Did you know Hank Azaria wanted to play the character of Joey Tribbiani on 'Friends'?

Friends is among the most well-known television shows ever. Celebrities such as Matt LeBlanc as well as Jennifer Aniston became celebrities as a result of the show, and it spawned one of the most devoted fan bases in modern culture. Friends invited a lot of A-list performers to make guest cameos or even as recurrent guests during their time on television. Hank Azaria, a gifted comic and performer who made a stir as Phoebe's beau David "The Science Guy," was among the guests. Truth is that he had actually envisioned himself playing another role in the sitcom and even audition a couple of times for it.

Hank Azaria's Friends audition

The Simpsons star, 57, admitted to presenter James Corden that he auditioned repeatedly for the role of an endearing Joey Tribbiani on Friends, which finally went to Matt LeBlanc while visiting remotely on The Late Late Show. "I auditioned for Joey and didn't get it, and I was like, 'No, no, I have to go back, I have to try again,'" he recalled. "So I bulled my way back in for a second time and they were very kind and watched my audition, and then threw me out. Spoiler alert, I didn't get the role of Joey."

Further speaking about that time in his life, the actor said, "Twice! I read that script,". He further added, “Matthew Perry is actually a very dear friend of mine, and so we all read the script. We didn't know it was going to be the huge phenomenon it turned into, but we knew it was great, and we were all so desperate to be in it". While talking about the role he managed to secure for himself on the show, he jokingly said that the producers took pity on him and offered him a recurring role as Phoebe’s boyfriend on the show, which he was grateful for.

While it does not seem that Hank Azaria has made it to the Friends Reunion cast, some of the biggest names in the industry have. The Friends Reunion guest list will include David Beckham, BTS, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Reese Witherspoon, Malala Yousafzai, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Mindy Kaling and Kit Harington, among others. The Friends reunion will be airing in India on Zee5 at 12:32 today, May 27, 2021.

IMAGE: HANK AZARIA'S INSTAGRAM