Matthew Perry played the role of Chandler Bing for all ten seasons of Friends, but there were several other major candidates considered for the part. In fact, one well-known figure was even offered the role before Perry was hired as one-sixth of the major cast. Perry’s path to joining Friends wasn’t simple, since the actor was attached to a Fox pilot at the time.
Throughout Friends‘ decade-long run, Chandler was portrayed as the king of sarcasm with a brash personality. Chandler was the roommate of Joey Tribbiani and a friend of Ross Geller since college. He had one of the most stable careers out of the main characters, but he was vocal about hating his job. Over the course of the series, Chandler grew closer and closer to Ross’ sister, Monica. Though Chandler had multiple relationships, he was known for having commitment issues when it came to women — that is, until he opened himself to Monica and the two grew as Friend’s foundation couple. The pair eventually got married and adopted a set of twins before embarking on a new chapter in the suburbs before the series’ end.
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Chandler was a major jokester, so the show thought they would have an easy time filling the role. In reality, the part was one of the hardest to cast as there was difficulty in finding actors who had the right comedic timing and sarcastic humor. Before Perry emerged as the frontrunner, Two and a Half Men‘s Jon Cryer auditioned for the role, as did Craig Bierko. Perry actually coached Bierko for the role while he was still attached to another series. Neither Cryer nor Bierko got the role, but another actor impressed enough to receive an offer to play Chandler.
Jon Favreau Was Offered The Role Of Chandler But Declined
Actor Jon Favreau auditioned for Friends prior to its 1994 debut and was offered the role of Chandler. Favreau decided to turn down the offer to work on other gigs. He ended up appearing on Friends for a six-episode stint in 1997 as Pete Becker, Monica’s rich boyfriend. Favreau continued working on a number of TV shows and movies in the ’90s and continued that busy schedule in the following decades. Not only did he continue acting, but Favreau has also expanded his directing and writing career through Disney. He has been a big part of the MCU (both on and off camera), in addition to working on Star Wars projects and live-action adaptations of Disney classics. Currently he’s most well-known as The Mandalorian‘s showrunner.
After Perry’s schedule opened up, he was given the role of Chandler and the rest was history. The actor’s audition convinced the Friends creators and network that they found someone capable of carrying the character. He then cemented himself as a member of one of the most renowned ensemble casts in TV history. Even though Perry went on to acquire a number of gigs following his time on Friends, he will always be remembered as Chandler Bing to multiple generations.
