Saved By The Bell's Tiffani Thiessen Wasn't Cast In Friends For A Valid Reason

Tiffani Thiessen, once credited as Tiffani Amber Theissen, got a big break early in her career playing the role of Kelly Kapowski on the hit kid-friendly sitcom "Saved by the Bell." That series ran from 1989 to 1993, and entrenched itself deeply into the brains of the kids who watched it. Theissen was a household name for anyone under the age of 14. She continued to play Kelly in the spinoff series "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" and the TV movie "Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Vegas." 

Throughout her tenure on the show, Theissen continued to work. In 1993, she appeared in the feature film "Son in Law" (her first) and landed guest spots on multiple other hit TV shows like "Burke's Law," "Married... with Children," "Step by Step," and "Blossom." In 1994, she took on another steady role, playing Valerie Malone on "Beverly Hills, 90210." Valerie first appeared in the show's fifth season, added after star Shannen Doherty departed, and the character took over as a "queen bee" on the series. She took over the Peach Pit, the local diner, and opened the Peach Pit After Dark nightclub. Theissen stayed on "90210" for four seasons, leaving in 1998. Most recently, she was one of the regular characters on the 2018 series "Alexa & Katie," which ran on Netflix until 2020. She returned to the "Saved by the Bell" reboot in 2021. 

There was a moment, though, that instead of appearing on "Beverly Hills, 90210," Theissen might have played Rachel Green in the hit sitcom "Friends." Back in 2018, Theissen appeared on Nikki Glaser's interview show "You Up?" to talk about her career, and the actress revealed that she auditioned to appear on "Friends." Evidently, she was turned away because she was a few years too young. 

Theissen noted, very abruptly on "You Up?" that she tested for "Friends." She auditioned to play Rachel, the part that eventually went to Jennifer Aniston. She didn't get the part, quite simply because: 

"I was just a little too young. [...] I was a little too young to the pairing of the rest of them." 

Theissen had just ended her run on the first "Saved by the Bell" series, and had just turned 20 at the time. Aniston, already 25, was more age-appropriate for the role of Rachel, a professional woman already on her own in the world. Aniston was also already the youngest of her future "Friends" co-stars, so casting a 20-year-old Theissen would have felt a little mismatched for the fictional peer group the "Friends" producers were constructing. And that was that. Theissen was too young to appear on "Friends."

Theissen hastened to add that she was not the least bit bitter or resentful on missing out on "Friends." Sure, it was one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, and its six main cast members were, by the end, getting rather hefty paychecks, but Theissen, as an actress, merely wanted to compliment Aniston on the good work she did. Theissen felt that Aniston was very funny, and availed herself well. Also, Theissen landed the "90210" gig, joining what was, at the time, one of the world's most popular primetime soaps. It was hardly a consolation prize. 

Also, Theissen was nominated for multiple awards for her work on "Saved by the Bell," and for the 2002 series "Fastlane." She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for "Alexa & Katie." Aniston, meanwhile, only has one Emmy more than Theissen. They're both doing just fine.