Leah Remini's Cheers Role Pitted Her Against A Friends Leading Lady
As the daughter of the misanthropic waitress Carla (Rhea Perlman) and Nick Tortelli (Dan Hedaya) on "Cheers," the role of Serafina Tortelli was a highly coveted role for many of the young actresses in Hollywood in the early 1990s. The character was ultimately played by Leah Remini, who at the time had been making a name for herself on TV shows like "Who's The Boss," "Living Dolls," and "Saved by the Bell." This was obviously years before she'd become one of the leading sitcom wives thanks to "King of Queens" and a host with "The Talk" and "People Puzzler," but the early career role is still beloved by her fans.
In her 2015 memoir "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology," Remini claimed the role of Serafina Tortelli on "Cheers" was between her and Jennifer Aniston. Hollywood can be a cutthroat industry, but Remini said that she and Aniston had a friendly rapport as they were often auditioning for the same roles. As Remini wrote in her book about the experience:
"Jennifer Aniston and I had become friendly from seeing each other so much at various auditions. She was normal, unlike most other actresses who, if you tried to make small talk, like asking where they were from, would accuse you of trying to 'psych them out.' One girl I tried to shoot the s*** with got up and walked out. So when you find someone like Jennifer, who isn't douche-y, you develop a natural camaraderie."
At the time, Aniston's biggest role was Jeannie Bueller on the series adaptation "Ferris Bueller" (yes, this existed), as she wouldn't land the role of a lifetime on "Friends" for a few more years.
A friend-ly bit of competition
Remini noted that she and Aniston were in the final round of callbacks for the "Cheers" audition, and joked, "F***, I hope you don't get this one. I need to pay my rent." Rather than take the comment personally, Remini said Aniston smiled and said, "I hope you get it, then." Remini playing the daughter of the magnificent Carla Maria Victoria Angelina Teresa Apollonia Lozupone Tortelli LeBec makes quite a bit more sense than Aniston, with Remini even writing, "The part of Carla's daughter was kind of a no-brainer for me, but you never know." And she's right. Hollywood can have the obviously right decision right in front of their faces and still make bafflingly stupid decisions, so it's impossible to predict how things will turn out. Remini continued:
"So when the casting agent came out and said, 'Jennifer ...', I was thinking, 'You have got to be f***ing kidding me,'" wrote Remini. "The agent finished the sentence with, 'Thank you so much, but we're going with Leah this time.' Jennifer couldn't have been sweeter. 'Congratulations, honey!' she said, and I could tell she really meant it."
Ironically, Remini would be on the other end of a similar situation with the series that made Aniston a household name, as she was in the final round of consideration for the role of Monica Gellar on "Friends," which would ultimately go to Courteney Cox.