Tiffani Thiessen Drops Major ‘Friends’ Bombshell: She Almost Played Rachel!

Could there BE another Rachel Green besides Jennifer Aniston?! Brace yourselves, “Friends” fans – another ’90s TV starlet almost had the part.

Tiffani Thiessen revealed she was up for the role that made Jen a household name, telling Nikki Glaser on her SiriusXM show “You Up” recently that she actually auditioned to play Rachel – and got pretty
far.

“Did you know I tested for ‘Friends,’ for Jennifer Aniston?” she said. “I did.”

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Although she’d come close to sealing the deal, Tiffani explained that her opportunity to join the now-iconic sitcom had unfortunately come knocking just a bit early.

“I was a little too young,” she said. “A little too young to the pairing of the rest of them.”

She has a point. Tiffani was only 20 when “Friends” premiered in 1994, making her five to 10 years behind her would-be castmates. Considering viewers met Rachel in the pilot right after she’d left her fiancé at the altar, a then-25-year-old Jennifer was arguably a more believable choice.

PHOTOS: ‘Friends’ Cast Then & Now

‘Friends’ Cast Then & Now

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However, Tiffani didn’t go home empty-handed that year.

Fresh off her breakthrough run as cheerleader Kelly Kapowski on “Saved by the Bell,” Tiffani switched gears and joined “Beverly Hills, 90210” as resident bad girl Valerie Malone. While viewers loved seeing Tiffani dig into an edgier character, Nikki shared that she had no trouble picturing her competing with one of America’s sweethearts, too.

“That makes sense to me, because you [and Jennifer] are both such amazing comedic actresses,” Nikki said of Tiffani’s “Friends” revelation.

“She’s very, very funny,” Tiffani agreed.

It sounds like Tiffani has no regrets, but it turns out she and Jennifer might have both lost out if it weren’t for one of Jen’s fellow “Friends” alums.

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Back in 2012, co-creator Marta Kauffman told Vanity Fair that Courteney Cox was offered the part of Rachel first and turned it down after being drawn to Monica instead.

Sorry, Ross, but we definitely need to go on a break after this news.

— Erin Biglow