It’s hard to imagine any other actor playing the iconic character Chandler Bing in place of Matthew Perry? But there’s Jon Cryer who missed the golden opportunity of his life due to this reason.
One of the most popular sitcom FRIENDS ran for 236 episodes from 1996 to 2004. Almost every generation has watched the show. When the show premiered it was everywhere and still, it has a huge fan base. It is so hard to decide what makes the show perfect, the storyline, characters, or the casting. However, do you know the maker of the show wanted to cast some other actor as Chandler Bing? (Sounds like a nightmare, right?) Hard to believe but it was Two and a Half Men actor Jon Cryer who almost played the sarcastic Chandler.
The FRIENDS’ Popularity:
FRIENDS is not just any other show, it’s a beautiful emotion for its fandom. Almost every single generation has watched the show around the world. They see themselves in their character and situations, even though FRIENDS premiered before some of them were even born. FRIENDS played for a decade and it still goes strong with reruns. And we think it’s the perfect mixture of the cast, screenplay, and characters that made the show so popular.
How Jon Cryer missed the golden opportunity:
Two and a Half Men actor Jon Cryer is popular for playing the co-lead role in the show for more than a decade. He even won two Primetime Emmy Awards for the show. Cryer confessed on The Late Show With James Corden that how he missed the chance of being a part of the evergreen show.
Cryer said “I was working in the UK and got a call from FRIENDS’ executive producer Marta Kauffman and she had a script called six of one. She said the part I want you for is Chandler Bing”
To this Cryer said he was ready to play the role. He told James Corden that he was performing in a play at the same time in London and had to audition there and then in a sleep-deprived state. But Later,
“I went in, I did my best…she packaged up the tape of me doing my best Chandler Bing, sent it to LA and it got stuck in customs. When he returned to Los Angeles, Cryer found that the network executives never got a chance to see his tape”
Well, that’s pretty sad for Jon Cryer. What are your views on it? Who is your favourite character in FRIENDS? Tell us your answers in the comments section below.