Vince Vaughn was nearly Joey… and nine other stars you had no idea were almost in Friends
The hugely popular U.S. sitcom could have turned out VERY differently if the show's creators had their way
IT'S almost impossible to imagine anyone else playing the Central Perk sixsome.
Despite the odd inconsistency and awkward "stand-in" moments, we wouldn't change Friends for the world.
But what if we told you that the show's creators initially had VERY different ideas about who should play the lovable six characters?
David Crane and Marta Kauffman were keen to cast alternative actors as Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Chandler Bing, Ross Geller and Joey Tribbiani.
Here we take a look at the big names who were originally lined up for the iconic sitcom.
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Vince Vaughn
The Hollywood actor auditioned for the part of Joey and very nearly bagged it.
Friends casting director Ellie Kanner told Huffington Post that he was “handsome and tall” and "a good actor".
Luckily for Matt Le Blanc, he just didn't quite fit the part as well as he did.
Jane Krakowski
She may be best known now for her role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, but Jane originally auditioned for the part of Rachel in Friends.
On the 2015 Emmys red carpet she joked in an interview with Giuliana Rancic that her "business manager was very sad" she never got a call back.
She admitted: "Well, I, like almost every actor in the world, auditioned for Friends.
"I wish I had gotten that one. I actually auditioned for Rachel, and I didn't go very far."
Hank Azaria
Friends fans will recognise Hank as Phoebe's ex-boyfriend David, the science guy who broke her heart when he left for Minsk to conduct some vital research.
We revealed last year that these two were actually meant to end up together, but Phoebe went on to marry Mike instead.
Hank originally auditioned for the part of Joey.
He told HuffPost Live in 2014: "That’s the only job I ever auditioned for twice.
"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'."
Eric McCormack
Before he landed the title role in Will & Grace, Eric McCormack auditioned for the role of Ross in Friends.
He told Huff Post: "I needed to start pulling at this other sort of funnier, lighter side. So I auditioned for everything.
"I auditioned for Friends even. I auditioned for Schwimmer’s part (Ross).
"Years later, I told Jimmy Burrows, who directed all of Will & Grace and Friends too [that] I was up for Schwimmer’s part.
"He said, ‘Oh, honey, you’re wasting your time. They wrote the part for him'."
Courteney Cox
Yes, we know she landed the part of Monica - but casting directors originally wanted her for the role of Rachel.
It was only when she read as Monica, and ended up bringing "a whole bunch of other colours to the role", that she got it.
Co-creator Marta Kauffman said: "We originally offered Rachel to Courteney Cox, but she said she wanted to do Monica, not Rachel".
Nancy McKeon
The Facts of Life star Nancy was keen to play Monica and gave a "terrific performance" in her audition, according to Lori Openden, who was head of casting for NBC at the time.
But in the end, Marta and David Crane gave it to Courteney.
Jon Cryer
Believe it or not, Two and a Half Men actor Jon was Marta's number one choice to play Chandler Bing - and he missed out by a cruel twist of fate.
On the Late Late Show he told James Cordon: "I had to audition the next morning with the casting director who was in the UK.
"So I went in, I did my best... she packaged up the tape of me doing my best Chandler Bing, sent it to LA, and it got stuck at customs."
Janeane Garofalo
There were lots of leading ladies in line to play Monica, but the role was actually written with a specific actress in mind - Reality Bites star Janeane.
It was only when Courtney smashed the audition that they changed aspects of her character.
We're dying to know what the original Monica was like...
Craig Bierko
Apparently Matthew Perry couldn't commit to the role of Chandler at first as he was tied into a pilot for Fox.
As a result, NBC lined up Craig for the role instead - though apparently he seemed to have "a lot of anger underneath, more of a guy you love to hate", according to Warren Littlefield, former president of NBC Entertainment.
Kathy Griffin
Stand up comedian Kathy revealed in an interview with HuffPost Live that both she and Jane Lynch auditioned for the part of Phoebe.
Jane later went on to play Sue Sylvester in Glee.
Earlier today we revealed a Friends fact about Monica and Chandler that will make you feel very old.
In December last year we told how Monica and Chandler in Friends moved into the Home Alone house – and nobody noticed for 12 years!