actress Jane Sibbett shut down rumors that she was the original choice to play Rachel Green in the 1990s sitcom. The 61-year-old played Carol Willick, the ex-wife of Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) and mother to his son, Ben, who dumps him in the pilot episode for another woman. During an appearance on the Australian news show on Monday, host Nat Barr asked Sibbett if she was really offered the role of Rachel before Jennifer Aniston.
Aniston starred as the waitress-turned-fashion-buyer for the show's 10 seasons, turning her into a household name. "Is it true that you were originally picked to play the role of Rachel Green, but because you were pregnant, it ultimately went to Jennifer Aniston?" said Barr. "Almost," Sibbett replied.
"It's a bit of an embellishment." Sibbett explained that she had just left the room after auditioning for Rachel when she got a call from her manager saying, "They love you, they want you," asking her to come back the following week for a screen test. "Did you tell them I was pregnant?" Sibbett recalls asking her manager, who confirmed that he hadn't, but suggested that she go for the role anyway.
After discovering that Sibbett was pregnant, the casting team decided to go in a different direction. However, Sibbett was thrilled when they asked her to take over the role of Carol from Anita Barone, who left the show after pilot. "After I got home from the hospital after delivering my baby, that's when I got that phone call," she said.
"No one could have .
