Friends Stars Courteney Cox And Jennifer Aniston Were Originally Intended For Each Other's Roles

Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are forever synonymous with their characters, Rachel Green and Monica Geller.

But believe it or not, Courteney originally intended to star as Rachel in the TV sitcom, while Jen was being pitted for the part of neat freak, Monica...

Even thinking about this casting makes our heads hurt, tbh.

The pair made the confession on TV special An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows, several years ago.

Friends/ Warner Bros)

And recently, Courteney discussed once again how she was bought in to read for the role of Rachel in 1994, but instantly drew more to Monica as a character.

Speaking on podcast Off Camera With Sam Jones, the actress explained: "For some reason, I thought I related more to Monica, which maybe it's because I do.'

"I'm very similar to her...I'm not as clean as Monica, but I am neat. And I'm not as competitive, even though some people, my partner (musician) Johnny McDaid, would say I am."

Friends/ Warner Bros)

There were a tonne other unexpected celebs who almost took the roles of our favourite Friends stars, from Will & Grace's Eric McCormack auditioning for Ross, to Hank Azaria (Phoebe's boyfriend on the show) nearly playing Joey.

Chandler was also almost played by either Jon Cryer or Jon Favreau. Imagine!

Discussing the show's final lineup of stars, Monica added: "I mean, the casting was perfect. It really was. People responded to it.

"It felt right [...] It was just a great group of people that were put together that were there for the right reason".

Warner Bros)

Gushing about the team behind the iconic sitcom, she reasoned: "That was lightning in a bottle, to have those writers, those creators of the show and the team they put together, and the actors. It just worked.

"I mean, the casting was perfect. It really was. I just felt so fortunate, it was the greatest thing. All these opportunities opened up and we were so lucky. I was able to buy a house, it was just a perfect time, I think".

Topics: Courteney Cox, TV News, TV Entertainment, Jennifer Aniston, Friends

Joanna Freedman

Joanna is a journalist at Tyla with a particular interest in highlighting women's issues and telling inspiring first person stories. She's also their resident foodie, and loves covering exciting new beauty launches, too. Contact her at [email protected].

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