel (portrayed by Jennifer Aniston), Monica (Courtney Cox), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler (Matthew Perry), and Ross (portrayed by David Schwimmer).

Over the episodes, the characters became a loving family and shared and celebrated every little aspect of each other's lives. Fans of the show have been quite eager to learn how the lead stars, including Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry and Schwimmer, landed the titular roles on NBC's Friends.

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The casting stories of the lead actors of Friends explored

1) Courteney Cox as Monica Geller

A still of Courteney Cox as Monica Geller (Image via Rotten Tomatoes)

Courteney Cox was the first actor among all six leads to get cast in the popular sitcom Friends. An interesting fact about her casting story was that the actor originally auditioned for Aniston's character Rachel Green. However, she did not like the part at all and was highly attracted towards the character Monica Geller because of the character's strong personality.

At the time, the creators of the show were planning to cast another actor in Monica's role and it was none other than Janine Garofalo. But Courteney Cox did so well in her audition and depicted the perfect portrayal of Monica, that the creators had to cast her as the now-beloved character.

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2) Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani

A still of Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani (Image Via Rotten Tomatoes)

Among the six cast members, actor Matt LeBlanc was the one to join the sitcom next in the role of Joey Tribbiani. The actor had to go through a total of four to five audition steps before getting his part. He had to audition with Courteney Cox as the showrunners wanted to see how the two actors would look together on-screen.

An interesting fact about the casting of LeBlanc's character Joey Tribbiani was that another well-known actor wanted to play the part and it was Hank Azaria. However, due to Matt LeBlanc's unavoidable charm and charismatic nature, he got the role. Azaria was later on seen playing one of the guest roles, David Jeez, in the sitcom.

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3) David Schwimmer as Ross Geller

A still of David Schwimmer as Ross Geller (Image Via Rotten Tomatoes)

The next actor to join the cast of Friends was David Schwimmer in the iconic role of Ross Geller. However, he was not the first actor to audition for the role. It was Canadian-American singer and actor Eric McCormick. who really tried hard to get the role but was unsuccessful.

The most intriguing fact about the story behind the casting of Ross's character was that the creators wrote the character while specifically keeping actor David Schwimmer in mind.

However, he initially rejected the part as he did not want to be a part of any sitcom anymore. However, things started to turn around when he met everybody from the cast. When he found out that the role was particularly written for him, he finally accepted it.

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4) Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay

A still of Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay (Image Via Rotten Tomatoes)

After Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow went on to join the cast of Friends as Phoebe Buffay. Kudrow's audition for the role was probably the most difficult due to the complicated backstory of the character and the contrasting theme of the series, which is essentially a comedy.

However, what helped the actress most to approach the character in a perfect way was the resemblance of the character to one of Kudrow's college friends. The actress took inspiration from her friend's life story while auditioning for the role. She was so good in her audition that she booked the role immediately.

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5) Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing

A still of Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing (Image Via Rotten Tomatoes)

Next, actor Matthew Perry was cast as Chandler Bing on the show. Initially, similar to David Schwimmer, he also almost rejected the role as he wanted to play another role in another project. However, the project he wanted to work on was canceled out of the blue and the opportunity to play Chandler again came to Perry.

Another interesting fact about the character's casting story was that there were a few more actors who wanted the role really badly. The list includes popular actors John Cryer, Craig Bierko, and John Fabro.

But somehow, none of them landed the role and it finally went to Matthew Perry, who needless to say was the perfect Chandler Bing.

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6) Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green

A still of Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green (Image Via Rotten Tomatoes)

Finally, fan-favorite actress Jennifer Aniston joined the cast of Friends as Rachel Green. Initially, the showrunner did not have Jennifer Aniston in mind while casting for Rachel's character. Rather, they considered Jane Moore Sibbett for the role, however the actress was pregnant at the time and passed over the role.

The next choice was Téa Leoni but she rejected the role as she was interested in another show. After that, many other actors auditioned for the role, including Elizabeth Berkley, Jane Krakowski, Tiffany Thiessen and more, but it went to Aniston in the end as she was extremely charismatic, talented, and a perfect fit for Rachel Green's character.

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Viewers can binge-watch Friends, which is currently streaming on Netflix.