Imagine a world where someone other than Jennifer Aniston graced the famous Central Perk sofa as Rachel Green, a role that became iconic and made “Friends” one of the greatest sitcoms ever. In a surprising revelation, Jane Sibbett, known for playing Ross’ first ex-wife Carol, shared that she was once in contention for the coveted role of Rachel. During an interview on Australia’s morning program Sunrise, Sibbett admitted, “Almost. It’s a bit of an embellishment.” She recounted a phone call from her manager while she was auditioning for Rachel. “They love you, they want you, they want you. You’ve got to come back next week,” her manager informed her.
However, Sibbett had a significant concern regarding her potential portrayal of Rachel: her pregnancy. “So I said, ‘Did you tell them I was pregnant?’ and he said, ‘No, no, no, just go onto the test. It’ll be fine, so that’s how it went.” In an honest moment, Sibbett ultimately decided not to pursue the role of Rachel, leading her to settle into the role of Carol, which came with its own complexities.
Interestingly, even Carol wasn’t Sibbett’s first opportunity with “Friends.” Initially, Anita Barone was cast as the pregnant ex-wife of Ross. Sibbett spoke about the timing issues that prevented her from taking on the character at first: “I said, ‘Ask them if I could play the pregnant lesbian’ and they said the timing still wouldn’t work.”
However, fate intervened when Barone departed after the pilot episode, and that opened the door for Sibbett. “When I got home from the hospital after delivering the baby, that’s when I got the phone call,” she revealed. Fortunately, Sibbett harbored no resentment regarding missing out on Rachel. “No one could have ever played that part besides Jennifer. Nobody,” she stated with clear appreciation for Aniston’s work.
Through her portrayal of Carol, Sibbett left a significant impact on television, introducing a gay character during a time of cautious representation. The reaction to Carol’s storyline was mixed; while it faced censorship in some countries, it also sparked important conversations about love and acceptance. As Sibbett put it, “They thought it was going to be a big deal but it gave us a lot of wonderful press and gave us the opportunity to talk about, you know, love is love and this is something we needed to do, and it’s just a beautiful storyline.”
