It is possible that in some alternate universe, Friends looks entirely different than we know it today, and the Scary Movie franchise would have needed to cast a different star for its fourth film.
Despite Matthew Perry and Hank Azaria doing all they could to convince him to take the role of Chandler, Craig Bierko turned them down. That’s right, the man that spoofed Tom Cruise in Scary Movie 4 turned down what could have been the most defining role of his career.
Why did Craig Bierko turn down the role of Chandler in Friends?
Originally, the producers of Friends thought that Chandler would be the easiest character to cast. “We brought everybody in,” said David Crane, writer and producer for the show in an interview. “We were so sure that Chandler would be the easiest part to cast. It’s got the most joke jokes. It’s sarcastic and kind of quippy, but no one could do it. No one.”
The studio had originally wanted to go with Matthew Perry to begin with, but at the time, Perry was tied up filming the pilot for LAX 2194, a show about baggage handlers from the future that never got turned into the full series. The only person to come close to fitting the role was Bierko, who writer and producer Marta Kauffman claimed that Perry coached for the role.
In the end, we don’t have exact information on why Bierko ultimately decided to turn down the role. Luckily, LAX 2194 fell through, and Perry was available to take on the role we all now know and love. Former president of NBC Entertainment Warren Littlefield was extremely happy Bierko didn’t end up in the spotlight cast by Friends.
“Thank God! There was something Snidely Whiplash about Craig Bierko. He seemed to have a lot of anger underneath, more of a guy you love to hate. The attractive leading man who you love and can do comedy is very rare.”
Still, it’s hard to imagine what alternate universe Friends might have looked like with Bierko in it. Maybe Brie Larson’s rumored appearance on the show could also be real, after all, and who knows what other wild shenanigans might have happened. We certainly wouldn’t have seen Bruce Willis on the show otherwise!
Perry didn’t want his acting career to be defined by Friends, but it is still arguably his most iconic role. While it’s fun to imagine what Matthew Perry would have done in Scary Movie 4, perhaps things really did just work out for the best.
