Would Friends have been the same without any one of its iconic cast members? Probably not. Yet Matthew Perry almost had to turn down the role of Chandler.
Obviously the acting game is always unpredictable: not only do you have to attend hundreds of auditions before something sticks, but in the event that you get offered more than one job at the same time, you have to make a choice.
And although you may not realize it at the time, one of your options may make you a household name, with 10-year job security and millions of dollars raining down around you. And the other… well, it won’t.
Such was the case for Friends star Matthew Perry, aka. Chandler Bing, when he was making career choices back in 1994.
During a recent appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, the actor talks about another buzzworthy show at the time, which almost lost him the Friends gig that would define his career…
Look, we’re not gonna lie. If we had the choice between a sitcom about young people sitting around drinking coffee and a futuristic alien baggage-claim extravaganza, we’re not sure we would have picked the former.
However, lucky for Perry, the choice was made for him when Fox – probably wisely – decided not to put LAX 2194 on the air. That cleared up his schedule for Friends Like Us (which someone cleverly thought to rename).
But, come on. A futuristic alien baggage claim series starring Matthew Perry would have been fantastic and you know it.
Wish you could’ve gotten a glimpse of this hidden TV gem? You’re in luck! Although this clip doesn’t feature Perry, it gives us a pretty great idea about what the world missed out on:
That accent, though.