Hank Azaria disclosed that he went through two auditions for the role of Joey, which he believed to be the greatest in the entire series. He even complained about Matt LeBlanc, who finally won the role, when he didn’t get it. Even Azaria said he didn’t enjoy Matt LeBlanc’s portrayal of Joey Tribbiani.
Friends’ performers poured their lives into every show’s episode and were a big part of its popularity. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc each gave outstanding performances, making them worthy of being on the show.
It was the case of the character that Matt Le Blanc portrayed in Friends, Joey Tribiani, for which another Hank Azaria fought until the end. Hank Azaria loved the character’s description so much that he went on two auditions to see whether the producers would ultimately pick him. But he wasn’t selected.
Though he was cast as David, Phoebe Buffay’s scientist lover. In the tenth episode, Azaria, who is also recognized for lending his voice to The Simpsons’ Apu and Moe, made his on-screen debut. His performance earned such positive feedback that he played the same part in the seventh and ninth seasons.
Hank Azaria said that the part of Joey was the only one for which he had double-auditioned in an interview conducted years after he was cast as David on Friends. And the reason for this is because he believed the character to be so incredible that pursuing it was worthwhile.
