You Won’t Believe Who Almost Played Rachel on ‘Friends’ – The Shocking Casting Secret!

Jane Sibbett Was in the Running To Play Rachel

Before she was cast as Carol, ex-wife of Ross (David Schwimmer), actress Jane Sibbett was brought in to read for the role of Rachel. In a case not unlike past near casting differencesfor the show, when speaking with the Australian morning show, Sunrise, Sibbett revealed that—despite the story being embellished by the press for a number of years—she came close to winning the role. When asked “Is it true that you were originally picked to play the role of Rachel Green, but because you were pregnant, it ultimately went to Jennifer Aniston?” Sibbett replied: “Almost. It’s a bit of an embellishment.”

The actress explained that she had gone in to audition for the role, and “I had left the room from auditioning for Rachel, and I got the phone call from my manager saying ‘They love you, they want you […] You gotta’ come back next week. But they want you.’” But a contingency immediately arose in Sibbett’s mind, as the actress was pregnant at the time. She asked her manager “Did you tell them I was pregnant?” Her manager revealed that he hadn’t told the Friends casting directors but advised her to “go on to the test. It’ll be fine.” But, the reality was that issues would arise concerning Sibbett’s casting.

Sibbett Lost Out on Rachel Because of Her Pregnancy

After Sibbett returned the following week for the next step in the audition process, the Friendscasting team was made aware of her condition. Unfortunately, she was told that the timing didn’t work out. Still, Sibbett wasn’t ready to give up just yet. She inquired if she could play the role of Carol, as she was interested in her story line. But the reply came that the timing stillwasn’t going to work with production. The role of Carol ended up going to Anita Barone, which normally would have meant Sibbett would have had to move on from Friends. Carol, played by Barone, debuted early in the series run with the episode “The One with the Sonogram at the End.” But, it wouldn’t be long before the team was once again on the hunt for Carol, a recasting that would be among the show’s biggest pivots.

Anita Barone Decided To Leave ‘Friends’

According to Express, following Barone’s debut episode, she wanted to depart the show in order to pursue more full time work. She would end up booking a role on The Jeff Fox Worthy Show, leaving the part of Carol wide open. Per Sunrise, Sibbett had freshly arrived home from giving birth when she got a phone call saying that they wanted her to take over the part of Carol. It certainly worked out of Sibbett, as Carol remains one of the roles for which she is most known. Despite only being in 15 episodes of the series, she is so much a part of the zeitgeist of the series and remains one of the show’s best guest stars. As for playing the role of Rachel, Sibbett is adamant, saying, “No one could have ever played that part of Rachel besides Jen.”