The Simpsons Star Who Auditioned Twice For A Main Friends Character (But Only Became A Guest)

If I say the name Joey Tribbiani today, everybody on Earth who was born before 2000 and owned a television immediately pictures Matt LeBlanc with his mischievous smile and jet-black hair, uttering some nonsense line or asking a beautiful girl how she's doing. And that's exactly how it should be. In retrospect, the NBC sitcom's casting was pitch-perfect, and one of the reasons "Friends" turned into the pop culture phenomenon it's been regarded as for decades. But even back in the '90s, before the show kicked off, up-and-coming actors knew the main roles in this series were golden opportunities to stand out and boost their careers — even if they hadn't suspected the monumental global impact the program would have on the comedy genre and broadcast television itself.

So, every aspiring young actor in Hollywood who heard about the sitcom back then was trying to land a part in it. Among them was an ambitious Hank Azaria, approaching his 30s, desperately wanting to secure the role of Joey. The actor already had fantastic appearances under his belt in such classics as Gary Marshall's beloved rom-com, "Pretty Woman," and Robert Redford's brilliant Oscar-nominated drama, "Quiz Show." He also appeared in an episode of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Admittedly, his career was looking up, but those jobs in his resume didn't guarantee anything when it came to his auditioning for Joey.

Appearing via a video call in James Corden's "The Late Late Show" in 2021, "The Simpsons" alum recalled his experience trying to get on "Friends." He explained,

"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.' So I bullied 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."

On "The Late Late Show," Azaria also added that his co-star Matthew Perry was a great friend of his, and they all read the script and auditioned for the show. He said, "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." But it wasn't all lost for the actor. Eventually, he managed to get a guest role on "Friends," playing Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) on-and-off boyfriend David, who first appeared in season 1 and later returned for an additional four episodes in seasons 7 and 9. 

It wasn't necessarily a huge or influential role, but Azaria didn't need it to be to strive as an actor moving forward. He already had his beloved "The Simpsons" characters to voice, and after '94, he was getting cast more and more frequently in bigger and better movies. He was in Michael Mann's legendary "Heat" and then Roland Emmerich's 1998 blockbuster "Godzilla." In 2017, he even got his own TV show, "Brockmire," a criminally underseen yet blistering and sharp-tongued dramedy about baseball, addiction, and second chances.

All in all, it was for the best that Azaria got turned down to play Joey and went on to have an illustrious and respectable career anyway — both on the big and small screen.