The cast of cast Friends skyrocketed to international fame when they were cast in the long-running sitcom.
However, things could have been very different for Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer if they hadn't bagged the roles that made them household names.
A long line of famous actors and actresses auditioned to be one of the six iconic friends before narrowly missing out.
We take a look at how things might have been...
Rachel Green
30 Rock star Jane Krakowski nearly ended up being cast in Friends, having auditioned for the part of Rachel.
However, she admits she didn't end up going very far in the process.
"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," she said.
And Courteney Cox - who went on to play Monica Geller - found herself playing Ross' sister rather than his love interest. The show's co-creator Marta Kauffman revealed they offered Courteney the role of Rachel first but she declined and requested Monica's part instead.
Marta said: "She brought a whole bunch of other colours to the role. We originally offered Rachel to Courteney Cox but she said she wanted to do Monica, not Rachel."
Monica Geller
Leah Remini very nearly starred as Monica in Friends. The King of Queens star bumped into Courteney in the parking lot after her audition but Leah knew she had missed out on the role when she saw her waltz into the studio.
Writing in her biography, Leah shared: "We walked out of the building and into the completely empty parking lot. We chatted on the way to our cars, wishing each other the best, and then we saw Courteney Cox walking toward us, then past us and right into the building. Motherf***er! We both knew it right away: she had the part of Monica."
However, it wasn't all bad news for Leah as she did at least star in the show, appearing in The One With The Birth as the pregnant lady Joey befriends.
Just like Leah missed out, so nearly did Courteney, as the show's creators actually penned the role of Monica with Janeane Garofalo in mind. Co-creator David Crane confessed: "When we originally wrote the role, we had Janeane Garofalo's voice in our head.
"Darker and edgier and snarkier, and Courteney brought a whole bunch of other colours to it. We decided that, week after week, that would be a lovelier place to go to."
Phoebe Buffay
Many stars could have played Phoebe, a role which eventually went to Lisa Kudrow. Kathy Griffin revealed that both her and Glee's Jane Lynch auditioned for the role.
She said: "I've known Jane [Lynch] since we were both auditioning - I think we were auditioning for Phoebe on Friends like all my other girlfriends did."
Joey Tribbiani
Played by Matt LeBlanc, Joey could have been very different as Vince Vaughn originally auditioned for the part. However, Friends casting director Ellie Kanner admitted he didn't fit the bill of what they wanted.
She said: "It’s just a matter of putting the pieces of the puzzle together. That would have been a little different."
Hank Azaria - who went on to star as David, Phoebe's scientist boyfriend in a handful of episodes - auditioned for the role of Joey - twice.
He recalled: "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.'"
Chandler Bing
Jon Cryer was one of the favourites to play Chandler Bing from the start and the show's co-creator Marta Kauffman contacted him to audition for the part, which eventually went to Matthew Perry.
But it wasn't to be as the audition tape got stuck at customs on the way back from the UK to Los Angeles.
He said: "I was working in the UK and got a call from Marta Kauffman, and she had a script called 'Six of One'. She said, 'the part I want you for is named Chandler Bing.
"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."
Ross Gellar
Eric McCormack - famous for his lead role in Will & Grace - was nearly the face of another famous character, Ross Geller.
Eric remembers auditioning for the iconic TV show, and whilst he missed out, things went well for him as he ended up starring as Will Truman in the US sitcom.
"I was so done with that previous stuff - I needed to start pulling at this other funnier and lighter side. I was auditioning for everything.
"I auditioned for Friends even, I auditioned for Schwimmer's part and years later, I told the director of Will & Grace, who directed Friends too, I told him I was up for Schwimmer's part.
"And he was like, 'Oh honey you were wasting your time, they wrote the part for him,'" he said.
