Highlights

• The original plans for Friends included only four main characters, with Phoebe and Chandler as recurring characters instead.
• Chandler's iconic one-liners and Phoebe's quirkiness were essential to the show, and fans can't imagine it without them.
• Other actors, such as Kristin Davis and Louis Mandylor, auditioned for main roles but ended up in smaller or recurring roles instead.

Friends is one show that captured the hearts of many, providing many laughs over a ten-year run and also becoming many fans' go-to comfort show. Of course, one of the main factors of the show that draws everyone in is the main characters and the relationship between the main cast both on and off-screen.

However, the show could have looked entirely different had the original plans for the main characters gone ahead. This is because it was recently revealed that one of the original plans was to only have four main characters, with two of the most popular characters on the show getting cut and only having returning roles.

Phoebe And Chandler Were Meant To Be Recurring Characters On 'Friends'

It's difficult to imagine a scenario where the six main cast members of Friends aren't seen all together on our TV screens. Given that the entire show revolved around those six characters and their relationships with one another and other people, it doesn't appear to work in any other way.

However, there was one scenario that could have caused the show to be seen in an entirely different light. This was to only focus on four main characters in the form of Rachel, Joey, Ross, and Monica, and the Friends creators wanted to make Phoebe and Chandler recurring characters instead.

The One Friends Episode That Was Banned In The UK Because Of Matthew Perry And Matt LeBlanc

A storyline featuring Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry on Friends during season 4 was viewed as too much by some countries.

As Warner Bros was threatening to fire two Friends cast members during contract negotiations when they wanted an equal and fair raise, perhaps it was Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow they were planning on firing?

It isn't known who they were planning on firing, but according to Jennifer Aniston, they had threatened to fire two of the main cast as a way of cutting costs (which thankfully the cast called their bluff on).

The fact that Chandler and Phoebe were the characters who were originally only meant to be recurring parts might come as quite a shock to fans.

Chandler's iconic one-liners and Phoebe's quirkiness meant there was no way the show could have happened without them at the center of it, as they're part of the reason why fans can relate to the show so much.

Even though there were still some other iconic recurring characters on Friends, such as Gunther and Mike, there is no way that fans could even bear the thought of any of the main cast being made recurring characters instead, because it was the on-screen chemistry between all six of them that made the show what it is.

The One Friends Question Matthew Perry Told An Interviewer To Stop Asking During Their Candid Conversation

The interviewer asked Matthew Perry one too many questions about Friends, but he handled it in the best way possible.

It's not known why this decision was made or whether the creators had first decided to go with the six characters, then gone down to four, and then finally decided that the six characters were the better option, but what is sure is that fans will be glad that this is the decision that they stuck with.

Other Famous Actors Were Considered For The Main 'Friends' Characters

Whilst fans find that one of the best things about Friends is that the actors who played the main characters got on so well, as with any TV show, many actors auditioned for the main roles in Friends, to the point where we could have seen an entirely different cast on our TV screens.

Cole Sprouse Is Still Earning Good Money From Friends Today

Cole Sprouse may not have been on 'Friends' for long, but he appears to still be getting paid from those appearances today.

One of these people is Kristin Davis. Known for her role as Charlotte York in Sex And The City, before this, Kristin had initially auditioned for a role on Friends as none other than Phoebe Buffet.

Despite later going on to appear as Erin (Joey's love interest) on the show, had her audition as Phoebe worked out, both Friends and Sex And The City would look entirely different.

Another is Louis Mandylor who almost got cast as the role of Joey in Friends. While he didn't quite get the role, fans would have seen him on the show playing the role of Carl who was Joey's fake twin and fans got to see a little glimpse at what Joey without Matt LeBlanc would look like.

Clearly, actors who auditioned for the main roles on Friends but didn't quite make the mark seem to be a theme as others had auditioned for one of these roles but ended up being cast in a smaller, sometimes recurring, role on the show.

One of these is Hank Azaria, who many fans of Friends will recognize as having played David (Phoebe's love interest who moves to Minsk and who she almost ended up with instead of Mike). However, Hank initially auditioned for the role of Joey, but thankfully it all worked out in the end.

Did Any Of The 'Friends' Cast Not Get Along?

With them spending 10 seasons and 236 episodes together, many fans have often questioned whether the cast genuinely get along with each other or whether their friendship was just for on-camera purposes only.

Luckily for fans, the friendship they shared on-screen is pretty similar to the one they share off-screen. They were so keen on ensuring they could keep their friendship that the Friends cast made a firm pact not to date one another so their friendship couldn't get ruined.

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